Other than supply chain issues, one of the biggest challenges has been within the workforce – finding and keeping trades people like mechanics, drivers, tent installers, etc. As a prelude to The ARA Show 2024 keynote session, Tony Conant, ARA chief executive officer introduced the "Born for This" campaign featuring a video each for equipment and event rental. The videos are designed to raise awareness about the various careers within the industry.
Rental industry careers at-a-glance:
• $65,626 average position salary in rental 12,000 rental locations across
• North America 500,000 equipment and event rental jobs created annually
• 53.5% of all construction equipment is rented
The two videos follow people from childhood hobbies to honing those skills in the present day where they work in the rental industry. An online media and social media strategy featuring the Born for This videos will be executed throughout 2024, engaging the target audience and prospective workforce where they consume news, information and entertainment.
Born for Rental
“Whether you were literally born into the family business or were a kid who liked to set up tents and play with toy trucks, there is a place in this industry for you, and with this campaign, we really wanted to call that out,” says Conant.
In addition to the national campaign spots, ARA’s social media channels will feature ARA members sharing stories of the point in their lives when they realized they were born for rental. One of those members is ARA’s 62nd president, Jeff Crotto, CERP, president, All About Events, Jacksonville, Fla. Crotto said when he first started his rental career 20 years ago, he was new to the industry.
“For me, rental awareness should be something on top of all our minds. The more we share, volunteer and participate in these efforts, the stronger our industry will be,” he says.
The "Born for This" campaign is intended to increase awareness of jobs within the rental industry, emphasizing that rental careers offer financially rewarding opportunities, upward mobility and job stability as part of a $61.5 billion industry.
This isn't the first time the rental industry spent time in front of a camera. The ARA are addressing this by releasing a national campaign in hopes of attracting middle, high school, and college-aged kids to the industry to piggyback off of the documentary show “Jobs Of Tomorrow”, hosted by Kristin Marand. If you’re unfamiliar, the first 6 episodes are all about rental.
“Rental 101: The Untold Stories” (episode 1) dives into the industry by telling the stories from a handful of people within the rental community. The episode features Andrew Heesacker, president and CEO of Arvada Rent-Alls; Brittany Vruno, office manager of Crown Equipment Rental; Kim Kim, owner of Epic Event Rental; John Jeanguenat, president of RentalMax; Matt Flannery, CEO of United Rentals; Amica Cherry, director of talent acquisition programs of Sunbelt Rentals Inc.; and Alberto Pianelli, general manager of E&B Rentals.
- Episode 2, “The Construction Squad: Always Ready to Help”
- Episode 3, “Innovate, Create, Elevate: The Intersection of Technology and Rental Industry”
- Episode 4, “The Event Rental Squad: From Super Bowls to Eggrolls”
- Episode 5, “Sustainability: You Spin Me Round”
- Episode 6, “Why The Best Jobs Were the Best Kept Secrets and How the Word Gets Out”
Episodes can be found on TV as well as streaming platforms like YouTube, Tubi, and Amazon Prime.
You can find the episodes here.
