Cooper NewbySummary: We spent $15,000 on billboard ads to recruit hourly workers in Reno—and it failed. People don't job-hunt on billboards, attribution is nearly impossible, and candidates need job details upfront. Digital job boards capturing active intent outperform traditional marketing every time.
In 2018, while working at Bluecrew, we ran a $15,000 billboard campaign in Reno, Nevada to recruit hourly workers. Here's what went wrong—and what we learned.
People Don't Look for Jobs on Billboards
Job seekers rely on targeted job boards. Billboards are passive with no way for candidates to engage or explore further. When someone is ready to job hunt, they go to Indeed or Google—not the highway.
Attribution Is Hard
We added QR codes and text-to-apply numbers. The results? Almost no trackable applications through those channels. Most people simply searched the company name on Google instead, making it impossible to attribute conversions to the billboard spend.
Minimal Web Traffic Increase
We observed a small bump in traffic from the Reno area, but couldn't confidently attribute it to the billboard. It could have been organic fluctuation or spillover from other marketing efforts.
Difficult to Remember Website Details
Drivers couldn't reliably retain a URL seen in passing at 65 mph. This underscored the need for extremely memorable branding—but even that doesn't translate to job applications.
Job Seekers Want Details
Candidates need specifics—job type and wage—before committing to anything. In retrospect, we should have called out the types of jobs and the wage directly on the billboard. "Now Hiring" isn't enough.
Placement Matters
The billboard sat in a low-traffic area near a dispensary ad. Premium highway spots cost more but may deliver better results. Though even with perfect placement, the fundamental problems remain.
The Real Lesson
Traditional marketing underperforms for recruiting because people job-hunt only roughly every 8 months. You're paying to reach everyone, but only a tiny fraction are actively looking. Billboards only pay off when paired with broader brand awareness goals.
Digital job boards—where you capture active intent from people already searching—remain vastly superior for recruiting ROI. That's why we built Classet to focus on reaching candidates when they're actually looking.