In 2023, Travel South Dakota launched a campaign to attract more seasonal and full-time workers to our state’s hospitality & tourism industry.
OVERVIEW
South Dakota has always had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation. Like many industries in the The Mount Rushmore State, the hospitality & tourism industry struggles to fill open positions. To help our partners and ensure a great visitor experience, Travel South Dakota launched a year-round workforce campaign targeting recent graduates, veterans and young professionals. We utilize the resources of DakotaRoots.com and SouthDakotaWorks.org to drive interested individuals to current openings and free job advisor services.
Campaign creative features people in our state doing the jobs we seek to fill – attraction & hotel staff, adventure guides, chefs, baristas and more. We want people to know that jobs in South Dakota’s tourism industry are for adventurous souls seeking new experiences, both on and off the clock.
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
In South Dakota, our opportunities are as boundless as our adventures. To spark interest in working and living in South Dakota, we showcase the lifestyle as a benefit of employment in the travel industry. We focus our efforts on audiences living within the peak season markets already familiar with South Dakota and our geographical neighbors.
We use Search Engine Marketing (SEM), programmatic video and display ads to reach those who show interest in tourism jobs. We also deploy these efforts to reach individuals living in college or university towns in the same markets. Programmatic efforts run year-round; additional efforts are layered in during peak and shoulder hiring months.
According to job recruitment research conducted by LinkedIn, 73% of 18- to 34-year-olds said they found their last job on social media. Approximately 40 million people search for a job weekly using the professional networking platform. This makes LinkedIn ideal for our workforce recruitment. We have placed paid ads and videos on LinkedIn and use in-mail ads to hyper-target veterans and recent graduates with direct messaging.
CREATIVE EXAMPLES
Display
FOR INFORMATION
For more information, please contact Global Marketing & Brand Strategy Director Erin Weinzettel.