The latest IAB/PWC figures show ad spend on mobile has doubled year on year. This has been fuelled by an increase in users accessing the internet on their mobiles and by the new possibilities presented by smartphone devises (phones offering advanced capabilities, often with PC-like functionality). One hotly discussed topic in this area is the development of applications (known universally as apps).

Over 1.5bn apps have been downloaded from Apple’s app store since July 2008 and many brands are keen to get in on the act. While branded apps can provide a novel platform for your target audience to interact with your organisation, it’s important for companies to first research the mobile behaviour of their audience before getting carried away with the hype.

For example, the iPhone currently only holds a 4% market share in the UK (around one million people have an iPhone). Of these people, how many are within the student population and how many regularly download apps? Also, smartphones from other manufacturers (such as Nokia and Google Android) are gaining in popularity and mean that it will soon be hard to build an iPhone app in isolation.

Ali says: For a mobile app to be successful it needs to be compatible with the most relevant smartphone devises, should be well marketed and easy to find, provide instant utility, have a high frequency of use and encourage word of mouth.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of a tag applied to an object for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. The technology has largely been applied in retail environments, where it’s used for stock control and more controversially, for consumer marketing.

In the video above, a user scans objects with their smartphone device to find out more detailed information. In the same way, it’s possible to imagine RFID tags appearing in future in graduate brochures and giveaways. Once the employer brand’s material is scanned, the user could be provided with an exciting and new type of engagement experience.

Ali says: Although there are a number of privacy concerns currently surrounding the commercial use of RFID tags, the fact that scanners are being built into the next generation of smartphone devices shows that the technology is likely to become more prevalent in the near future.

I was recently handed an iKyp ‘webkey’ (see below) at an event. It’s a paper based product that promotes a brand and drives recipients directly to a pre-programmed web address when they plug in the integrated USB devise to their computer.

It is essentially a novelty tool that could find a use in recruitment as a piece of on-campus event collateral. The foldable paper ‘wallet’ could contain messages that generate initial interest in your grad scheme before encouraging users to find out more and apply by going directly to your careers site via the USB pen. Click here for some examples of webkeys.

A quick response (QR) code is a 2D barcode image that can be scanned by modern mobile phones. After a user takes a picture of the image with their phone’s camera, they are provided with instant relevant info about a company or brand or directed to specific sections of the brand’s website.

For example, scanning the QR code image below with your mobile will open the CampusAli blog site on your screen – give it a go!

One good application of QR codes is to print them on your marketing collateral at recruitment events. For example, they could appear on your handouts, stands and stickers. They could also be printed on your on-campus posters to encourage students to instantly interact with your employer brand.

Ali Says: QR codes are a great low-cost way to direct technology-savvy students/graduates to your website or to provide them with a text based message or email prompt. However, care should be taken to ensure that your website is ‘mobile friendly’ so that it can be viewed on their phone’s screen.

Twitter is the latest social media phenomenon attracting growing attention from marketers. In a nutshell, Twitter is a ‘micro-blogging’ service where short messages (known as ‘tweets’) can be posted to be viewed by followers. The site has increased its weekly UK traffic by a staggering 631% during the past year, with three-quarters of that growth taking place in 2008, according to research company Hitwise.

Although there is no commercial space on the site, there are opportunities for brands to get involved for free. For example, as it lends itself to both one-to-one and one-to-many communications, ‘tweeting’ can be viewed as a useful conversational marketing technique. A recent survey from O2 has suggested that as many as 17% of SMEs use the service to build ‘brand buzz’ and communicate with potential customers and employees.

On the other hand, maintaining a micro-blog can be useful for monitoring ‘brand chatter’. For example, companies can identify when someone complains about them and respond to them directly, decreasing negative word of mouth.

Ali says: In order to follow a brand on Twitter, users must find the information to be interesting and valuable. Consider inserting a Twitter feed into your graduate website and having a new starter/intern regularly maintain a micro blog to communicate with potential recruits.

Video ‘hot spot’ technology is becoming one of the high interest areas of online video streaming. This type of online video unit is an eye-catching form of online creative placement, allowing users to interact with selected objects in the player to receive additional information. Custom captions appear on the video whenever the user floats their mouse over an active hot spot.

There are plenty of examples emerging from the product advertising world, such as Boots pharmacy using interactive videos (see below) to allow viewers to click on and purchase products featured in their recent television campaign.

Hot spot videos such as these can also be of use in recruitment marketing. Consider, for example, a user finding out more about a job, department or working environment through an interactive virtual office tour.

Ali Says: Employer videos featuring hot spots have the potential to drive deeper job seeker involvement with your brand. As more companies jump on the employer video bandwagon, they can help you stand out from the crowd and increase applications.

