Creativity in recruitment has always enjoyed something of a mixed reputation. Until recently the recruitment sector was traditionally seen as the Cinderella of the advertising industry—for many creatives, at best a stepping stone to a proper career in consumer advertising. Yet there is plenty to suggest that this view is beginning to change significantly. As the recruitment communications market becomes more sophisticated, the opportunities for creative innovation multiply accordingly. Recruitment has, for example, been quicker to exploit the creative potential of the Internet than many other advertising sectors.

On the subject of how the multi-channel environment has affected the creative challenge, there was a strong consensus that today's broad range of media options provides the opportunity to create innovative work. Rice says that creative concepts and strategies need to be much more adaptable to work in different ways with different media, while Haskayne believes that the past would have involved a simple press campaign now offers a range of different elements to play with—and thus more opportunities to do something special. For Davies, the key is to think in the right channels, rather than only to take a concept and plonk it on a banner or a website.

One of the trends evident in recruitment communications today is the evolving relationship between press advertising and online content. Press ads are increasingly being used to create impact rather than to carry self-contained recruitment messages, with potential respondents being directed to the web for hard information about jobs, requirements and applications. An inevitable consequence of this new relationship is that the focus has shifted from selling specific jobs to marketing generic career opportunities-hence the continued rise of the employer brand.

How important is branding to today's recruiters? Very, say the creative professionals. Rice says that in sectors such as retail and hospitality, employers often differ little in terms of salaries, benefits and opportunities, not to mention a shortage of good candidates. In these circumstances, an employer's culture is the only true differentiator—which is why it is vital to get the brand message right. Dobinson stresses the value of branding to major clients in ensuring their recruitment messages are consistent and that they're getting the most from their investment.

It's important for any agency to be seen to be producing award-winning work, but stresses that the awards themselves need to be 'credible' They have an essential role in setting standards for the industry to aim for, by highlighting best practice and promoting debate about what constitutes good recruitment advertising and communication. But recruitment industry awards have tended to suffer because the judging has frequently been called into question—which is presumably why our creative professionals feel that creative peers would play a bigger role in the judging process. More media advertising options have more impact on the creative challenge.