Wisconsin is well known for its talented workforce and the strong work ethic of its people. Maintaining this competitive advantage requires us not only to retain the young people born and educated in our state, but also to attract individuals from other markets whose skills and interests align with Wisconsin’s career and lifestyle attributes. WEDC recently launched a talent attraction initiative aimed at millennials in Chicago, and will soon be expanding the reach of this campaign to include other metro areas throughout the Midwest. Another critical audience for WEDC’s talent marketing strategy is alumni of our colleges and universities—a group that is now being encouraged, through targeted social media ads, to pursue their passions in Wisconsin.
In addition to display advertisements running in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s alumni publications and web-based media that invite the school’s graduates to “come home” to all that Wisconsin offers, WEDC is running a series of “alumni snapshots” on Facebook and Instagram nationally. These social media ads link to videos that feature the perspectives of young people who have studied in Wisconsin and landed their dream jobs here, either right out of school or after leaving the state and deciding to return.
“WEDC’s alumni retention and attraction marketing will help ensure that Wisconsin’s talent pipeline remains strong,” said Rebecca Deschane, talent initiatives director for WEDC and the UW System. “The collaborative nature of this campaign is a testament to the statewide commitment to maintaining Wisconsin’s talented and reliable workforce.”
Advertisements in UW-Madison’s alumni publications encourage former Badgers to consider Wisconsin as their lifetime destination.
For example, Michele Raysich graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a master’s degree in architecture in 2011 and then moved to Chicago to realize her professional aspirations. However, it didn’t take long for Michele to realize she could make a greater impact professionally in Milwaukee, so she returned after only one year. Michele explains in her video that she was also drawn back to Milwaukee because of its lower cost of living, which translates to a better quality of life for her family.
Michele’s post and those of the other eight subjects featured in the campaign will link to an alumni page on InWisconsin.com, where visitors are invited to explore both career and lifestyle opportunities in the state. The page includes a job search and home search tools as well as a prompt to “share your story,” which will add further fuel for the campaign.
All types of higher education will be represented in this campaign—public and private colleges and universities as well as technical colleges—and the individuals featured in the snapshots represent a variety of professions and Wisconsin locations. WEDC will share the materials it develops and the components of this campaign with colleges and universities throughout the state so that they can build and share their own alumni snapshots.
“WEDC’s alumni retention and attraction marketing will help ensure that Wisconsin’s talent pipeline remains strong,” said Rebecca Deschane, talent initiatives director for WEDC and the UW System. “The collaborative nature of this campaign is a testament to the statewide commitment to maintaining Wisconsin’s talented and reliable workforce.”
