November 3 2026, 9:58 am | BY Ricki Green | No Comments
Employment Hero, the global AI-powered employment platform, has launched a multi-market brand campaign, ‘Your Next Hire is Right Here Waiting’, turning Richard Marx’s iconic 1989 power ballad into an unexpected comedic solution for small business hiring headaches.
Created by Employment Hero’s in-house creative team, the Hero Collective, in partnership with production house Crater Global and Sure Studios, the campaign rolls out across film, digital audio, radio and contextual high-impact OOH.
Running across Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the campaign directly targets the traditional “post-and-pray” recruitment process. By spotlighting Employment Hero’s built-in talent ecosystem, the creative shows time-poor employers that they no longer need to spend weeks wading through generic CVs or juggling disconnected software. Instead, verified job seekers are already inside the same platform where more than 350,000 businesses manage their HR, payroll, benefits and hiring.
Says Tasman Page, Global Marketing Director, Employment Hero: “Finding the right people is consistently the hardest part of running a business, and owners already wear every hat without having to lose weeks navigating cumbersome job boards. We wanted to cut through category fatigue with an honest, playful reality check. Employment Hero is the only platform where talent is truly built-in, meaning your next hire is literally right here waiting inside the system you already use to run your team.”
The campaign’s hero film contrasts the daily chaos of running a business with deadpan 80s music video melodrama. As overwhelmed business owners struggle with unfilled roles, prospective hires suddenly appear, backlit, windswept, and passionately lip-syncing the power ballad down the lens before the platform verifies them and hires them on the spot.
The film closes with the return of Big Ears, Employment Hero’s purple rabbit mascot, revealing that the dramatic, music-video hair blow was simply him operating a practical leaf blower just off-screen.
Says Page: “Using Richard Marx’s power ballad provided the perfect emotional and comedic hook to land a major product differentiator. By playing the 80s sincerity completely straight in ultra-grounded settings, the creative reinforces an empowering message: employers don’t have to tackle the daily juggle alone. From shortlisting talent without even having to post an ad, to moving someone from first interview to their first pay run in a few clicks, the process can finally be seamless.”
The integrated campaign is running across Australia, New Zealand and Canada through mid-December, spanning an extensive channel mix of connected TV and BVOD, large-format out-of-home, commercial and sports radio, digital audio and paid social.
Play the radio spot:
Employment Hero
Global Marketing Director: Tasman Page
Global Head of Brand: Tenielle Stoltenkamp
Global Brand Lead: Sharon Ormes
Global Head of Creative & Design: Domenico De Rosa
Senior Creative: Andrew Cameron
Senior Creative: Angela Castles
Brand Design Lead: Hannah O’Mahony
Senior Creative Services Manager: Stephanie Balchin
Senior Designer: Lars Wannop
Senior Designer: Juliana Bridi
Senior Designer: Jessica Sneddon
Senior Art Director: Bernard Benny
Motion & Video Lead: Gerad Gray
Motion Designer: Angie Lozarus
Motion Designer: Dominique Nava
Senior Social Media Manager: Lara Munn
Global Social Media Manager: Samuel Sinnott
Social Video Creator: Sophie Chandler
Brand Lead, ANZ: Mariah Klay
Growth Marketing Lead (APAC): Sisi Chen
Brand Media Activation Manager: Ben Malfatti
GM, Talent: David Holland
Global Head of Marketing (Talent Marketplace): Sandra Salama
Global Head of Public Affairs and Communications: Lisa Dewar
Communications Manager, ANZ: Jessica Grattan
Production: Crater Global + Sure Studios
Director: Harrison Woodhead
Executive Producer: Steven Farrer
Partner & Head of Creative: Justin Solomons
Producer: Aborah Buick
DOP: Don Buppapirak ACS
1st AD: Stuart Beedie
1st AC: Sandy McLennan
Art / Wardrobe: Suzanne King
Sound Design: Smith & Western Sound
Colour Grade: Marcus Friedlander
Stills / Photography: Benito Martin
