Hartl: The Perfect Job

EUROPE

How to integrate strategy and creativity in B2B?

Client: Hartl
Markets: Europe

It was in 1965 when Ernst Hartl senior laid the cornerstone for the HARTL Group in Saalfelden/Austria. In the first few years, lumber shipments were made from the Salzburg area to southern Italy.
In 2015, Hartl Connect celebrates the 50th year in business and started working with Handsome Advertising on all marketing leveles: B2Clients, B2Partners, Employee Communications and B2Community.
In 2022, the company is one of the most respectable carriers in Europe working for global brands like Amazon.

The Perfect Job – A Fresh Approach to Recruitment Campaigns

At Handsome Advertising, we always approach our clients’ problems as doctors aiming to find solutions. Hartl Connect Austria faced a shortage of staff for their Timisoara, Romania office, where there was intense competition among multinationals to attract trained employees.

The Campaign

To address this challenge, we created “The Perfect Job” campaign, which was recognized and awarded by advertising professionals. The campaign aimed to transform Hartl Connect from a pragmatic Austrian company into a desirable brand for the city’s youth. Understanding that the Eastern European market is more emotionally driven than the German-Austrian spirit, we designed a campaign that asked young people what the perfect job meant to them. We integrated their responses into a marketing campaign centered around a film, followed by the implementation of their ideas within the company. For example, if a young person mentioned wanting hamburgers every Friday, Hartl created a program where a famous local chef prepared hamburgers for the entire team every Friday. We even fulfilled one young person’s request for a limousine ride to the interview, which became an actual practice for a period of three months. The campaign exceeded all expectations, making Hartl Connect one of the most sought-after employers in the region.

From Marketing Materials to Online and Software Development

Since 2015, Handsome Advertising has been responsible for creating all the marketing materials for Hartl Connect, receiving praise for our creativity and out-of-the-box ideas.
We also developed ERP and CRM platforms to streamline various processes within Hartl Connect, including automating customer requests, generating automatic quotations, and creating recruitment platforms.

Recruiting Partners Campaign

To meet the needs of its clients, Hartl Connect sometimes hires partners—smaller transport companies with 1 to 20-30 trucks—who are subcontracted by larger transport or forwarding companies like Hartl Connect.
Our challenge was to make Hartl Connect the number one choice for these partners. To achieve this, we conducted extensive research to identify the fears of small carriers, such as running out of loads, delayed payment, or feeling unimportant compared to larger companies taking advantage of them. We then created a series of videos addressing each fear. The success of the campaign was substantial, with the films being translated and delivered to other markets

"Do You Know Who I Am?"

Reaching European Markets and Clients Our task was to remove a layer between Hartl Connect and the end customer, as large customers in the transportation industry often work through logistics groups that act as intermediaries, reducing the commercial margin of the supplier.

To reach the decision-makers—transport managers at the companies Hartl Connect targeted—we developed a campaign across Europe. The campaign consisted of a main film, PR activities, online banners, social media promotions, and participation in industry events.
The success was immediate, and Hartl Connect expanded its portfolio of direct customers, including companies like Amazon.