Recruiting for a sensitive audience

One of the most critical recruitments Child, Youth and Family do is for their caregivers. It is mission critical. It is vital that they attract and retain the right people to look after children that for a range of reasons need to be moved from their families.

CYF had struggled with trying to bring new carers on board and numbers had been in decline for some time, to the extent the situation had become serious. They committed to an above the line campaign that used predominantly press and direct channels. The recruitment funnel was also primed with response material for 0800  and internet enquiries.

My task was to create a campaign that caught attention, got people interested and prompted action; no mean feat. From a brand perspective we also had to use the campaign to shift attitudes about CYF, and the role caregiving had in society. The stigma attached to being a child in a foster home was immense.

The campaign I came up with focussed on the things that made the strongest impressions on young people; the small things. Very often, children who have been neglected or abused, have missed out on what other children take for granted; having parents cheer them on from the sidelines, going to the beach, having their own space. We created these stories on the back of real life, they weren’t hard to find.

The campaign wrote itself in a way. It certainly touched hearts. A few short weeks later CYF had more than enough potential caregivers on the way to being signed up to carry them over for the next two years.