CASE STUDY: CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS

Project: Recruit Electronic Design Engineers from Ireland.

Advertising Strategy: Cadence Design Systems [CDS] mounted a large recruitment drive in the form of a Roadshow. The Roadshow was taken to major UK cities with considerable success. Research had shown that Ireland offered a pool of Design Engineers and on the recommendation of their UK agency, Macmillan Davies Hodes[MDH] it was decided to take the Roadshow to Dublin.

Media Strategy: MDH asked GHM tap plan and buy their Irish campaign. Client was keen to replicate the UK media strategy as closely as possible which consisted mainly Engineering trade journals and local press. Having investigated the possibilities GHM advised that a combination of Irish Times, Irish Independent and Dublin radio would work best. Client was concerned that no Engineering title appeared on the schedule until it was pointed out that Ireland does not offer large circulation trade titles for the Engineering industry. Dominant space sizes were bought with the Irish Independent and Irish Times for two weeks prior to the Roadshow date. The copy was technical in detail specifying clearly the qualifications required. The radio activity consisted a three day campaign leading up to and including Roadshow day. Both Dublin stations FM104 and 98 FM were selected and a mainly Peak package was bought. The commercial was 30" in length and in contrast to the press copy was very general in nature. The major theme was highlighting the venue and date of the Roadshow.

The Roadshow format worked well in Ireland and it’s upbeat style appealed to Engineers. The recruitment day was also successful in attracting final year Engineering students from throughout Ireland who were looking to their career future.