It’s a clever campaign because it gives the impression of a largesse that can afford to be abused (let’s apply just for the tablet!). In reality, Red Gate are in complete control of how many Apple vouchers get given away, carefully screening applicants pre-interview. The iPad is just a ruse to get the best candidates into the building, where they witness the company first hand, and perhaps end up with the dilemma of an attractive job offer in their mitts …

Sandwiches spread

What impresses me more than the offer itself is how they have spread the word around. One Monday they bought Cambridge lunch by issuing an online voucher redeemable at eateries in the heart of business areas around the city. This carried the same feel of careless generosity as the iPad offer, with unlimited vouchers. And it was smart – there is only so much people can eat in one day, and the costs small compared to traditional advertising.

More importantly, the buzz that it created was palpable.

Whether people were grateful, suspicious, keen to game the system or just hungry, Red Gate’s target market (good developers already in jobs in Cambridge) ended up talking about the offer and the company. The idea spread virally. I got two free lunches and an ice-cream just from watching Twitter.

The news spread to the very centre of the community who needed to hear it.

And the news was not just information. It was an experience: in a free lunch, people were sampling something of the company’s culture of benefits, freedom and fun, right where they worked.

Nice job.

I love the way Red Gate do things. Last month I trained a load of Red Gate staff in how to write great blog posts, and more recently met their adroit Content Strategist Roger Hart (hurrah – there are now two of us in Cambridge). What strikes me about the company is that their values are carried by all of their members, even the new folk. That clever marketing was not just a strategic ruse: it was an extension of who they are and how they do things.

Here’s what you might have missed

Endis Solutions are recruiting developers too. We’re a much smaller company than Red Gate and can’t afford to buy you an iPad (besides, what do you need two for?). But that’s the crucial difference.

You can go and enjoy the culture of a larger organisation or you can get stuck in to creating the culture in a small one.

There are currently six of us at Endis Solutions. We build web sites for SMEs. We’re looking for a developer who has some flair and vision to come and make the company awesome.

Our culture so far involves finding genuinely good clients and building them genuinely useful web sites. We provide so much more than a site template, because we want our clients to succeed. We custom-build. We give business advice. We learn. We create stunning content and design. This means close collaboration between design, development and content, which you can do in a small company.

We’re smart – but it has to lead to something useful.

There are other things (like coffee, Spinal Tap and lunch at the Red Lion) but I hope you get the picture. We’re fun, we do good work, and we’re looking for a developer to come and be brilliant with us.

To create a big future like Red Gate’s – and beyond.

So here’s our bet: when you interview for the web developer role, we’ll offer you a job. If you’re good enough. No gimmicks, just a great role in a great company.

After all, you can’t eat an iPad.

ASP.NET Web Developer Job Description

Web Developer

.NET/SQL Developer

Apart from the obvious advantages of sharing an office with me, and the sheer amount of cake that passes through the building, I would just like to point out that we might be the smallest web sites and applications company to contain all of the following: Graphic Designer, Content Strategist, Business Consultant, Project Manager, as well as Developers.

We’re the whole package. Not a couple of designers cobbling the back end together and hoping that the clients come up with the content. Or a bedroom developer trying to solve marketing problems with bug fixes.

But a team interested and skilled in the whole process of helping small businesses get bigger through the web.

Right now, if we could code faster, we’d help even more.

Interested?

First off I’ll put up some portfolio pieces and then I’m keen to get the conversation going. Balanced with the actual content work I do I’ll be able to post 1-2 times per week, on content strategy, writing for the web, grammar and style, communication, and a bit of psychology (because we’re humans writing for humans after all).

I’m keen to bring some energy to the dialogue about writing for the web. It seems that at last people are starting to take content seriously. They are realising that they can’t just throw in some words at the end of a project, or expect the developers or designers to do it for them.

I want to raise the bar. Say that it’s not just important; it’s the most important thing of all.

I’ve got a few things to chip in about content strategy and lots to learn from others. So go ahead and write a comment. Or contact me directly. If you’re enjoying the posts why not subscribe and get them in your reader? Or in your inbox?

The twitterati can find me here.

And in a naive display of benevolence I’m offering a free sample of my work. All you’ve got to do is ask.

I hope you enjoy the blog and I look forward to the conversation.

Gabriel

PS. If you’re looking for the pink paper boat, erm, it was a metaphor.