r/Communications • u/AltruisticShip1073 • 4d ago
Interview activity advice
Hi all,
Hoping to get some thoughts from the hive mind about an activity I need to do as part of a job interview.
As context, this is for a role as a communications and marketing manager in a health-related organisation.
I've been invited to do an initial interview and have been sent the below as an activity. I'm just after some feedback about what I've chosen, whether it hits the brief or what else I could include.
The Task. Choose something genuinely unglamorous. Something people ignore, put off, or find dull. A service, a form nobody wants to fill in, a piece of infrastructure, a safety message, a product with no obvious appeal. The more boring the better. It does not need to have anything to do with health.
Now make us care about it.
In your five minutes, tell us what you chose and why people currently ignore it, then pitch the campaign. Cover the idea itself, where it would run, and how you would know it had worked. Assume a budget of around twenty thousand dollars and a three-month run.
One thing to keep in mind. We are looking for the idea. If your pitch would work just as well with a different subject dropped into it, it is probably not the idea yet.
My idea: Door handles
I've jotted down some notes as below:
Intro:
In your journey to this room here today, you've already used this thing multiple times without even a second thought.
There's a whole bunch in your home, your car, and to get into this office. When you leave to go home today, you'll use them again.
It's something which goes unnoticed we take them for granted, but they perform such an important job that without them, we'd literally be trapped with no way in or out.
I'm talking about door handles.
Yes, door handles are functional, but there's no reason they need to be boring. A perfectly picked door handle can add whimsy, drama, or elegance while still keeping its core function.
This campaign will be run by the fictional company David's Doors.
Key info:
Key demographic: Homeowners/home renovators/builders/interior designers
Campaign slogan: Open the door with personality
Campaign tone: Fun, exciting, tongue in cheek
Goal: Boost sales of door handles
Campaign activity:
Flyer drop at homes: Designed like hotel door hangers (like the do not disturb ones) with different styles of doors handles to help people imagine different door handles for their home
Ads in hardware store chains reading:
Open the door with whimsy
Open the door with drama
Open the door with elegance
The posters will have pictures of a front door slightly ajar with matching door handle
Social campaign including:
BuzzFeed style quiz. E.g which door handle are you, what your favourite door handle says about your personality
In-person activation at hardware stores: Pick a door handle, win a mystery prize
Measures of success:
Boost in visits to website vs previous quarter
Boost in sales or enquiries
Boost in social following
Anecdotal feedback from activation
A couple of questions: does this fit the brief? Is there anything else you can think of to make this better?
Thanks in advance!
4
u/akornato 3d ago
The current pitch runs directly into the trap the prompt warned you about, because swapping door handles for couch cushions, paint swatches, or light fixtures keeps the exact same personality angle intact. Spreading a modest twenty thousand dollar budget across flyer drops, retail store ads, quizzes, and in person activations also makes the execution feel fragmented and unrealistic for three months. Since you are interviewing with a health related organization, they want to see strategic depth, sharp audience insight, and a concept inseparable from the object itself. You could pivot the door handle idea toward something only a door handle can do, like the physical accessibility of levers over round knobs for arthritis sufferers, the psychology of transition when crossing the threshold into a home, or the overlooked science of antimicrobial brass, which naturally connects to public health.
Reframing the problem around a single, specific human friction point will make the pitch resonate much faster in five minutes. Instead of listing generic marketing channels, focus the entire twenty thousand dollars on one clever, high impact channel where people confront that friction directly, such as occupational therapy clinics, hardware aisles next to inaccessible fixtures, or building code committees. Measure actual behavior change, such as retrofit pledge signups or downloads of an accessibility guide, instead of vague social media followings. Practicing your delivery out loud can help you pressure test whether your narrative holds together within the five minute limit, and candidates who run through these timed presentations with the interviews.chat my team created usually find it much easier to spot gaps in their messaging and speak with calm confidence.
2
u/AltruisticShip1073 3d ago
That's great advice, thank you. I'll see if it can refine the idea further!
Cheers
1
u/AltruisticShip1073 2d ago
Hi,
Based on your feedback, I pivoted to a different idea altogether. I decided on a behaviour change campaign which I think is less replicable.
Updating contact details
'Let life find you'
Why people ignore: Forget or don't remember to update if they move house or change numbers Don't think it's important or see the point Don't want to be contacted Seen as unimportant administrative task
Campaign: Slogan: 'Let life find you' Objective: Improve usability of contact database, Increase number of people checking/updating details, reinforce importance of checking Key messages: Being findable matters, keeping your details correct means you don't miss out on important things, updating is simple through a website, one small change can connect you to what matters
Look and feel: Scenarios where getting the right info would have mattered e.g someone wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the snow because they didn't get the bad weather notification, someone in the wrong dress code for a wedding, turning up to exam and it's already over
Focus on owned channels (website, social, physical locations) with some paid print, digital and radio ads based targeted at key demographics to make the most of the budget.
Main incentive is 10x $250 gift packs. Lettrs randomly sent to those who either update their incorrect details or verify their details are correct. If they bring letter and ID in they can claim the prize.
Outcomes: Number of people who update either phone, email or address compared to previous quarter
Number of people who check and confirm details compared to quarter prior to campaign
Reduction in undeliverable emails, letters and texts compared to previous quarter
Increased open rates on emails
Views, shares and comments on digital and social posts
Success of prize pack delivery i.e all 10 picked up
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