Recent research conducted by TMP in association with TARGETjobs reveals that there’s a potential appetite for receiving recruitment communications via a mobile phone. A third (34%) of undergraduates would be ‘fairly relaxed’ to receive information in this way, while a further 13% said they’d be ‘keen’ to (Ri5, June 08). Meanwhile, a study by Nielsen Mobile of more than 15,000 mobile users asked consumers about mobile advertising recall and found that 48.6% of UK users recalled SMS advertising (NMA 11.09.08).

Mobile advertising is an excellent way of providing alerts to jobs that match an individual’s requirements. For example, GradJobs recently ran a targeted campaign on youth mobile network Blyk (which offers free minutes and texts in exchange for users opting in to receive advertising). The aim was to drive students to the Gradjobs National Recruitment Exhibition in London and increase awareness of the Gradjobs recruitment brand amongst students. An SMS was targeted regionally asking students if they were “Looking for a graduate job?” 42% of recipients responded and these were then sent an animated multimedia message (MMS) follow-up with details of the exhibition in their area and were given the incentive to claim a free gift for visiting the Gradjobs stand.

Ali Says: The UK is one of the largest users of text messaging and mobile phones. The potential of the medium as a recruitment communications channel is now being recognised by employers who use mobiles to build brand relationships and generate interest through engaging and interactive campaigns.

‘Here comes the boss’ is the newest graduate recruitment tool taking the industry by storm and all you need to become a part of this world is a recruitment video. Simple as that!

Through the site businesses can raise their profile with news of what they are up to - from new products to CSR initiatives and enter into a dialogue with potential star employees. Therefore the videos currently on the website range in purpose. Some are aimed at recruiting graduates for 2009, others are there to inform students on recruitment processes and working life within specific organisations.

In addition to the videos, the website has a regular blog which updates users on graduate news from within specific organisations and provides exhibitor details for careers fairs around the country in video format. The website also links information out to the popular networking site Bebo.

To hear more about ‘Here comes the boss’ please click here

Cara Says… Importantly this isn’t just for large corporate firms; the website is populated with videos from a range of industries that differ in size and intake levels. Plus the content isn’t specific to recruiting to roles, it can also be used as part of a much bigger employer branding exercise!

Bluetooth - the radio frequency used by electronic devices to communicate wirelessly - is starting to break through as a mainstream advertising channel. Part of the reason for this is that consumers are increasingly familiar with the technology due to most people now carrying Bluetooth enabled phones. The marketing process works by pre-loading Bluetooth transmitters with information about an organisation and their vacancies before placing these at a range of touch points with the target audience. Student unions, for example, are a prime environment for fitting this sort of technology. After viewing an ad, interested people are encouraged to activate their phone’s Bluetooth to download the available content. As such it’s a great way to encourage an immediate response from viewers while delivering an accountable, repeatable media experience for advertisers.

Fundamental to the success of such campaigns is that consumers must be offered engaging high quality content in exchange for opting in to download. As a good example, leading graduate employer PricewaterhouseCoopers recently used Bluetooth as a vehicle for getting video diaries into the hands of potential recruits. Bluetooth transmitters were preloaded with content and taken to events. The content included video interviews with current PwC employees, explaining the different roles and benefits of each job as well as the application process. Students attending the events could download the video clips to their phone to view straight away or save to watch later or pass on to friends.

Ali Recommends: Bluetooth marketing can enable your company to reach out in a novel and appealing way to students in and around campus or at external recruiting events. However, care should be taken to consider how the content will add value for potential recruits and move them on to apply. 

Podcasts (digital media files distributed over the Internet for playback on portable MP3 players and computers) have become a staple part of many people’s media diets. Recent findings suggest that 4.3m people in the UK have downloaded a podcast and 1.87m listen to a podcast each week (NMA 19.05.08).

So how can podcasts best be tapped into by employer brands looking to attract the best graduates? The first option is to advertise on or sponsor a podcast subscribed to by the graduate market. There are a growing number of such podcasts aimed at helping grads prepare for finding a job, often featuring advice from business experts. A good example would be the graduate podcast series launched by the Best Companies Guide website.

Alternatively, you can ‘pull’ grads to your site by hosting your own podcasts there. For example, law firm Addleshaw Goddard feature regularly updated podcasts on the graduate section of their site. To listen to these examples click here.

These types of podcasts provide an opportunity to bring an employer brand to life, allowing graduates to hear the experiences of recent recruits first hand. Useful topics that could be covered range from why they chose the company, day-to-day roles and responsibilities, training and mentoring opportunities and top tips for graduate assessment days.

Ali Recommends: One of the main benefits of advertising via this medium is its ability to reach an engaged, well targeted audience as users have subscribed, downloaded and chosen to experience the content your message will be heard in. Alternatively, creating your own series of graduate podcasts can develop brand relationships and give potential applicants a deeper insight into the organisation at the start of the application process.