The Situation
Competition to hire qualified engineers is fierce as the industry faces a global shortage within the field. The growth rate in the profession is less than half the national professional average (3% rather than the typical 7%), with the median age at 53. In response to this shrinking candidate pool, Boeing ramped up its efforts to recruit the next generation of engineers by appealing to them in new ways.
The Creative Approach
We created a series of recruitment and retention videos focusing on civic pride, showcasing not only the excitement and benefits of a Boeing career, but highlighting the personality of specific Boeing locations. The videos gave potential employees a glimpse behind the curtain into sites that were previously restricted from camera access.
We focused our efforts on strategic locations hardest hit by engineer attrition, producing videos featuring the culture and flavor of each region. The videos appeared as a series, each with its own personality but all with a similar style and common voiceover talent. The writing style was consistent, emphasizing the features that matter most to residents and employees. Music related to the specific region as well, and we opted for a tasteful, timeless approach rather than a music bed targeting a specific age group.
The Audience
With a high demand for engineers in a shrinking talent pool, Boeing couldn’t afford to turn off any potential recruits. The videos needed to have wide appeal without being watered down for a mass audience. I wanted to emphasize Boeing’s massive presence to tap into the ambitions of our audience. High-class visuals and grandiose language were my creative drivers and I used them to appeal to a wide range of potential employees.
Philadelphia site video – Building Aircraft That Defy Convention, 25k YouTube views
Mesa site video – Painting the Desert with Aerospace Innovation, 22k YouTube views
Oklahoma City site video - Shaping Tomorrow’s Innovations, 14K YouTube views
The Results
Boeing leaders shared the videos at public speaking events, garnering enthusiastic responses from the audiences and local civic leaders. The Oklahoma City mayor and Oklahoma governor both shared it on their own official social media profiles.
Feedback from the Philadelphia Communications team:
“The site video is the first thing visitors and VIPs see when they come to Boeing Philadelphia, so the impact to the business is that it’s essentially our first impression. We get requests from other parts of the business, like Boeing Global Engagement, to use the video as they go into the community and talk to residents and students. It serves as a critical introduction to what we do at Boeing Philadelphia and how that relates to the city at large. I’d say it’s been a huge success.”
