Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council

Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council were having real trouble recruiting Planning Officers. Relying on standard house style advertisements in the trade press, they we’re struggling to attract quality candidates to a role which not only paid less than the competition, but which was also situated in an area widely perceived as being an undesirable place in which to live and work. Our job was to open people’s eyes to the unique challenges and exceptional variety of work that exists in the area for Planners.

We realised that the only way to make our target audience believe the proposition was to show them it was true, so we made a Podcast and a microsite which did just that. Signposted by a creatively-led advertisement in the trade press, the microsite contained key pieces of information about the role, supported by a three minute video Podcast incorporating footage of the industrial, leisure, residential and natural environments that exist in the area. This was overlaid with audio recordings of interviews with current members of staff extolling the virtues of living and working in Ellesmere Port and Neston.

Together, the press advertisement, microsite and Podcast proved an incredibly effective recruitment tool for the council, successfully altering potential candidates’ perceptions of the area, and leading to a vastly improved number of high quality applications.