Recruitment Marketing (Taylor’s Version): Turning a Taylor Swift Teaser into a Hiring Social Media Moment

What does Taylor Swift have to do with hiring? More than you’d think, especially when you swap out a lock with a glass of wine.

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If you somehow managed to avoid the internet these past few weeks, you might’ve missed the buzz: Taylor Swift announcing her 12th studio album. And in true Swiftian fashion, it started with a little mystery. In this case, a green, blurred image of her album cover with a single glittery orange lock.
Naturally, the internet did what it does best: go wild. Within hours, brands everywhere rolled out their own sparkly homages in an effort to ride the wave.
But here’s the question it got us thinking: when it comes to moments like these, where do employer brands fit in?

When Creative Sparks Fly

Listen, when the internet is collectively talking about Taylor Swift, you don’t want to be late to the party; so, when our client, Debbi Cicerello, Recruitment Marketing & Social Media Manager at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, reached out to Social Media Community Manager, Madeline Fawcett-Dubow, to see what was possible, we were all over it.

Maddie jumped in with a simple but brilliant twist that included a little sparkle, creativity, and of course, a glass of wine. To top things off, she paired the image with copy fit for any Swift and wine enthusiast—a nod to the song August. (And yes, this all went down in August. Sometimes the universe just hands you the copywriting assist.)

The end result was a post that felt timely, playful, and totally in sync with the cultural moment, without ever straying too far from the Southern Glazer’s Wine & Sprits brand.

The Post’s Reputation

Hopping on a trend isn’t anything new; plenty of consumer brands jumped on Taylor’s teaser. What made this moment stand out was the recruitment marketing and employer branding lens.

It’s not often that careers-focused content can move as quickly as consumer marketing. But here, the stars aligned: we had a client open to collaboration and quick action, a social media manager ready to create, and a cultural moment too perfect to ignore.

This led to a playful post that didn’t just ride the Swiftie wave; it reframed it. And the comments said it all:

In other words, it was proof that when employer brands show up in cultural conversations with speed and creativity, talent takes notice. But if that’s not enough, the numbers say it all too well (IYKYK).

This post made waves across every channel, drawing thousands of eyes and sparking conversations. LinkedIn alone saw nearly 20,000 impressions and almost two thousand engagements, while Facebook, Instagram, and X added even more reach and interaction.

Swift Takeaways

So, what can we take away from this glittery lock turned wine glass? A few things:

• Speed matters. Trends move fast, so having the right team and client partnership in place makes quick action possible.
• Employer branding can be fun! Career content doesn’t always need to be buttoned-up. Joining cultural moments shows personality and can attract attention from talent.
• Small changes go a long way. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Try reframing a trend in a way that makes sense for your brand.
• Collaboration is everything! This worked because the client and social team were on the same page and ready to jump.

In the words of Taylor herself, “August slipped away…” but this post left an impact. It showed that even in the fast-moving world of cultural trends, employer brands can keep pace and maybe even find their own era to define. ✨