• by Tameka Kee , August 2, 2007

Monster.com has launched "Job Sign," an online viral campaign designed to bring the Monster brand front-of-mind with job seekers, Jungian psychology buffs, and anyone who's had a curious workplace experience. Portland, ME-based VIA is the marketing and communications agency behind the effort.

The campaign provides a tongue-in-cheek way for users to determine their workplace personality--or "Job Sign"--and how it impacts their interactions with others in the office hierarchy.

The rich media site features ambient workplace noise, such as keyboard clicks and slivers of phone conversations, and Flash-based sequences posing questions such as "Which t-shirt would you wear under your work clothes?"--all leading up to a classification as one of nine archetypes that include Glory Hound, Rebel of the Roundtable, and even the dreaded Corporate Cockroach.

Users can upload their own photos for display on a tarot-like card in the site's gallery, and check out the Job Signs of others in their industry or even their company. VIA partnered with Brooklyn, NY-based Domani Studios for the Web site development and functionality.

The nine Job Signs are loosely based on the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator, an often-cited questionnaire stemming from Carl Jung's psychological theories. VIA's creative team developed the idea after initially brainstorming with Monster about a work-based horoscope email campaign and then deciding that the effort needed to involve more user participation.

"[Campaigns] that have been most successful in the viral space have either been grossly entertaining, or allowed the user to interact with them," said Greg Smith, VIA's chief creative officer. "We wanted to create a deeper, more gratifying experience for the user that they could associate with the Monster brand." Smith said that like many of VIA's clients, Monster sought to leverage a viral campaign as a way to create excitement "relevant to the specific problem that they solve."

"With Job Sign, we wanted to create something that felt in line with people at work," said Smith. "It's a campaign that helps Monster ask: 'Where are you in your work life--and how do we help you get into or out of that?'"

He added that advertisers are increasingly seeking out these types of efforts as a way to get a creative idea to the public without having to go through focus groups or spend a lot of media dollars.

Monster competitor Careerbuilder.com propelled itself into the category-leading position last year with the wildly popular and hugely viral Monkeymail campaign in which consumers could choose different email personalities to send text and voice messages.