Announcing Seasonal Recruitment at Argos
Brief:
Argos Ireland is a unique catalogue retailer recognised for choice, value and convenience. It sells general merchandise and products for the home from over 35 stores in Ireland. Argos opened its first stores in January 1996 in Limerick, Nutgrove and Dublin. In 2005, Argos launched its Irish website, www.argos.ie, which now has over 20,000 products online.
In 2010, Argos asked us to support communication of the recruitment of hundreds of seasonal staff for the Christmas season. Our objective was to both drive awareness among applicants of the recruitment process and to ensure that there was general awareness of the contribution Argos was making to employment in Ireland, in addition to its existing 1,400 employees.
Solution:
From our knowledge of the business and general media, we recognised that a jobs announcement was the best approach for Argos, given the current economic climate in Ireland and the quantity of seasonal jobs available.
WHPR developed and implemented a media relations campaign which targeted both national and regional media. Along with the main announcement, further interest was generated around the offer of discounted Christmas shopping for successful applicants.
Results:
Following the announcement, Argos received more than ten thousand applications for the seasonal jobs, rapidly filling the opportunities and generating substantial goodwill among local communities and other key stakeholders.
Media coverage included extensive broadcast coverage including Morning Ireland and Drivetime, as well as national and regional print coverage.
Argos continues to build on this foundation with subsequent announcements of the refurbishment of all Irish stores.
