'What Ignites You' Used by Columbus for Minority Recruitment Strategy
COLUMBUS, OH - The Columbus Division of Fire today unveils the “What Ignites You,” marketing and education campaign, designed to bolster and transform recruitment efforts within the Division. The campaign has a focus on women and minorities.
The campaign is a series of advertisements that highlights various personal hobbies that demonstrate the passions of Columbus firefighters. It explores how firefighters are able to incorporate their passions into their daily lives while maintaining a professional career within the Columbus Division of Fire.
“We want a workforce that reflects the community we serve,” said Columbus Fire Chief Kevin O’Connor. “This is an exciting and innovative recruitment campaign that is an extension of the work we began last year.”
The campaign features a number of current Columbus firefighters, capturing their hobbies as well as their work as firefighters. The ads include among others, sculptor Allison Meade, a two-year veteran who specializes in metals and welding, and Lucius Sullivan, a five-year veteran and former collegiate basketball player who continues to play on the amateur level.
The “What Ignites You” campaign was created in-house and utilizes a fully integrated marketing mix of strategies, tactics and materials to reach the public.
“This is a new chapter for the Columbus Division of Fire,” O’Connor continued. “It aligns public outreach with recruitment in ways that we have never explored.”
The campaign strategy was a year in the making and was informed by using data compiled from recruitment and community relations programs.
“We began asking targeted questions to potential recruits as a way to help us better understand their perspectives about becoming firefighters,” said Battalion Chief Tracy Smith. “People wanted to know if they could pursue their other passions while being a firefighter. My answer was ‘yes’.”
The “What Ignites You” campaign uses a multitude of marketing approaches including direct contact, paid advertising and social media to reach potential candidates. The campaign includes a social media call to action requesting potential recruits and visitors to the website to share their personal passions by telling their stories and ideas using the hashtag, #WhatIgnitesYou.
The campaign broadens awareness of the rewarding career as a firefighter with the Columbus Division of Fire. The campaign will play a critical role in supporting the city’s goal of increasing women and minorities within the Columbus Division of Fire and underscoring the Division’s commitment to inclusion.
