Indeed has a new television ad. If you’re a basketball fan, you likely noticed it during the NCAA tournament this past weekend. If you’re not a fan, check it out here:
That initial campaign took aim at racism, agism, sexism, and a few other isms, sharing a message of inclusion by hoping to make recruiting a blind process instead of one riddled with prejudice. In light of a political embracing walls, it seemed like the right message at the right time. It also seemed like a solid strategy against the cold-and-corporate reality of Google for Jobs, by being all warm-and-fuzzy and creating an emotional connection to the company.
If the new ad is any indication, the “Search for Greatness” message wasn’t resonating, or maybe just ran out its welcome. The new campaign seems to be an attempt at positioning the company as a career platform, and not just a job search engine. In a world where Google is the Google of job search, it’s a tactic worth trying. Instead of “find a job” or “post your resume,” the new ad tells the story of a failed job seeker who turns into a dream candidate after an upgrade of skills and Indeed insights.
It’s a bit odd that the ad’s protagonist uses an old-school book to learn coding skills, instead of heading online, but maybe that’s the point since Indeed doesn’t currently teach coding, or any other skills (you can go to LinkedIn’s Lynda for that, but I digress). As perception is reality, if consumers think Indeed is a place to go and stick around as you go through your professional lifetime, then maybe it wins.
Article Continues Below
Guide: Practical Tips for Remote Hiring
In other words, Google is searching for jobs, but Indeed is your career home.
Sure, maybe it’s a bit of a stretch. And maybe it won’t work. Industry friend Jeff Dickey-Chasins, aka The Job Board Doctor, commented in a message, “Did you see the Indeed ads on the NCAA tourney? Was not impressed. Took half the ad to figure out what was going on. As I told my wife, if I have to think about what is going on, the ad has failed.”
Hey, what do you expect when Google jumps into your sandbox? The clock is ticking. There’s going to be panic and some spaghetti-throwing. Nevertheless, the ad gives us a window into Indeed’s strategy going forward. Now it just has to go acquire Degreed or Udemy or Codecademy or, hell, maybe all three, for the message to really make sense.
I had a slightly different take on the commercial. In my experience Indeed has had the reputation in the recruiting world as being a high volume/low quality sort of platform. Recently, I have seen candidate quality increase and have made hires for higher level exempt roles ( business analyst, accounting, finance analyst, corporate trainer etc) and many of these hires have been in the millennium bracket. My take is that as the younger generations who grew up on Indeed as opposed to Monster, CB etc see Indeed as THE platform for all things job related and that is what this commercial highlights.
I see a single guy in his late 20’s or early 30’s trying to find a job, being turned down many times, and takes the initiative to add the needed skills to land the job he is looking for. Indeed is very casual in their appearance in the commercial but I think the story is good, people will relate, and they “might” subconsciously connect Indeed with the successful ending.
Dark suit, lace ups, white shirt, rep tie, didn’t get hired. Learned to code (at the suggestion of the dog), same suit, same lace ups, same white shirt, same rep tie – gets the job. Buttoned up interviewers give way to a casual work environment. Huh?
Oh, and the dog didn’t get hired…
Does it truly have to “acquire” companies like Degreed or Udemy outright for that strategy to work? I think partnerships can work because there can be a mutual benefit to that type of partnership. The real challenge to me is revamping their platform to actually become a career platform. Indeed is set up as a transactional website for applications. In order to become what this commercial is hinting at, they would have to make some major changes.