By Joshua Jamerson
Advertisers like PepsiCo and Budweiser spend millions pushing
their products to Super Bowl viewers. A southern Pennsylvania
building-supply chain is doing something a little different this
year, using its first-ever Super Bowl ad to kick off a national
recruiting campaign.
With more than 100 million people expected to watch Sunday's big
game, 84 Lumber Co. is betting that its 90-second spot will
introduce viewers to the company and make a statement about
American opportunity. 84 Lumber wouldn't disclose what it paid to
air the commercial, set to be shown just before halftime, but with
30-second spots going for as much as $5 million, the company could
have shelled out $15 million -- for the airtime alone.
84 Lumber Co. is betting that its commercial during the big game
will help the Pittsburgh-area building-materials retailer introduce
itself to potential job seekers and eventually fill 400 management
trainee positions it plans to create this year.
Companies spend millions getting their products and services in
front of the nation's largest viewing audience, but rarely -- if
ever -- has a firm aired a Super Bowl spot specifically intended to
attract potential job applicants. 84 Lumber wouldn't disclose what
it paid to air the 90-second commercial, but with 30-second spots
going for as much as $5 million, the company could have shelled out
$15 million -- for the airtime alone.
The company intends to run more television ads nationally in the
coming months, and is also planning a social media push. Televised
recruiting ads are fairly rare, but as companies compete to attract
talent in a tightening labor market, hiring experts say more
big-ticket recruiting campaigns may be on the way.
"It's smart to me, though obviously expensive," said John
Sullivan, a professor at San Francisco State University's college
of business who specializes in human-resources strategy. If 84
Lumber's campaign succeeds, other companies may follow suit, he
said.
General Electric Co. ran a comedic advertising campaign last
year as part of the company's efforts to rebrand itself as a
technology company. The ads, which aired during last year's Academy
Awards broadcast, sought to reintroduce GE to software developers
and tout coding jobs, said Jen Waldo, the head of human resources
for GE Digital.
In the ads, a new GE hire named Owen explains the company's tech
focus to baffled friends and family members. Applications to GE
Digital rose about 24% in the months after the ads aired, according
to the company, a sign that the spots gained traction among job
seekers.
"Without fail, the first thing they mentioned to me were the
Owen ads," Ms. Waldo said.
84 Lumber leaders are taking advantage of the booming building
market, expanding the company's entry-level management training
program from 600 spots to roughly 1,000.
These hourly positions -- loading and unloading trucks;
maintaining inventory, among other tasks -- pay about $30,000 to
$38,000 a year, and 84 Lumber frequently promotes trainees to
bigger roles in the company.
Tom McCartney, 84 Lumber's vice president of human resources,
says the ad is intended to get job seekers thinking about 84 Lumber
as a place to develop a career path. Mr. McCartney himself started
as a manager trainee in 1988 and has since risen through the
ranks.
"This will certainly put 84 Lumber on the map," said Tim
Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University who
has studied Super Bowl ads.
84 Lumber's president and owner Maggie Hardy Magerko has said
that she wants the company to cast a wider net for talent, seeking
"entrepreneurs who see opportunity where others do not...To do
that, we need to hire and train people differently."
Commercials during the big game often reflect the nation's
current economy and mood, Mr. Calkins said. For example, he cited
ads for precious-metals buyer Cash4Gold that aired during the 2009
Super Bowl, underscoring a mood of urgency at the nadir of the
global financial crisis.
"You think, 'Gee, Cash4Gold ads during the Super Bowl? That's
how you know things are getting bad,' " he said.
Rob Schapiro, chief creative officer at Brunner Inc., the
marketing firm that worked on the ad, said it would convey a
patriotic message. An earlier version of the spot stirred
controversy after Fox, this year's Super Bowl broadcaster,
reportedly rejected the ad for its political content. A Fox
spokesman declined to comment.
Mr. Schapiro said the commercial will end with a web link
directing viewers to a site about working at 84 Lumber, which will
also feature the original ad. (He insisted it wasn't his intention
to purposefully have an ad rejected in order to garner headlines, a
tactic used by some firms to stir up more attention for their
spots.)
"We're a promote-from-within company," said 84 Lumber's Mr.
McCartney. "It's just part of making a statement that we want to be
recognized as an employer of choice where people can come make a
career."
Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 31, 2017 10:13 ET (15:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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