• by Tanya Gazdik , March 19, 2017

Kimberly-Clark connected Millennials to the U by Kotex brand with the “Power of the Period” campaign. Now K-C is applying the engagement strategies honed on its consumer brands to help the company attract and recruit top young talent. 

The Original Thinkers social media campaign is designed to demonstrate that the 145-year-old CPG company is a place for Millennials who want to make their mark and push the boundaries of creative thinking. At the core of the program is the Original Thinkers Quiz, a fast BuzzFeed-style quiz that helps job seekers discover their original thinking styles, and how to apply this knowledge for career success.

Since the program was launched in the fall, Kimberly-Clark has seen increased engagement and click-throughs to its job listings. Over 65,000 people have visited the website and 32,000 people have taken the Original Thinkers Quiz, and 24% percent of the quiz takers have gone on to explore career opportunities at the company.

Kimberly-Clark’s North American consumer products business, based in Neenah, Wisc., competes for top Millennial talent against technology giants and startups as well as other consumer goods companies from New York to Silicon Valley, says Frans Mahieu, global marketing director, people strategy, Kimberly-Clark.

“Over 50% of our new hires are Millennials, who now represent the largest slice of the labor market,” he tells Marketing Daily. 

To attract the best talent in a tightening job market, Kimberly-Clark must demonstrate it offers a unique environment that enables professionals to pursue challenging and rewarding careers and make a difference working with world-class, global brands, he says.

“We know top Millennial professionals are seeking career opportunities in which their unique voices and original ideas are valued and accepted,” Mahieu says. “They don’t want to be 'sold' on a career or a company. Instead, they value honest and direct language that readily expresses their ideas and feelings. Our message of 'Welcome Original Thinkers' resonates very well with the Millennial audience.”

Heineken with their "Go Places" video and quiz is probably the only consumer goods company that is doing something similar, entertaining Millennials about jobs instead of doing the traditional hard sell, he says. 

“We respect what Heineken has done and have actually met and compared notes,” he says. “We expect more companies to follow the example that Kimberly-Clark and Heineken have set.”

K-C specifically designed the “Original Thinkers” program to engage Millennials and their mindset. Millennials appreciate learning about themselves and enjoy participating in and sharing social media content and quizzes, he says.

“We felt a pop quiz like you see on BuzzFeed, which Millennials are used to, was the way to go,” Mahieu says. “The language, questions and even the visuals with the emojis connect with Millennials. The core idea behind the Original Thinkers quiz is that instead of telling Millennials we value diverse thinking styles, we wanted them to experience Original Thinking and make it more meaningful to them. Why bore candidates when we can make it interesting? Many of our more experienced and executive candidates have taken the quiz as well and while many are not Millennials, they love the quiz. The appeal of this campaign seems universal.”