Council up for YouTube ad campaign award

South Norfolk Council's YouTube campaign to find a new Chief Executive is up for a prestigious national award.

But the Council is facing very tough competition from bigger organisations like Alton Towers and KPMG, as well as bigger councils like Lancashire County.

South Norfolk Leader Councillor John Fuller fronted the much-talked about YouTube ad, and it catapulted the Council into the national and local media, pulling in applicants and attracting thousands of hits on the YouTube site.

Speaking ahead of the awards announcement, he said:

"At the time, we had a clear choice. Our residents ask us to be businesslike and efficient and make value for money a top priority.

"So we could have spent £50,000 of Council Tax payers money to advertise the top job, or spend £150 on a recruitment ad, load it onto YouTube and publicise it ourselves.

"With supporting local advertising and other sundry costs, that figure eventually came to just £5,000 - a £45,000 saving.

"We chose the value for money option and in line with our plan, it got a big debate going with media across England running the story. Potential candidates saw that, watched the video, and started to call us. We had thousands of hits on our site within days.

"As a result, within our deadline and hugely under budget, we recruited Sandra Dinneen. She took over the reigns just when we needed a Chief Executive most - as the country lurched into recession."

Chief Executive Sandra Dinneen said:

"This was a creative and confident campaign. It said to me that this Council could punch above its weight and take calculated risks, while keeping costs down.

"The candidates I found myself up against were very strong as a result, and so I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to lead staff here and to serve the community of South Norfolk."

As the Personnel Today site puts it, the challenge was to find a new Chief Executive in just six weeks. The recruitment budget had been cut, and the Council needed to be forward-thinking and modern in what is traditionally a risk-averse culture.

A local freelance cameraman was found and a recruitment video shot. Within days, it was agreed and loaded onto YouTube. A micro-site was built around it.

By the close of the weekend, the site had more than 2,000 hits and the whole issue of using YouTube became a talking point. One local radio interviewer wondered whether this was 'viral marketing' to which the interviewee and expert replied: "Well we're talking about it aren't we!"

John Fuller admitted:

"We were on the receiving end of some wry comments from broadcasters about the video looking cheap, but that was the point. We got them talking and that coverage was seen by our candidates.

"I don't know if we will win this award, but it's good to be recognised for the businesslike and efficient way we went about this."

Full details of the awards can be found on the Personnel Today website.

PT Judge Chris Parry says of the South Norfolk campaign:

"This one really stood out as HR at its best. A brilliant piece of recruitment that was creative, innovative, cost-effective and highly successful."

The Council will hear whether it has won the award on Thursday 26 November.

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