When the industry’s largest workforce campaign, Creators Wanted, was gearing up for its national, in-person mobile tour last year, no one expected a global pandemic to stop it in its tracks. But now, through the creative use of virtual tours and programs, the campaign is well on its way toward reaching its goals.
A recap: The Creators Wanted campaign is aiming to reduce the skills gap by 600,000 workers; increase by 25% the number of students enrolling in technical and vocational schools or reskilling programs; and double the positive perception of manufacturing careers. It set a target of reaching 15 million to 20 million students and emerging workers in a sustained way through its programming. But even though the in-person tour is still on hold, the virtual version is going full speed.
The latest: The Creators Wanted campaign has held five virtual events already this year, bringing the modern manufacturing story to the Gulf Coast region of Florida, South Carolina and Connecticut. It has another event coming up on May 13 with Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The numbers: “The Creators Wanted virtual events are averaging 4,392 total views per event,” said NAM Vice President of Brand Strategy Chrys Kefalas. “Our attendance average is 119%, meaning more people attend than register for our events. That number is far higher than the industry average of 35–45%. And on social media, we’re seeing videos average more than 130,000 views, while our posts reach almost 1 million per event.”
But there’s more: “With the launch of our ‘Making the Future’ episodes on what’s happening in modern manufacturing today, we’re delivering the type of on-demand stories that audiences today are seeking,” said Kefalas. “We’re meeting people where they are, which is especially important for correcting misperceptions of manufacturing and reaching people who don’t (yet) know they’d be perfect for it.”
The premiere episode: In the early days of the pandemic, retailers and consumers faced a shortage of an indispensable material: toilet paper. How did it happen, and how did manufacturers fix it? “On a Roll: How Manufacturers Solved the Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020,” the first of the “Making the Future” episodes, lays out the story. You can watch it at the link.
This piece first appeared in the National Association of Manufacturers’ morning newsletter for manufacturing executives, Input, on May 7, 2021.
