Driving Digital Recruitment

I'm back, its been a while. You know what its like, you have plenty to say in your head but don't get round to blogging...

Anyway, imagine the scenario:

'Bertha got into her car to begin the commute home. She had been working in Reading for a global IT firm for 2 years. They were a good company to work for but lately she felt a bit stifled, didn't really see a clear path for her development....if anything she was getting itchy feet and 2 years was a decent enough time to stay at a firm, wasn't it? anyway the incident at the Christmas party still left her feeling a bit uneasy.

The mellow tunes of Magic FM filled the car, she loved that Gloria Estefan track, reminded her of an old boyfriend. After ten minutes she heard a jingle from her satellite navigation system - it was instantly recognisable, similar to the Intel jingle and just as catchy.

Looking at her sat nav screen she realised she was being alerted to that fact she was passing the premises of a rival company. A message filled the car telling her there was a perfect and very relevant position for her at the company with huge opportunities. At the push of a button she could respond by either having an initial conversation there or then or to receive a subsequent email to set up a good time to discuss......

Maybe I will push the button, she thought.......'

Rightio, I may not win the booker prize anytime soon, but I thought of this cool scenario after reading a rather interesting article (you have to register - 'Why Your Car May Soon be Driving advertising) last week. It was all about how satellite navigation systems are allowing geo-targeting advertising and two way dialogue. We were excited when we were the first to use GPRS geo-targeting on bus sides for The Metropolitan Police (community based roles were advertised with digital messaging that changed as buses entered different post codes - nice and personalised)

The satellite navigation scenario is obviously more evolved than what we did for the Met Police but what is also different is that in a car when people are commuting you have a captive audience (much like when flying) which in an incredibly fragmented media landscape is like gold dust.

The digital world continues to excite.

Comments

[Matt]

Sinead

1) Welcome back you've been missed! Thanks for a thought provoking post

2) How many people do you know who are actually called Bertha!

3) Apologies to any Bertha's reading point 2

Matt

[Sinead]

For some reason, the theme music to 'Bertha, lovely Bertha.. you're such a lovely machine' came into my head today....cartoon from 80's....can't explain why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKQAiLAz4xs

[Jamie Leonard]

Sinead great post. And Matt, I once had a date with a girl called Birtha. Not going to lie to you, it didn’t end well.

Back to business. I love innovation. I get excited by things like this. They float my boat. You get the picture. Here’s my issue though. If you open it to recruitment advertising, chances are you open it up to advertising in general. All of a sudden I'm getting a visual AND AUDIO advert to eat the new New York McShitehouse every time you drive by a McDonalds. So, they will have to offer an option to turn off adverts on sat nav. What happens? I turn it off after 3 adverts because a) it’s distracting my driving and b) its just annoying. And heaven forbid some feckwit drives into a lamp post and sues the advertiser because “it distracted them”.

It’s got Bluetooth (no offence Purvis) written all over it. And for that reason, I'm out (Dragons Den moment).

[Alex Hens]

like you'd turn it off for a McShitehouse advert Leonard - who you kidding?!!!! That said - maybe a prospective Mrs Leonard (bless her) might turn it off on your behalf.

;-D

fair point raised though - feel a blog coming on "just because you can, doesn't mean you should!"

:)

[Jamie Leonard]

Mr Hens, I’ll have you know my girlfriend has barred me from the golden M (he says knowing she reads this blog).

Following on from your post bad boy, I can drive a car with my knees, it doesn’t make it a good idea!

[Ben]

I've been wondering when this might start - it makes sense - and, a bit like the video service in the back of our wonderful black cab service, I suspect you will be able to turn it off. However, not everyone will. And so, in a way, it will work.

I like it as an platfrom, and as it always has been, it's going to be up to us to work out how we use it .

You're right that, just because it exists doesn't mean we HAVE to use it, but it does mean that we can and should probably work out HOW we use it, and HOW WE MAKE IT WORK. We all work in an industry where we've constantly had to strive to achieve value, and this is just another platform that will require its own understanding, it's own appreciation of what value is, and then will need some people to get it wrong before we all get it right.

That thought aside, I too am a little worried about your dreams and the name Bertha Matt. But good to have you back.

Oh, and I'm also feeling a little tender this morning. Good to see those of you I did see last night.

Hensy - good twattering fella - and great work on busting the table guys - that's a CIPD first I think...

[Sinead]

Thanks for the post Ben, lovely to see you last night. I agree with you that we should look at HOW we can make it work. We shouldn't be doing it because we CAN do it but because it actually adds value to the consumer/candidate.

There's many ways of making it work for both the consumer and the advertiser. As you say people can turn it off, and turn it on when they are curious and have an interest. Perhaps you have a free sat nav system in return for accepting an nominal amount of advertising messages each month. etc etc

The whole sat nav system will continue to become more and more sophisticated providing options and syncing with other communications systems so options will continue to increase and evole.

In the cab on the way to the CIPD's last night the sat nav system told the cabbie about road work problems ahead - so providing real time info...I never know it could do that! Real added value.

Yes, good twattering last night Alex, and thanks for the dance.

ta ta

[Ben]

Did you survive a dance with Hens? Wow - you know, when you left, you still looked relatively intact, which is not normally the case with a victim of the Welsh-dad-dancer - it's normally like a dramatic scene from Holby City...

And the feeling is mutual Sinead - lovely to see you too. Where was everyone else though?

[Oliver Perry]

I've got major issues with sat nav - i don’t like the computer voice interrupting my music/ conversations so to have job / mcpoo ads interrupting as well would mean it's on permanent mute. I may not be the normally sat nav user though

[Ben]

I think what we're doing here is assuming that any advertising placed on a sat nav system will have to be invasive in format. So, for starters, let's hope it doesn't have to be.

I was recently in a cab in Wales, whose sat nav - every time we went past a farm - mooed. This was pretty disconcerting, bloody annoying and, most importantly, just totally pointless. It was using an available functionality (sound) just because it could, not because it added any value and certainly not because the developer had given any consideration to the user requirements.

And I think this (and scarily, it is a real example) is an example of what I referred to earlier - in that just because it's there and CAN provide certain functionality, doesn't mean we HAVE to use it all. However, what it does do is offer another platform to address a specific communications challenge. I for one hope I won't ever recommend to a client that they should create some invasive 'talky-toaster' type happy go lucky message, if I were to use this as a platform. But I also hope I wouldn't dismiss it purely based on my user habits.

However, if it could tell me where the next McPoo might be coming along, it may certainly help me start the 'I think we need a break' debate a little earlier than when I see a road sign. But then, as those of you know who've met me, I do quite like the odd Big Mac or two...