Monster Worldwide Inc. breaks a television commercial Dec. 26 for its flagship Monster.com careers site as part of a $120 million marketing push next year that revises its marketing message.
Titled “Today,” the 30-second spot debuts on cable Dec. 26, followed by a network debut Jan. 1 during the Rose Bowl. It is vital to a campaign by New York ad agency Deutsch Inc. that drops Monster's “Never settle” tagline for the more action-oriented “Today's the Day.”
“It's not a week that's heavily advertised, and we chose it because we believe people are thinking of their New Year's resolutions and thinking of how they can change their lives,” said Carole Johnson, senior vice president of marketing at Monster, Maynard, MA.
The “Today” spot shows everyday people preparing to start their day, with the knowledge that it is “their day.” One frame includes a young woman doing a handstand. A voiceover asks thought-provoking questions all beginning with, “Will today be the day…?”
A new animation of Monster mascot Trump accompanies the spot tagline.
The tagline itself is more optimistic, with a stronger call to action. “Today's the Day” especially urges job seekers not to procrastinate, but instead seize the moment. “Never settle” comes across as inwardly focused.
In keeping with tradition, Monster also will air a specially created 30-second commercial Feb. 1 during Super Bowl XXXVIII. The online service is expected to create a spot that maintains the punch of an earlier, 1999 execution called “When I grow up.”
Both spots from production company Epoch Films, Beverly Hills, CA, aim to cement Monster's status as the online recruitment leader. They also reach out to a wider audience of job seekers and employers with a message of goal making and aspirations.
The spots air on network and cable TV. In the media plan are ESPN, Comedy Central, TLC, USA, BET and VH1. The occasions include nationally televised events like the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and tournaments like the U.S. Open for tennis, as well as the PGA and the NCAA.
Online marketing will support TV. Banner ads will run on targeted sites, like weather.com, to drive more qualified traffic to Monster.com. They also will point to vertical communities like Monster Healthcare, MonsterTRAK for college and Monster Diversity and Inclusion.
“Weather.com really expanded our reach with low duplication,” Johnson said.
Add to that a combination of online promotions, increased affiliate marketing and search engine activity. Deutsch has embarked on an aggressive spree of buying keywords on leading search engines like Google and Overture. The focus is on geography and industry.
Finally, Monster's new role as the career content provider for Lycos.com, Wired.com and other sites within the Terra Lycos family is expected to boost visitor numbers.
Such targeted marketing will play off of Monster's position as the official online career management services sponsor for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.
Founded almost 10 years ago, Monster hosts more than 30 million resumes. It attracts on average 15 million unique visitors monthly. There is a slight dip in November and December due to the holidays, but traffic usually spikes in January.
For instance, Media Metrix reports unique visitor traffic to online job boards in January 2003 was 35.4 million versus 31.8 million in June, the start of summer.
More job seekers go online in January than any other month, Johnson said.
“That's because there's a seasonality,” she said. “Many companies post new jobs in January, and they're hiring at that time. There's definitely a rebirth that occurs, and people want to change their lives. Health club memberships increase, so does dieting and job searching.”
