The REC will launch a major marketing campaign this year that is intended to “directly market to clients what being an REC member is all about”, according to the organisation’s chief executive, Marcia Roberts.

The campaign will highlight the benefits of using REC members to recruit for businesses and point up differences between members and non-members.

The campaign will involve several phases. Initially, employers will be surveyed “to see what they think of the industry now. We will then be embarking on our marketing campaign, and surveying them six to nine months later. Hopefully, we will see that the [initial] image has shifted”, Roberts told Recruiter in an exclusive interview.

Another aspect of the campaign will be to reach out to the members of professional bodies with which the REC has existing relationships. “We will use all of the various stakeholder contacts we have built up — such as the CBI, chartered institutes,” Roberts said. “We speak to them about coordinating employment policy, but we don’t speak to them about using REC members, which is bonkers.”

A similar campaign is underway at the REC’s US equivalent organisation, the American Staffing Association. Its aggressive industry marketing campaign underway uses the slogan “We work for you.”

[Read more about Marcia Roberts’ plans for the REC in the 10 January issue of Recruiter.]