1. Using Immersive Technology to
Increase Candidate Engagement
at Job Fairs
Global Talent Acquisition Team

2. Ripe for Innovation
The Job Fair Dilemma
The candidate experience at job fairs hasn’t changed
much in the last 20 years. Booths have gotten bigger,
with more creative use of space, but the concept is still
the same:
Students line up…talk to a company rep for 2-3
minutes…and walk off with a paper brochure and maybe
a give-away. If they’re lucky, they get an interview.
No excitement. Little engagement.

3. Looking Behind The Brands
Hershey’s Employment Brand Challenge
Candidates are typically excited by Hershey’s brands and
products, but there is often little knowledge of the
company or the people behind the big iconic brands such
as Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s, Twizzlers and Jolly Ranchers.
Since top tier students are also talking to companies who
have big, well-known brands, Hershey wanted to design a
solution that would engage students in a way that would
excite the age demographic AND inform them of the key
pillars of Hershey’s employee value proposition in an
innovative way. But…it had to be more than just “cool”.

4. A Creative Solution
Leveraging Immersive Technology
On January 3rd, 2014, with just 3 months until a major
hiring event, Hershey’s Talent Acquisition Team decided
to leverage an emerging technology to create the “wow
factor” while creating an intimate one-to-one experience.
The Task: Use immersive technology to create an
interactive experience that would engage college
students and tell the amazing story of Hershey’s founder,
culture, CSR activities and remarkable people.
To be effective, it had to be done in 4-5 minutes or less to
keep attention levels high.

5. Above is the sketch that resulted from a 20 minute ideation session that conceived the
process and design of an interactive, “augmented reality” style job fair booth experience.

6. From concept to completion in under 3 months, Hershey’s job fair booth featured
an augmented reality wall, an area to meet with candidates, a twitter feed, plenty
of free treats and some kiss-shaped street lights!

7. During the event, a flat screen with a Twitter integration streamed hashtags generated by
activities within the booth and at the hiring conference. #BringingGoodness

8. In partnership with Blippar, the booth featured an “Augmented Reality Wall” with
trigger images that bring Hershey’s employee value proposition to life.

9. To begin the interaction, candidates are handed an iPad and a set of noise-canceling
headphones and are given instructions on how to enable the experience.

10. Next, users scan “trigger images” located on the booth using the Blippar App to
activate the interactive media uniquely tied to each image.

11. Each trigger image activates an interactive experience related to one pillar of
Hershey’s Employee Value Proposition. Growth – Brands – Goodness - People

12. Candidates move along the wall, scanning each image with the iPad -- learning and
interacting with the Hershey brand along the way.

13. One pillar is Hershey’s “Bringing Goodness to the World” message. Candidates
watch a video about Hershey’s CSR efforts and can trigger a donation to CMN.

14. A second EVP pillar is Hershey’s growth and market leadership. Candidates view an
interactive map that tells an impressive story of company growth over time.

15. Another pillar is Hershey’s iconic brands. Candidates watch short commercial clips
from Hershey’s top 5 global brands. They can even vote on their favorite product!

16. The final stop on the experience is a call-to-action where candidates enter their
contact information and receive an invitation to interview with Hershey via
InterviewStream’s recorded video interview platform.

17. Mission Accomplished
• The immersive experience captured the
attention of candidates for over 5 minutes
focusing them solely on Hershey’s EVP.
• Hershey recruiters were also able to engage
students after the experience to answer
questions and assess their skills.
• Also, the booth created a large amount of
“buzz” at the event, positioning Hershey as an
innovative employer amongst their peers.

18. The data captured by the Blippar App allowed Hershey to see that candidates were
downloading the app after the event and interacting with the experience via a “take-away
flyer” that was designed for this exact purpose.
BONUS INSIGHT: “Blips” Continued After The Event

19. Want To Try It?
Download the App at www.Blippar.com
and scan the image below:

20. QUESTIONS?
James Colino, Sr Mgr Talent Acquisition
The Hershey Company | Global Talent Acquisition Team
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescolino
www.TheHersheyCompany.com/Careers