Background
Versowood, a family business known for its flexibility, agility, low hierarchical structure, and long-term planning, has made substantial investments in its quarter-century existence. As an international player, Versowood exports to approximately 60 countries, contributing to Finland's economic well-being. It showcases an immense appreciation for wood as a renewable resource by responsibly sourcing and purposing every part of the wood. With 900 employees across 13 locations in Finland, it supports local economies and job creation while prioritizing sustainability and gender-inclusive work environments with advanced automation in its sawmills.
Challenge
However, despite its commendable work culture, Versowood faced a pressing challenge. The forestry industry was struggling to attract young adults - a demographic pivotal for various roles within companies like Versowood. Traditional advertising fell short in engaging this audience, creating a gap that needed to be addressed urgently, especially around the critical summer job application period in early 2023.
Objective
The mission was to launch a social media campaign aimed at the younger demographic, to ignite interest in Versowood as an appealing employer for the summer of 2023. The campaign aimed to strengthen the company's brand perception among young people, inspire job applications, and generate visibility, engagement, and potentially new followers for Versowood's social media channels.
Insight & Strategy
Research indicated that the younger audience seeks meaningful employment aligned with their worldview and that entertainment is a key medium of engagement for them. They favor authentic and original content that resonates with their perceptions and values. With this in mind, an innovative strategy was devised to cut through the clutter of busy social media feeds and capture their attention.
Creative Solution
In collaboration with Finnish AI platform Future Objects, an unprecedented anime recruitment campaign was crafted to reshape the forestry industry's image and present Versowood as an employer in a compelling new light. Employing artificial intelligence to absorb Versowood's tone and utilizing existing visual material, the campaign resulted in the world's first AI-designed, scripted, and visualized anime-style recruitment initiative.
our protagonists
Execution
The campaign deployed a range of tailor-made anime-styled content across social media platforms, including videos on Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and customized imagery for various roles. The campaign particularly targeted regions relevant to Versowood’s operation.
Results
The campaign instantly sparked widespread conversations across social media and online forums like Reddit and 4Chan. The unexpected approach prompted discussions about the campaign's legitimacy and the innovative use of anime as a creative format received praise. Garnering significant engagement, the campaign achieved over two million impressions, 167,341 video views, and 6,183 clicks, amplifying its reach through earned media.
Most importantly, job applications to Versowood more than doubled compared to the previous year, with over 300 young applicants with many citing the campaign as their motivation for applying. The campaign not only made history with its format but also exemplified how creative and technological collaboration can produce groundbreaking results in marketing and advertising.
The campaign sparked positive discussion around the world
Conclusion
Versowood's AI-driven anime campaign stands out as a testament to the power of innovation, adaptability, and the understanding of the target audience's psychology in the modern recruitment landscape. The campaign's success lays the groundwork for other industries to reimagine their approach to engaging with the workforce of tomorrow.