In late 2022, Six Flags identified the urgent need to support hiring at 22 park locations. At the time, they had no reliable way to track what their recruitment budget was delivering in terms of clicks, applies, and hires, and they had low confidence they were spending their budget efficiently and effectively. This led to the search for full-funnel, strategic recruitment marketing technology and a partner to help close these gaps and drive more efficient, effective performance.
When Six Flags found Appcast, they partnered to develop an AI-powered, omni-channel marketing strategy that would allow them to utilize best-in-class technology and data to maximize candidate reach and meet their hiring needs
To reach active candidates immediately, Six Flags leveraged Appcast’s programmatic technology to optimize job ad placement across Appcast’s proprietary network of job sites. Six Flags also enabled a quick apply integration to ensure a frictionless apply process for potential candidates, increasing the likelihood that they would complete the application.
Next, Six Flags launched paid search campaigns (via Google SEM) to attract candidates, both active and passive, at the very beginning of their job search journey. Their Appcast team strategically selected key words and search terms specific to Six Flags’ open roles to maximize candidate engagement.
Six Flags also leveraged Appcast’s geofencing technology to tap into talent at local competitors. This allowed them to target potential candidates working at relevant businesses near park locations – e.g. restaurants, retail stores, etc.
Most significantly, Six Flags allocated spend into social channels including TikTok and Meta. While age demographic targeting is no longer possible on social platforms, Six Flags knew that they would reach their target candidate audience (high school and college-age adults) via TikTok. Appcast also conducted A/B testing and found that most candidates drop off if they’re asked to leave the app to apply, so Six Flags used a native apply form. To ensure user engagement, they developed short-form videos that appeared as organic TikTok content.
Six Flags’ primary goal with this omni-channel approach was increase qualified candidate volume for key roles including: Ride Ops, Food Service, Admissions, Security, and retail. To measure the success of their campaigns, they tracked metrics such as impressions, clicks, applies, cost-per-apply (CPA), conversion rate (CR), cost-per-lead (CPL) and lead form fills.
This omni-channel recruitment marketing approach, powered by Appcast’s marketing technology-enabled solutions, drove Six Flags to their most successful recruitment season yet, meeting hiring needs across park locations.
“In my 16 years at Six Flags Great America, we have never, by early summer, closed 95% of our requisitions”
Krissy Turner, Director of Human Resources,
Six Flags Great America
TikTok Campaigns
May 19 – October 31, 2023
Programmatic Campaigns
Campaign 1: From February – May 2023
Campaign 2: From June – August 2023
*53% decrease from Campaign 1
Google SEM Campaigns
February – May 2023
* For comparison, the Google CPC benchmark for hourly roles during this time was $2.51 and the CTR benchmark was 7.82%, making Six Flags’ performance significantly stronger and more cost-efficient.
