[Video] Could This Be the First Really Great Machine Shop Meme?
A-1 Tool Corp. and Skill Scout have released a good example of a clever video tapping into common social media knowledge among millennials.
Manufacturers haven’t always been quick to adapt to social media trends, but that may be changing, especially as younger machinists and engineers begin making their presence felt as leaders now and in the future.
Of course, social media can be a direct platform for connecting with those potential employees. The video below, which was making the rounds on Twitter yesterday, is a great example of a well-produced and targeted recruitment campaign.
#Manufacturing: What People Think I do | @IndustryWeek @TMAInfo @Making_Chips @AMBA_molders pic.twitter.com/HbQvAKh9eN
— Skill Scout (@skillscout) June 22, 2016
I'd say they nailed it. The video above riffs on a pretty common social media meme that uses irony to compare the preconceptions people have of your job or expertise with “what I really do.”
Mold maker A-1 Tool Corp. has several videos on its website produced by Skill Scout, a workforce development media firm.
Whether or not this video constitutes the first machine shop meme, it’s a neat (and amusing) example of what some manufacturers are doing to make a meaningful connection with potential machinists among the younger demographic. Not only does it tap into millennials’ shared cultural capital of social media, but also that of form (taking advantage of a common meme) and of recognizable social issues (like the so-called Maker Movement, referred to in the ending slogan “make real things”).
Have you spotted any other manufacturing memes lately? Share them in the comments or on Twitter by tagging us @Techspex.
