Mars, the leading Food, Petcare and Chocolate company, is trialling a novel way of attracting new graduate talent. The Mars 'Tweet Shop' will be visitingnine universities across the UK this month (February 2013) to encourage students to swap Tweets for Mars treats and information on its graduate recruitment programme.
Rather than vending on money, the Tweet Shop operates on Tweets. While standing infront of the on-campus machines, students following @marsgradsuk simply send their Tweet to @marsgradsuk with the hashtag #marstweetshop. The vending machine panel then displays a unique code which when entered releases a Mars product and information on the company's graduate scheme. This is the first time that Twitter has been used in this way in the UK.
It's luck of the draw whether the Tweet Shop dispenses a Mars bar, a Dolmio Express! Pasta Sauce, a Pedigree pouch or Wrigley’s gum, but all products will include information on Mars' Graduate scheme and how to apply for a role. The @marsgradsuk Twitter feed will also be active throughout this time, providing students with information on the graduate scheme across the business and retweeting the best student tweets.
Helen Baxter, Talent Development Manager at Mars said:
“We're extremely excited to showcase Mars as a place to work and share our industry leading brands in such a unique way. The Mars Tweet Shop, a UK first, will be popping-up on campuses up and down the UK throughout February and people can keep up-to-date on the tour and opportunities with Mars through the Mars Grad UK Facebook page and the @marsgradsuk Twitter feed."
In addition to giveaways, all Tweeters will be entered into a draw with the chance to win 'money can't buy items', such as tours of the world famous Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, chocolate makingsessions and one to one career engagement sessions.
Pioneered by social and digital media lab, RAAK, and designed by brand consultancy Tonic, this kind of machine has never been seen in the UK before, and it is the first time it has been used as part of a recruitment campaign anywhere in the world.
The Mars Graduate programme runs annually and attracts some of the best graduates from across the country. Graduates at Mars have the opportunity to work across the different arms of the business and in different programmes which are designed to teach the necessary skills required for the trade. Mars runs graduate programmes across six different areas of the business; Management Development, European Finance, Commercial, Engineering, R&D and Sales.
The tour kicked off at Durham University on 5th February 2013: