Antony Young, the CEO of Optimedia U.S., did a lengthy write-up in today’s AdAge.com about which job board had the better media strategy throughout 2008 and into 2009.
CareerBuilder earned four stars and and eked out a win over Monster’s three-and-a-half stars. Here’s why:
Young said that CareerBuilder bested Monster in online advertising, organic search, clever tactical promotion, and overall traffic comparisons. He cited the generally favorable reviews of their Super Bowl spot, along with a more adventurous and experimental approach to social media, as evidence that the site is more in tune with their audience. He also applauded CareerBuilder for their interesting and topical surveys and a renewed partnership with Facebook’s Engagement Ads.
I’ve also noticed CareerBuilder getting a ton of mileage from their partnership with CNN. One can’t go an hour while watching a CNN program without seeing a CareerBuilder jobs map or or a story about the recession that has some rep from the job board explaining how to find work.
Monster got the thumbs-up for their new career-mapping feature and colorful, well-branded Web site. He also demonstrated that they were clearly outperforming CareerBuilder in the paid search category, pointing to comScore numbers in the second half of 2008 that show Monster achieving 5.54 million clicks vs. CB’s 4.78 million. Monster’s partnerships with over 250 newspapers and 120 broadcast and online media channels have also significantly boosted its online and TV brand presence.
However, Monster got a big thumbs-down for its reluctance to dip into social media, especially noted after they supposedly demanded that YouTube pull several of their commercials.
Both sites received poor ratings for missing the chance to address the recession. Suggesting that people should quit their jobs when millions are jobless was an odd strategy to embrace and seemed to be lost on many.
Overall, here is Young’s final appraisal:
Despite a smaller budget, CareerBuilder has been able to strengthen its brand and drive traffic to its website. According to ComScore, CareerBuilder increased its lead over Monster in terms of traffic to its site for the better part of 2008. That was on the back of its Super Bowl strategy, a solid online-advertising effort, excellent organic search and clever tactical promotion. Monster made a triumphant return to the Super Bowl, had an impressive website relaunch and successfully employed paid search, showing some encouraging signs in early 2009 to challenge CareerBuilder’s leadership position in this space.
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