HOSPITALITY RISING - IT BEGAN WITH A TWEET...

When our friend and hospitality marketing legend Mark McCulloch saw the recruitment problems facing the hospitality sector, he saw an opportunity to tackle the challenges in a new way.

What if the hospitality sector acted as one to challenge outdated perceptions of the sector and inspired the next generation of workers with a wow-factor brand marketing campaign. After his initial tweet sparked discussion and debate in the industry, Mark called us up with the idea and we had no hesitation in offering pro bono work to help get the idea off the ground. Very (and we mean very!) quickly Hospitality Rising was born and a grass-roots movement had begun.

We liked the collective, optimistic feel of ‘Hospitality Rising’ as a name and worked on creating all the fundraising assets that would make the idea a reality, as well as working with Mark on strategy, copy and a variety of ‘all-hands-to-the-pump’ activities that this grass roots effort required. Once Mark got advertising body The IPA on board, things really started to motor leading to the team at Forever Beta delivering the sensational ‘Rise Fast Work Young’ campaign creative and Antler Social guiding the crucial TikTok strategy, with Paul supporting Mark as part of Hospitality Rising’s advisory board.

Location

United Kingdom

Skills

Copywriting, Design & Branding, Projects, Web & Digital

Under Mark’s leadership, and inspired by the vision of creating a world class marketing campaign that will bring new talent to the sector, Hospitality Rising attracted over 300 hospitality businesses in its first year, including Hilton Hotels, Soho House, Pizza Pilgrims, Pret A Manger and Whitbread.

Forever Beta’s eye-popping ‘Rise Fast Work Young’ creative has been seen at high profile ad locations around the country and the showstopping TikTok content curated and overseen by Antler has been a revelation too. It’s been a fun ride to be a part of!

With UKHospitality, The British Beer & Pub Association and The British Institute of Innkeepers providing industry trade body backing, the campaign also earned the support of a number of celebrity chefs, including Tom Kerridge, Angela Hartnett OBE and Raymond Blanc OBE.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

As Hospitality Rising celebrated its official 1st birthday, the end of year stats showed just how effective the campaign has been. 17 million impressions on TikTok, over 250 thousand job applications started and, crucially, 1 in 3 young people now open to considering a job in the sector (from 1 in 5 previously).