Access Advertising has helped over 500 trucking companies recruit drivers since 2001. We have studied every aspect of the truck-driver recruiting process, starting with the construction of the ad, continuing with the selection of publications for the advertising run and concluding with the optimal strategies for landing driver-applicants once their attention has been gained. We have developed a winning advertising formula for successfully recruiting truck drivers. Application of this formula is what sets us apart from other recruiting agencies.

The classified help-wanted ad is a powerful tool for locating truck-driver applicants. The best ads are those that communicate the most important information in the fewest words. Long, conversational ads are not cost-effective because newspapers sell space, which they usually measure by the line or by the number of characters. Rather than seeking to make an ad conspicuous by its size amid a forest of driver ads, the recruiter should advertise where there is less competition and construct punchy, concise ads with attention-getting headers. Short phrases composed of key words make the ad information-dense while holding down its cost.

The key point of contact between company and applicant is the phone call by the applicant after reading the classified ad. The aim of the ad should not be to convince the applicant to accept a position; it should be to make the applicant call the number in the ad. The company website should enrich and supplement the content of the ad. Neither the ad nor the website can be a better salesman than the recruiter.

The word “newspaper” conjures up an image of a major-metropolitan daily newspaper with thousands of diverse subscribers from all walks of life. In fact, this image fits only about 250 U.S. newspapers. There are some 10,000 newspaper-type publications in North America, virtually all of which accept classified advertising. The major-metropolitan newspaper is rarely the best vehicle for truck-driver recruiting advertising and should almost never be the only one. Today, the major metros are fighting for survival in their current form. Their circulations are falling like raindrops, yet their ad rates have barely descended from the stratospheric heights that formerly made the classified section a leading profit center. Their editorial policies have alienated a huge chunk of the public. Their real value to advertisers – expressed by the ratio of their circulation to their advertising rates – has plummeted.

The best value in truck-driver recruiting advertising is found in small daily newspapers, community papers, shoppers and alternative papers. These comprise what Access Advertising calls the “secondary” papers, a term that befits their size but not their importance in the driver-recruiting process. These publications attract the perfect demographic mix of readers for truck-driver recruiting. They are distributed in places that truck drivers inhabit and patronize – truck stops, grocery stores and convenience stores in outlying, suburban and rural areas. Their editorial policies are attractive to drivers. Unlike major-metro papers, they have low ad rates and stable circulations that provide outstanding value to the advertiser.

Access Advertising keeps a database on newspaper publications, including current circulation and pricing information. We call the secondary papers to place ads every day and maintain strong working relationships with them. We know which papers pull in the best response and have the best rates. Since we place every ad personally, the driver-recruiter knows that the company’s ads will actually appear as ordered.

A truck-driver recruiter’s time is best spent talking to drivers rather than calling and speaking with newspaper advertising departments. By handling all details of the ad-placement process, we free up driver-recruiters to handle their most profitable and productive task – securing the employment of truck drivers. While they are speaking with drivers, our expert staff of ad placers is getting their ads placed in the proper section of the paper, verifying the accuracy of the ads and obtaining the best possible placement and presentation of the ad. If a need for follow-up arises, we handle it. Renewals, changes and cancellations can eat up a recruiter’s time, but we are old hands at dealing with them.

Our intimate knowledge of newspapers enables us to design an advertising run to the most exacting specifications. We can construct a run of publications within a particular radius of the target trucking terminal, city or region. We can develop a “ribbon run” of publications between the endpoints of a trucking route. We can saturate a city or metropolitan area with truck-driver recruiting advertising. We can find a way to locate drivers in remote locations of North America.

Access Advertising has observed truck-driver recruiting for years and knows its fine points. The key to securing commitments is personal contact between recruiter and applicant. This highlights the importance of including a phone number of the ad and manning the phones to receive calls. Truck-driver applicants demand the same level of personal service that all of us prefer when we call a business. We encourage trucking firms to provide this personal service by saving recruiters the time to spend with applicants.

Our mastery of each part of the truck-driver recruiting process has made Access Advertising the agency of choice for trucking firms throughout North America. Our absorption with the recruiting process has earned a loyal following and high renewal rate among our clients.

Illustrative of our understanding of truck-driver recruiting is the collection of essays on the subject by Access Advertising’s Chief Economist, Bradley J. Furnish. These essays first appeared in Access Advertising’s monthly newsletter, Driver Recruiter News, and the collection is available to Access Advertising’s current and prospective clients upon request.