The FBI is using one of its own to attract new agents. Special Agent Jericka Robinson is the larger-than-life star of the FBI’s latest billboard campaign trying to recruit more women and minorities.
“We are desperately trying to make sure the FBI is reflective of the society we serve,” said Gwen Hubbard, acting chief of recruiting for the FBI. “We still have difficulty recruiting minorities and women.”
Women make up 18 percent of the FBI’s nearly 11,900 special agents. About 13.5 percent are minorities.
The billboard, created by Bernard Hodes Group, features Ms. Robinson as well as her job titles: mother, computer engineer and FBI special agent. The ad directs potential applicants to FBIjobs.com.
Three billboards are in the Baltimore and Washington area. Another will be located on the Capital Beltway near Silver Spring next month, Ms. Hubbard said.
The FBI plans to hire 1,200 agents this fiscal year, ending Sept. 30.
In addition, the bureau will hire 1,500 to 2,000 professional support personnel, such as intelligence analysts, investigative specialists and police officers.
Ms. Hubbard said the bureau is looking for special-agent recruits with critical skills in areas such as computer science, engineering, law enforcement and foreign languages.
The FBI gets about 35,000 applications a year. Last year, 22,000 contended having one or more of the required critical skills. The bureau hired 829.
Last fiscal year, the FBI spent about $1.5 million on advertising.
Depending on the budget this year, which has not been determined, the FBI plans to expand the billboard campaign to major markets such as Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Windy ad
Yellow Book USA is trying to blow away its competition.
The phone directory company debuted its fifth TV spot last week as part of a strategic campaign to reinforce its brand identity.
The 30-second spot, created by Baltimore’s Trahan, Burden & Charles, features the Yellow Book and a generic phone company directory on a table in front of a wind machine at a “phone company secret test site.”
Two scientists start the machine and the generic directory quickly blows away, while the Yellow Book remains firmly planted.
“I didn’t realize the Yellow Book had so much in it,” one of the scientists says before the other scientist is blown away by the machine.
“People use a Yellow Pages directory virtually every day, but historically consumers have paid little or no attention to who publishes it,” said Allan Charles, TBC’s chief creative officer.
“Our goals are to set the Yellow Book apart from other directory providers.”
TBC has worked with Yellow Book, which has a circulation of about 71 million, since January 2002.
The ad, scheduled to run until April, is airing on national cable networks such as CNN, ESPN and TLC.
The multimillion-dollar campaign also includes billboards in major markets such as New York, Washington and Los Angeles.
• Donna De Marco can be reached at 202/636-4884. Advertising & Marketing runs every other Monday.
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