A few years ago I wrote a post about the state of University advertising and how at the time it failed to inspire. Recently, I was quite surprised to see that Seek was following a similar style to these advertisements.
Seek was one of the first businesses in Australia to succeed as a disruptive start up. The impact of Seek has been prolific, it has been able to transform the job market and in doing so, it has demonstrated how technology adds value for both job seekers and employers.
Against many odds, including the international players in the market, Seek has become the market leader as source for finding jobs and recruiting positions.
In the past, Seek undertook a cheeky and innovative approach to advertising, creating campaigns that were witty and clever. Now it appears as Seek has grown, it has changed this approach.
A past campaign
A play on words Source: Smart
Seek in its latest campaign, has decided have focused on photographing a series of people, both young and old, who want change in their lives. The tag line “make it count” has been used to reinforce the change. While advocating for Australians to go out there and change their lives, the implementation of this campaign has been poor.
The subjects used in the photography all have serious and unhappy looks on their faces, almost analogous to individuals in not-for-profit advertising, portraying that they have been hard-done-by. These advertisements do not connect with those of us who may be unhappy in our jobs and are looking for a change. Instead the people in these advertisements seem stuck and unable to escape the situations that they are in, reinforcing that sometimes life isn’t fair.
One of the advertisement at a tram stop
Seek’s Make it Count campaign
Universities in this country have the advantage of being in a market where there is strong demand. They also do not have an extensive number of competitors and can sometimes, unfortunately make do with poorly implemented marketing campaigns. Seek on the other hand cannot.
With the technology sector consistently building on its innovations, Seek cannot afford to become comfortable. Seek was able to become a market leader because it took risks, focused on being innovative and demonstrated its value to the Australian public. It seems to have forgotten this strategic approach.
We would encourage Seek to revisit their strategy to ensure they continue to position themselves as a market leader and innovator.
