Digital shorts

reed launches latest ad campaign
Leading job-board reed.co.uk has launched its latest ad campaign featuring its established ‘Love Mondays' theme.  The six-week campaign includes large-scale, cross-track advertising sites across the underground network and at key commuter stations throughout Greater London, the Home Counties and beyond.  In addition, an "inspirational" new digital campaign is also being launched alongside audio advertising on music-playing service Spotify.  Extensive online promotion is targeting graduates and ‘second jobbers' with a new approach to ‘Love Mondays' on social networking and lifestyle sites.  "We've been committed to promoting reed.co.uk through heavyweight advertising for nearly three years because it continues to deliver results," says head of marketing Mark Rhodes.  "With the latest burst, we're strengthening reed.co.uk's position as the UK's leading job-board, continuing to provide our clients with the most effective service, and ensuring reed.co.uk is number one in the consideration of every job-seeker."

LinkedIn appoints new MD, hiring solutions for Europe
LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, has appointed Ariel Eckstein as managing director, hiring solutions for Europe.  Working across the company's offices in London, Dublin and Amsterdam, he'll be responsible for increasing the visibility of LinkedIn's Talent Advantage suite for in-house recruitment teams and agencies across the continent, and for expanding the hiring solutions team in southern Europe.

80% of digital agencies set to grow
According to new research from marketing and design recruitment specialist Aquent, 80% of the UK's digital agencies plan to increase their headcount, with 45% also planning to boost salaries.

Another acquisition for 247recruit
Niche job-board network 247recruit has acquired Hotel-Jobs.co.uk from CSP.  This takes the company's portfolio to eighteen specialist jobsites within the travel, leisure and hospitality sectors.  MD Andrew Bird says "This is our third acquisition within the hospitality sector this year and we are delighted that our recently updated technical platform has allowed us to complete the redesign and integration of the site within just a few days of completing the deal.  The site is a great addition to our established hospitality job-boards, and it fits in really well with our recently-acquired specialist chef jobs site."

Finally... belatedly... ‘the year of mobile'?
The recent Future of Mobile Recruitment roundtable, co-hosted by Jobsite and Allthetopbananas.com, has concluded that 2010 could finally be the ‘year of mobile.'  With statistics suggesting that more time is now spent accessing social networking sites from mobiles than via the desktop, the convenience, privacy and immediacy of the medium suggest that it has a big part to play in job-hunting.  Smart phones and a plethora of apps have dragged it into the present, while technology is ready to propel it into the future.  In addition, the power of cloud computing will enable the further enhancement of handsets, allowing for extremely complex, processor-hungry computing and therefore providing a very powerful mobile experience.  In short, the panel concluded that now is the time to adopt and integrate mobile strategies into business models... because, in such a fast-moving market, tomorrow is likely to be too late.

Growth for JobMate
Multi-posting and applicant tracking technology provider JobMate reports "rapid growth" as more recruiters switch to its low-cost solutions.  The company is currently ranked at number two in the UK market.  Director Richard Clarke says "Previously, one of our primary competitors in this space pretty much had the market to themselves without any competition.  This has all changed now.  As a result we are working to become the UK's number-one multi-posting technology provider."

Connectedness ‘essential'
According to the latest Minimum Income Standard report from social research charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a home computer and internet connection are no longer regarded as luxuries but "essentials."  (The report reflects what the public sees as necessary to achieve a "socially acceptable standard of living," and as such differs from the government's official poverty line.  Its list of essentials also includes a fridge-freezer, DVD player and mobile phone, plus enough money to buy birthday presents and go on holiday for a week, although not necessarily abroad.  Interestingly, the minimum budget doesn't include a car, with public transport seen as sufficient.)  A computer and home internet access are now seen as vital for all working-age households, to enable people to "participate in society" and, in particular, access job opportunities.  All worth bearing in mind, with lower living standards in prospect!