Millennials: Brand yourself better and get that dream job

Millennials, if you haven’t burnished your personal brand, you’re doing it wrong. This, anyway, is the message behind the new “Brand of You” campaign by Fifth Third Bank, a regional banking corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Commencement season is looming, and the job market for recent grads leaves a bit to be desired: Only 36 percent of 2014 college grads enjoy full-time employment, according to CareerBuilder. So Fifth Third has partnered with national reemployment company NextJob to help recent graduates land their dream jobs.

The campaign, geared at millennials, invites recent graduates to enter for a chance to win one of 1,000 job coaching scholarships –a total of $1 million in job search training — offered by NextJob until July 20.

“‘Brand of You’ is a natural extension of Fifth Third’s commitment to be curious about new and different ways to improve people’s lives,” said Maria Veltre, senior vice president & chief marketing officer. “When we offer tangible solutions and tools that millennials can actually put to use, it will translate into customers for life,” added Larry Magnesen, svp and director of corporate communications at Fifth Third.

Developed by Fifth Third Bank and its agency of record, Leo Burnett, one campaign clip features Gina, a real-life recent college graduate and current job seeker, vigorously advertising herself in the hunt for meaningful employment. A second spot cheekily pokes fun at commencement speech cliches, with a bleak outlook for the newly minted job seekers.

“I’m moved by your hope for a bright future,” says the commencement speaker. “A future where student debt crushes your dreams and you’re forced to clean your neighbor’s gutters for gas money.”

The spots end by inviting interested participants to enter the contest by tweeting their responses to the statement: “Tell us why you deserve free one-on-one job search coaching” along with the hashtags #BrandOfYou and #53Enter. The campaign’s microsite provides advice and career-building tools even for those who don’t enter the contest.

NextJob is also providing a Job Seeker’s Toolkit to anyone interested during the campaign period. Fifth Third will also host a series of one-day Twitter events for recent graduates to brush up their interview skills, called “Job Twitterviews” and “TwitterResumes.”

Fifth Third is also hosting what it’s calling job “Twitterviews,” on May 19 and June 23, in which job-seekers will be asked a single interview question that they are required to answer with a 30-second video response. On June 2 and July 8, job seekers will be invited to pimp their personal brands in a single tweet.

The best submissions from each will be featured on the campaign microsite.

“These days you get mere seconds to make a lasting impression — we know that your resume may get only a second of a glance,” said Howard Laubscher, vp and director of digital strategy at Leo Burnett. “There are no elevator pitches anymore, you have to make an impression in 140 characters.”

Fifth Third rebranded itself as “the curious bank,” in 2012. This camapign is an extension of that identity.

“It’s inspiring to see the evolution of this program and Fifth Third’s commitment to helping people,” Jon Wyville, evp and executive creative director at Leo Burnett, said. “Recent graduates will be impressed at the length our teams have gone to help them find jobs. But that’s who Fifth Third Bank is, a bank willing to invest in people to improve their lives.”

The campaign will also utilize seeded video and pre-roll as well as flash and rich media banners across social media, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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