People make petrofac

Problem → Approach → Outcome → Human Result

A woman wearing a purple blazer sitting on a black chair in an office setting with a large plant on her left and a beige wall behind her with the name 'Harini' in large white letters and the hashtag '#PeopleMakePetrofac' in the bottom right corner.
A woman with short dark hair, glasses, and a hair clip, smiling and wearing a cream-colored blazer over a white blouse, sitting in an office setting.
A woman with long red hair sitting on a blue chair, smiling. Behind her is a colorful, geometric wall pattern, and a green plant is on the left. Text over the image reads 'Tethna' and '#People Make Petrofac'.
A woman with long dark hair wearing a black Petrofac lanyard and black shirt, smiling slightly as she takes a selfie in an indoor setting.
A woman wearing a black hijab smiling and talking on a blue smartphone. She has a ring on her finger and is against a light background.
Vanity Fair magazine cover featuring a woman with long brown hair, glasses, and a white blazer, posing in front of a plain background.

Problem

Petrofac needed to stand out in an increasingly competitive global energy recruitment market. As the industry shifted and new contracts accelerated hiring needs, it became clear that a corporate message alone wouldn’t cut through. The business needed to show, not just say, what made it different: its people.

Approach

We built a low-budget, high-impact social video campaign that placed Petrofac’s people front and centre. Inspired by the storytelling style of Vanity Fair’s short-form content, the campaign embraced authenticity and brevity, 60-second, story-led portraits capturing the real humans powering the business.

Rather than polished corporate scripts, we focused on candid Q&As, natural b-roll, and visually striking thumbnails. The series launched across YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram, adapted to each platform, and backed by a simple but strategic paid push in key recruitment markets.

To scale impact, we tapped into our employee advocacy network, creating short cutdowns to personalise and amplify the content organically.

Outcome

  • 196,818 organic video views

  • 248,735 paid media video views

  • 6,963 click-throughs to petrofac.com/careers

  • 154% increase in careers web page views since campaign launch compared to the preceding six months

  • Won Silver in the 'Best use of Online Video' category, Digital Impact Awards 2023

  • Won 2x Bronze for ‘Best use of video on social media’ and ‘Best use of video from the energy, utilities and extractives sector’ categories, Lens Awards 2024

Human Result

People Make Petrofac wasn’t just a video series; it was a cultural signal. Employees felt seen and valued, and prospective talent saw Petrofac as a company where their story could matter.

By turning the spotlight inward, People Make Petrofac became more than a tagline. It became a movement.