CTRL+ALT+WALK – an unique employer branding campaign signed by Grapefruit

In a market where finding the right candidates, as well as retaining existing ones, has become increasingly competitive and in an industry accustomed to emphasizing creativity, Grapefruit has put play and good humor at the forefront, for its newest employer branding campaign.

Thus, authenticity, courage and differentiation are no longer empty or overused words, but real and honest means of showing the spirit of the agency and the people who compose it. It all started in 2023, with a simple question: “Ok, gym, running… but how about we do an internal step competition, in Grapefruit?” It was a spontaneous impulse, without complicated rules and without the pressure of performance, just the desire to bring movement into the daily routine. An approach that evolved beautifully and grew organically.

This year, as they prepared for the third edition, the initial question evolved to: “What if we invite our partners and collaborators to walk with us?”, and “internal play” turned into a shared challenge. Therefore, if at first the objective was simple: more movement and creating a real team outside of daily tasks, after the partners were also invited, the energy exploded.

They responded enthusiastically, challenged their colleagues, shared pictures, jokes and steps, and walking became a daily routine for everyone. Natural, fun, without feeling like “another task” to check off. Like the name CTRL + ALT + WALK, which represents a little hack from the digital world, when your routine crashes, the exhortation is simple: press the magic combination and go for a walk.

“The first edition with partners went much better than we expected. We set up a custom landing page, each participant created an account and tracked their progress directly on the platform. Steps were monitored with already familiar devices and applications (phones, watches, Fitbit, Google Fit, Apple Health). Every day, participants uploaded a screenshot and that’s how the steps were added up, and the ranking was updated daily. For a dash of energy and creativity, we also created a special BINGO with challenges for teams to multiply the number of steps. And yes, we had a few teams that shouted BINGO! faster than we expected,” said Anca Teletin, COO Grapefruit.

The result? A mix of relaxation and friendly competition, with suspense in the rankings and lots of good cheer. So much so that at the end the participants directly asked when the next edition would be. Moreover, the campaign managed to combine the internal spirit of the agency, which emphasizes each person in the team (“people, not jobs”), with the passion for digital and software development.

A “digitalized” contest that brought together people eager to move but also strengthened ties with the agency’s partners and demonstrated that walking is healthy, relaxing and infinitely more fun when you do it as a team, with a touch of competition. Thus, unlike classic employer branding campaigns, with one-way posts and messages, CTRL+ALT+WALK proved that it is about real involvement. It wasn’t just words and statements, but walking – literally. Internal jokes were generated, friendly competition developed and a visible change in daily habits resulted.

“In addition, we managed to interact with our partners in a more relaxed way, without formalities, and discover that walking can be a very good excuse to connect with people. For the second edition, we want to raise the bar: more partners, more teams, more surprises. The objective remains simple: steps, smiles and good cheer. Moreover, we are thinking of adding a CSR twist, so that our steps transform not only into good energy for us, but also into good for the community,” added Anca Teletin, COO Grapefruit.

The winning team is made up of representatives of the Sinaps agency, who managed to collect almost a million steps.

About Grapefruit

In its 25 years of activity, the digital agency has worked with some of the largest companies in over 10 industries such as telecommunications, banking, automotive, pharmaceuticals and FMCG. Since collaborating with Connex in 2001, it has reached names like Philip Morris, Nestlé, Nestlé Infant, Dacia Renault, Garanti BBVA, IQOS, NAOS-Bioderma, BCR, E.ON, CEZ, ING, Noriel and even UNTOLD.

Grapefruit’s portfolio includes over 60 clients from various industries and has reached, in 25 years, over 500 completed projects in 9 countries, including Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Greece and Middle Eastern states.

For over 10 years, the main value by which the agency is run has been “people, not jobs”: the people behind the roles they have are observed, colleagues get to know each other beyond daily tasks and create connections that can go beyond the job. The culture is based on authenticity: they are natural, creative and sometimes crazy (in the best sense of the word). It is an agency that brings together people with the same values, who want to go the extra mile, leaving their own mark on each project or task to be completed.

After 2020, Grapefruit expanded its recruitment process throughout the country and now has employees in other cities (in addition to Iași and Bucharest, where there is a physical office), from where they work fully-remote: Arad, Cluj, Brașov, Timișoara. This allowed management to realize that a good team can be built remotely, that ideas, values, and principles can also be transmitted digitally.

Independently of this activity, the agency has contributed to the formation and development of two essential partnerships for the industry. The first – Digital Innovation Zone – is dedicated to digitalization efforts in the North-East region of Romania, and the second – ALL INDIE – aims to expand the range of services offered to clients.

Grapefruit is a co-founding member together with the “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași (project leader), the North-East Regional Development Agency, Atelierul de Idei, IMAGO-MOL Cluster, Atelierul de Idei, Strongbytes and Iceberg.

ALL INDIE is an alliance of independent agencies, which share extensive experience in digital media, branding and data analysis, but also authentic entrepreneurial spirit with 100% Romanian capital. Together, the 6 agencies have extensive experience in over 30 industries and set a high standard of excellence in the digital field.