I hate durians. I can’t stand the smell, texture and even the look of it. So I don’t really pay attention to anything about durians. Except for anti-durian content like this, because it affirms my confirmation bias!
But when someone shared this recruitment ad on my Facebook feed, I was immediately intrigued. Not because I was interested in durians (much less in opening durians for a living!) but because of the way it was written.
This is seriously one of the best recruitment ads I’ve seen. I’m not sure if they had hired some pros to write it. If they did, I have to say the copywriter did a great job! If they wrote it themselves, well then…
I love this ad for its simplicity and honesty.
- It’s not flashy (minimal flame emojis)
- The English is good (no artificial Manglish here)
- The tone is playful without trying too hard
- It doesn’t undersell the work scope, but it’s refreshingly honest about it
- It doesn’t oversell the benefits, but is upfront about expectations
But what’s impressed me most is that there are some great employee branding messages embedded in there too. The unspoken messages come across pretty clearly:
- It’s dull repetitive work but we’ve got a fun work environment
- We’re looking for fun guys
- If you’re a fun guy, we’re the right place for you
See how you can say things without saying things? That takes skill!
PROTIP: Please don’t clobber your audience with in-your-face messages. Subtlety can be incredibly compelling and engaging.
But what is Employee Branding?
Employee branding concept comes from the insight that your employees are your most powerful brand advocates in the market. It makes perfect sense – you can determine how your brand is represented when your employees are interacting in their capacity as employees, But businesses have no right to say how their employees talk about them when they are interacting with their personal networks.
So the idea is to get your employees on board with who you are and what you do. You want to positively influence your employees in such a way that they happily present your business in the best possible light to the market in their personal life. To do that you need to shape how your company is seen and experienced by your current and potential employees.
I think this Durian Man ad is a fine example. Notice how they didn’t say “looking for general worker” but instead positioned the work as “Durian Knife Master”? Who doesn’t prefer having “Knife Master” attached to their name over “General Worker”?
Also, the job description is honest but presented in a really engaging way. Stunts, Somersaults, Showing-Off Sixpacks and Stephen Chow? And durians? Who can say no to any of those things? That’s why I think the Durian Man really nailed their employee branding message to attract the kind of talent they wanted. Will they get a lot of responses from this ad? I don’t know. But one thing for sure, this ad will probably get very few enquiries from people who:
- are not bilingual
- are not people-persons
- are not keen about opening durians
I think the applicants that Durian Man are very likely going to get will be people who are genuinely good at meet-and-greet. If they really get stuntmen with sixpacks, that’s a bonus!
Why is Employee Branding important?
Good employee branding reflects how your company is seen by potential employees, as well as your existing and potential customers. Organisations with strong employee branding can turn employees into powerful brand ambassadors, while also increasing employee productivity and motivation, as well as brand loyalty and the company’s reputation.
But employee branding isn’t just about the image you present – it’s about who you are. Successful employee branding and employee advocacy depends on whether the employee really likes working with you. It’s hard to establish a great employee branding if your employees dread going to work for you.
No matter how big or small your company is, it pays to look into your employee branding because your employees are truly your greatest asset in the competitive market today.
If Durian Man is doing it, so should you!
