Sepp, what are youdoing?

For years, the hospitality industry has been struggling with difficult working conditions. Weekend work, high performance pressure and little predictability make it difficult to attract and retain skilled workers in the long term. The pandemic exacerbated the situation: many people turned their backs on the industry.

When Sepp Schellhorn approached Digiknall in 2021, one specific question was therefore on the table: How can hospitality be made more attractive again through social media? Traditional recruitment alone would not be enough. It needed an approach that generates attention, builds trust and makes the person behind the businesses visible.

The goal was clear: attract new employees via social media while building a personal brand that reaches people regularly. To achieve this, Sepp was not simply meant to talk about his businesses or vacancies. The content also had to be relevant when nobody was currently looking for a job.

The strategic idea was a recognisable short-video format that combines education and entertainment. After all, people do not follow social media channels because a brand wants something from them. They stay when the content enriches their everyday lives, entertains them or offers them practical help.

This led to “Sepp, what are you doing?”, a daily Reels machine centred on recipes, kitchen hacks and insights into day-to-day life in hospitality. Sepp became the host of the format and made work in hospitality visible without packaging it in traditional recruitment messaging.

The format suited the platform logic of the time: vertical short videos, regular publishing and content that can be shared across several channels. This turned employer branding into an ongoing entertainment format with its own community.

The campaign focused on consistent, organic content production. The format stayed close to Sepp, the kitchen and everyday life in the hospitality industry.

Daily short videos: With more than 1.000 episodes produced, the format became an ongoing social media show.

Education and entertainment: Recipes, kitchen hacks and insights into everyday hospitality informed and entertained the community.

Cross-platform distribution: The content was used on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Organic growth: Reach was generated without an advertising budget.

Direct community contacts: Email, Instagram Broadcast and WhatsApp supplemented public reach with direct communication channels.

Connecting person and brand: Sepp took centre stage as a recognisable host, making his work, his businesses and the hospitality industry personally tangible.