Costa never has issues in finding a high quantity of candidates, but wanted to attract and retain better quality candidates. With a high level of turnover, a new employer brand needed to show the hard work, pace and multitasking the roles required alongside a People Promise that Costa employees across the business could champion. Research into its existing EVP through stores across the country showed that ‘loving your craft’ was central to the role, but that this felt too patronising and did not reflect the challenging side of the work.

Together with PinkSquid, Costa ran a series of focus groups, competitor case studies, leadership interviews and team interviews. This revealed that working for Costa can be challenging but rewarding, and that employees often had an emotional connection to and pride in their work. At the heart of the new brand was the idea that ‘We are what we craft’, that employees get out of working at Costa what they put in. ‘ This feels different to every person at Costa, so trait-based personas were created that reflected the four key motivations that could be found across the business.

Liquid’ headlines and blur effects gave an impression of movement, and realistic job profile videos took the ‘day in the life’ style to a new level. The creative was constantly tested and validated by Costa employees and employer brand playbooks were created to allow teams to create their own assets. The campaign was segmented into key regions meaning budgets could be flexible according to hiring needs. In-store banners were placed in 1,200 coffee shops, exposing the roles to around 264,000 people a day. Realistic Job Profile Videos encouraged high quality candidates to self-select for roles. There has been a significant decrease in voluntary barista turnover, an engagement rate on its website way above the industry benchmark, and an impressively high conversion rate into applications.