The AV industry is a nearly $200 billion market, with about 17,000 open positions at any given time. Salaries and benefits are great. growth is strong…and most job seekers have absolutely no idea of the opportunities that await them. The NSCA, a leading trade association for the industry, received a strong message from the integrators, manufacturers and service providers who make up its membership: “Help us get the word out – because labor shortages are our only impediments to growth.”
Challenged by the NSCA to spur awareness and interest among young job seekers, we developed the Ignite brand and planned a push-pull strategy that partnered with educators and industry professionals to identify promising candidates and expose them to the industry via conversation, internships, apprenticeships, site visits and more. To activate these influencers – and further stoke interest among the students they identified – we created a website, videos, print collateral, and event materials that all reinforced the unique awesomeness of a career within the Communications Technology sector.
The hub of Ignite is its website, which is both clear and concise in its messaging, and robust in the resources it offers, including industry information, a jobs board, scholarship and internship links, and other job-finder tools.
A signal feature of the Communications Technology industry is the high degree of career mobility within it. People can work in a wide range of positions for a broad span of employers without ever leaving the sector. To communicate this, we developed a website feature that allows visitors to track the career progression of dozens of industry professionals. Moreover, we created the “What I Love About AV” program, led by a powerful kickoff video full of testimonials from excited members of the industry. Additional outreach materials included brochures, PowerPoints, and emails.
While the Ignite program speaks most directly to career seekers, it also engages an audience we termed “Ignite Ambassadors,” educators and industry professionals who directly engage with talented young people. Moreover, it gives strokes to “Rockstar Employers” who have lent image assets and other resources to the Ignite endeavor. Content, messaging, and engagement tactics are continuously updated, and web traffic is monitored and analyzed to optimize reach and engagement. A year into the program, student response has been strong. We attribute that to the myriad attributes of the industry – and the compelling, turnkey character of the Ignite program.
