Work in Simcoe County Video Campaign

Purpose:

The County of Simcoe and area partners developed an effective multi-channel marketing campaign to promote the benefits of living and working in Simcoe County. The purpose was to drive traffic to the regional jobsite, www.workinsimcoecounty.ca, which is a website with thousands of local jobs, interactive career exploration tools and resources for job seekers and employers. A  video was created and promoted through this campaign that highlights real life stories of local workers who have taken advantage of the unique opportunities offered in our region, including living steps from cottage country and offering high quality careers for innovators. The careers highlighted in the video are from key sectors outlined in the 2021-2025 Economic Development Strategy such as manufacturing, engineering, technology and tourism. The video features perspectives of local young champions from area innovators, such as Greenland Engineering and Magna, speaking to their experiences living and working in the region.

Target Audience

The primary target audience was recent graduates in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) market along with other areas in Ontario with universities and colleges offering programs in alignment with the target sectors (manufacturing, engineering, technology and tourism). Working with our Communications team, we used keywords where possible on lifestyle and interests. For example, strategic search terms such as tips for recent graduates, GTA’S top employers and best small-town communities in Ontario were used.

Effectiveness / Meeting Objectives

The purpose of the video is to connect job seekers to local careers. The jobsite, which was the call to action for the campaign, contains thousands of opportunities across sectors. The jobsite is a “one stop shop” with career exploration tools, jobs and resources. Please refer to Supporting Document 1 for more details.

The video was promoted in a multi-platform campaign between November 2021 and January 2022 through targeted online ads, media outlets, sponsored and organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), radio along with area partner promotion. In addition to the main video, shorter versions were created for social media (30 seconds and 15 seconds). A media kit was created for partners and companies to amplify sharing. Participating companies became champions for the campaign, sharing the message through their respective networks which was impactful. For example, one company uses the video as part of their talent attraction presentation to University of Guelph graduates.

During the 3-month campaign, over 21,000 different jobs were posted on the jobsite. The campaign saw close to 1,000,000 video views across social media and online ads, which lead to almost 10,000 link clicks. Please see Supporting Document 2 for detailed analytics.

In addition, the video is an asset that is continuously being promoted on Work in Simcoe County and partner channels along with other sponsored campaigns. For example, the EDO received funding through the Regional Tourism Organization for a workforce attraction social media campaign from March-May 2022 that focused on world-class outdoor experiences and tourism careers. The video was also used for this campaign, linking directly to thousands of careers available. During these 2 campaigns (January-May 2022), page views on the jobsite were 184,728 with 86.3% new visitors.