Willich (NRW) – This clip made many gardeners wild about a new job. I want to go to Willich!
Exploitation, bad mood, waiting for salary? Not so at GB Horticulture. At least that’s what the company from Willich promises with a video – and landed an internet hit! Because it’s designed in the style of the successful YouTube series “7 vs. Wild”, while being fun and professional.
Benjamin Balsam (42), Head of GB Horticulture, came up with the script for the very special call for applications
“I fight for you every minute,” says Jim. “I would just like to receive your application,” Mara pleads. “When is your application due?!” Julius yells. Add to that dramatic music, tears, sweat, gripping outdoor scenes, and a tangible survival atmosphere.
The boss himself had the idea: “We are also noticing the shortage of skilled workers. Attracting good people has become very difficult. We had six vacancies, mostly gardeners and landscapers,” says Benjamin Balsam (42). As a fan of 7 vs. Wild, he thought, “We can do something like that. Just converted to a call for applications.”
The original: In the reality game show “7 vs. Wild” seven participants with seven pieces of equipment have to survive seven days alone in the wilderness
He drafted a script, brought in a cameraman, then “my staff and I had a great day on the Rhine. Everyone was in the mood for it, they were fully into it. We laughed a lot and got even closer as a team.”
The success of the call was not long in coming: Influencers and stars shared the video, more than 300,000 clicks on YouTube, well over a million each on Instagram and TikTok – even US star David Hasselhoff now knows the Willicher business, rewrote his mega hit and sang “I’ve been looking for a gardener”.
Sometimes not a single application was received for months, now 60 applicants applied in one fell swoop. Balsam: “The first has just signed his contract. An experienced foreman that I would never have found otherwise. After 17 years, he actually changes jobs.”
