News Release

Fifth Third Bank Offers $1 Million in Job Search Training Scholarships to Help Recent College Graduates Land Jobs

New 'Brand of you' Integrated Campaign Gives Hope, Resources

5/11/2015

Cincinnati–More than half of recent college graduates do not have full-time jobs. This shocking statistic prompted The Curious Bank to ask "could a bank help recent graduates find jobs?" As a result, Fifth Third Bank is working with national reemployment company, NextJob, Inc., to help job seekers develop their personal brands and land employment that will put them on the path for long-term success.

Launching today, Fifth Third's new Brand of You integrated campaign invites recent graduates, many of whom fall into the millennial generation, to enter for one of 1,000 job coaching scholarships during the campaign period (May 11, 2015-July 20, 2015). Interested participants can enter by Tweeting an answer to the following statement: "Tell us why you deserve free one-on-one job search coaching" with both the #BrandOfYou and #53Enter hashtags. The campaign's website is 53.com/BrandOfYou.

"Brand of You is a natural extension of Fifth Third's commitment to be curious about new and different ways to improve people's lives," said Maria Veltre, senior vice president & chief marketing officer. "The statistics for millennial employment are compelling, if not a bit discouraging, for recent graduates and their parents. Their employment challenge is compounded further when you add in the pressures of student debt. This innovative campaign is focused on helping the next generation of the workforce."

Fifth Third Bank has worked with NextJob since 2012 to help unemployed consumers gain meaningful employment—an effort which earned Fifth Third the BAI-Finacle Global Innovation Award for Societal and Community Impact in 2014.

Tweet this news: Can a bank help graduates promote themselves and find jobs? @FifthThird answers with new campaign: 53.com/BrandOfYou. #BrandOfYou

Recent graduate job seekers who visit 53.com/BrandOfYou can access some of NextJob's comprehensive job search training tools to help them develop a personal brand and learn valuable job search techniques. They can access tools to create a standout resume with free templates and utilize the site's headshot creator with professional selfie tips from portrait photographer, Peter Hurley. Additionally, Fifth Third and NextJob are opening up full access to the Job Seeker's Toolkit to any one interested during the campaign period.

Developed by Fifth Third Bank and agency of record, Leo Burnett, the Brand of You campaign integrates television, radio, digital, public relations and social media. It features Gina, a real-life recent college graduate and current job seeker, to encourage other recent grads to apply for job coaching scholarships and demonstrate that anyone can gain the knowledge necessary to create and promote their own personal brand and find meaningful employment.

As part of Brand of You, Fifth Third will host a series of one-day Twitter events for recent graduates, Job Twitterviews and TwitterResumes. For Job Twitterviews, held on May 19 and June 23, Fifth Third will pose a single-question job interview on Twitter and challenge participants to answer with a 30-second video response. During TwitterResume events, job seekers will get to advertise their personal brands in a single Tweet. TwitterResume events will be held on June 2 and July 8. NextJob coaches will be providing feedback to Tweets from participants during the live events, and on all four event dates, Fifth Third will award 50 job coaching scholarships for the best responses.

"With this campaign, Fifth Third has once again attempted to find a solution to a very pressing real-life, real-world problem," said John Courtney, CEO of NextJob. "This is a wonderful use of our talented and dedicated career coaches who get the opportunity to make an immediate and lasting impact on the millennial generation by helping them find and start their careers."

The campaign operates from the online hub, 53.com/BrandOfYou, where the job search training comes to life and the best submissions from the Twitterviews and TwitterResumes will be featured. The campaign also utilizes seeded video and pre-roll as well as flash and rich media banners across high-profile websites, networks, and social media, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Jon Wyville, executive vice president and executive creative director, Leo Burnett, said, "It's inspiring to see the evolution of this program and Fifth Third's commitment to helping people. Recent graduates will be impressed at the length our teams have gone to help them find jobs. But that's who Fifth Third Bank is, a bank willing to invest in people to improve their lives."

About Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of March 31, 2015, the Company had $140 billion in assets and operated 15 affiliates with 1,303 full-service Banking Centers, including 101 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,637 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 22.8% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2015, had $308 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $27 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB." Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Member FDIC.

About Leo Burnett Company, Inc.:
Leo Burnett Worldwide believes in using creativity to drive dynamic business change for its clients. Through a HumanKind approach to marketing, the agency puts a brand's purpose at the center of communications to transform human behavior. Part of the Publicis Groupe, Leo Burnett Worldwide is one of the world's largest agency networks with 85 offices and more than 8,000 employees. The global agency works with some of the world's most valued brands including Coca-Cola, Fiat, Kellogg's, Kraft, McDonald's, Nintendo, P&G, Samsung and Tata among others. For the past six years, Leo Burnett has been ranked #1 in "New World Thinking" by The Gunn Report and was named an Agency to Watch on Advertising Age's 2015 A-List. In 2015, Leo Burnett was named "Network of the Year" at the International ANDY Awards and ADC Awards. To learn more about Leo Burnett Worldwide and its rich, 80-year history of creating iconic brands, visit our site, Facebook page and follow us via @leoburnett.

About NextJob:
Headquartered in Bend,Ore., NextJob is a nationwide outplacement firm focused on full employment in America. Centered on the Golden Rule, its mission is to provide creative reemployment solutions for employers, lenders, government and others to help job seekers land jobs and avoid the many impacts of unemployment. NextJob's service provides high quality, one-on-one job coaching and multimedia online learning that is highly effective, affordable and accountable. To learn more, visit www.nextjob.com.