You recognise the yellow, right? Not just any yellow. JCB yellow.
It’s one of the most recognisable brands in engineering. But that recognition wasn’t translating in their talent market.
That’s when they asked us to help them stand out, compete in a crowded market, and show their teams exactly what it means to be JCB.
The challenge
JCB’s buyers were being targeted by big brands in the same market. Think Aston Martin, Polestar, Jaguar Land Rover. The real challenge here wasn’t just awareness of what JCB offers, but perception.
To understand what made JCB truly different, we had to get under the hood of the role. Through leadership interviews, employee surveys, and in-person focus groups with buyers across the business, we discovered something interesting.
JCB buyers were operating at a different level.
More ownership, more responsibility, more influence. They worked across teams, made decisions that shaped machinery, and saw the impact of what they do first-hand.
The problem was that nobody was telling that story.
Our solution
Working with JCB, we built a campaign designed to standout and position JCB above the competition. With our research, we found their buyers develop the confidences and instinct that other employers are desperate for. Because they’re just naturally better.
Rather than relying on JCB’s famous machinery or iconic yellow branding to do the heavy lifting, we created something that spoke directly to buyers and help them see what makes them, and JCB, exceptional.
Using imagery of animals, we connected the natural predatory instinct with the skills JCB buyers develop every day. In an industry known for playing it safe, the campaign broke the pattern. To bring it all to life, we developed a targeted media strategy, combining programmatic social, mobile marketing, Google Ads, and specialist industry channels. Every touchpoint was designed to move audiences from curiosity to consideration to application, with tracking built in.
The results
We’ve already seen incredible results:
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456k
impressions across all channels
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7k
clicks
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182
applications
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45k
cost avoidance and counting
The results justified their leap of faith and proved that when you talk about what makes our people exceptional, who are better by nature, our target audience will pay attention.
The campaign also resonated far beyond recruitment. Its success gained significant interest across the business, including a request for it and its results to be shared with Lord Bamford himself. That was the ultimate endorsement, and proof that this campaign was both fresh and true to the JCB brand.