How Arriva convinced job seekers that their next stop is a career in rail
In a tight labor market, finding new train operators and conductors is quite a challenge. Arriva wanted to show that a job with the railways is more than just a job: it’s the next step in your personal and professional journey. Using the creative tagline “Your Next Stop” and stories from real employees, we developed a campaign that was relatable, local, and forward-looking—and that resulted in a noticeable increase in applicants compared to previous years. How Arriva convinced job seekers that their next stop is a career on the railways.
The challenge
Arriva faced a clear challenge: how to recruit new train drivers and conductors in the northern Netherlands in a tight labor market? The question was how to get job seekers excited about a career in rail while also demonstrating that Arriva is an employer that values safety, teamwork, and pride.
The idea
For this campaign, we used the concept “Your Next Stop” as a central theme. This hook emphasizes that working at Arriva is more than just a job—it’s a step in your personal and professional journey. For job seekers, it means a career filled with stability, growth, and purpose. For travelers, it’s about connecting with people, places, and the region. For employees, it represents pride, teamwork, and growth within an employer that puts safety first. By cleverly weaving this concept into videos, articles, and ads, we made the campaign relatable, forward-looking, and unifying.
The approach
We developed a two-part employer branding campaign utilizing branded content, social media, and print. At the heart of the approach was telling authentic stories from real Arriva employees, in the language of the target audience. For a younger audience, we created lighthearted and relatable videos in collaboration with Sikkom and Luna Rose. For readers of Dagblad van het Noorden and the Leeuwarder Courant, we opted for more in-depth branded content, in which train operator Mark Dorenbos and steward and service & safety specialist Mark Giesing shared their personal stories. To achieve additional reach in the region and direct applicants to werkenbijarriva.nl, we utilized native advertising.
