Relay finishes first...again
Published: November 2001
Relay Recruitment has notched up an entirely unprecedented achievement by taking its sector’s most coveted national prize for the second time in three years at the Recruitment Industry Awards 2001.
At a ceremony at the London Hilton, the company was announced winner in the Best Recruitment Marketing Campaign category for its hugely successful Careers Question Time campaign.
This first promotes the need for employers and students in schools and colleges to communicate with one another; then introduces the firms and emerging talent at Question and Answer events formatted like the popular BBC programme. By doing this, Relay has driven up awareness dramatically among potential candidates and clients alike.
Careers Question Time employs memorable marketing devices, including a specially commissioned Ministry of Sound CD that incorporates a questionnaire/invitation pack. Its name, The Essential Mix, alludes to both the diversity of employing organisations and the importance of bringing them and students together. Relay Recruitment-branded post boxes are placed in the lobbies of schools for students to return their forms.
The judges described the programme as, “a complex campaign that targeted a difficult market.” They also reported that, “the complexity of the challenge to both communicate with candidates and work with clients was met with verve, precision planning and an imaginative use of audio and visual aids.”
The initiative resulted in a 400 per cent increase in awareness of the company. It also created directly attributable value, with over 300 filled appointments, while the follow up Career Coaching Initiative for teenagers has been over-subscribed.
Relay MD, Steven Street, said, “To enter these awards twice and win each time is a fantastic endorsement of marketing communications, which we always work hard to make original, impactful and effective. The fact that our industry recognises this is tremendous feedback for all involved, and we intend to outdo our own achievements in the future!”
Relay also won the marketing category in the Recruitment Industry Awards 1999, and took the regional and national Royal Mail Winning Post marketing award in the same year.
The Recruitment Industry Awards is the centrepiece for the UK recruitment, and organised by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). The aim is to promote and celebrate excellence and innovation among recruiters and search groups.