Shaker wins a Stevie® Award for “A Journey Through the Eras Recruitment Marketing” brand activation

A behind-the-scenes look at how a purposeful, data-backed experiential strategy earns prestigious recognition at the 2026 American Business Awards^®.

At their core, branding and marketing are all about making people feel something. About the industry they serve, the work they do, and the future they’re helping to shape. That conviction is exactly what drove our award-winning activation, and it’s what the American Business Awards^® recognized when they named Shaker a Stevie^® Award winner in the Brand & Experiences category at the 24th Annual American Business Awards^®.

The Recognition

The American Business Awards®, widely known as “The Stevies,” are one of the most prestigious business award programs in the world, recognizing outstanding performance across organizations of all sizes. This year, Shaker earned Silver in the Brand & Experiences category for “A Journey Through the Eras of Recruitment Marketing,” an immersive experiential brand activation that debuted at RecFest USA 2025 and marked the opening chapter of our 75th anniversary celebration.

This win matters because of what the work represents: a strategy-first approach to experiential marketing that prioritizes human connection.

Where the idea came from

The concept behind the activation was rooted in a belief Shaker has held for decades: great branding is something you feel. As we prepared for our 75th anniversary celebration, we saw an opportunity at RecFest USA to create something that went beyond a traditional trade show booth. The goal was to invite talent leaders into a shared story: the story of recruitment marketing itself.

The team asked a central question: How do you honor 75 years of industry evolution in a way that feels alive, relevant, and worth talking about? The answer became The Eras of Recruitment Marketing, an immersive, decade-spanning installation told through color, sound, and shared imagination.

How we built this activation

Every design decision, from spatial layout to lighting cues to conversation prompts was made with strategic intent. The activation was structured around four decade-based eras of recruitment marketing, each brought to life with period-appropriate creative, allowing attendees to physically walk through the industry’s evolution from the 1950s to the future.

The four eras (1950–1975, 1975–2000, 2000–2025, The Future) showcased the workspace of a talent leader in each era. From a typewriter to a MacBook to VR headset, each desk captured tools, influences, and feeling of being a talent leader at time. An audio tour narrated by CEO Joe Shaker Jr. brought this legacy to life, connecting industry milestones to Shaker’s influence. Guests ended in “The Future,” where they contributed predictions for the industry to a digital time capsule.

PS: The time capsule will be opened later this year when we launch The Vision Report Vol. 3! Sign up for an advance copy here.

But the experience extended well beyond the main installation. Three distinct spaces were designed to surround and deepen the journey:

• The Podcast Zone: The event’s first fully equipped recording studio, The Podcast Zone was a live conversation hub where thought-provoking dialogue and industry insight took center stage.
• The Challenge Wall: An interactive prompt station that sparked bold thinking and built meaningful connection among attendees.
• The Shaker Green Room Lounge: A relaxed gathering space designed for the kind of authentic, relationship-driven conversations that defines our Shaker community—our people, our clients, our partners, and industry friends.

Each space was intentional. Together, they created an ecosystem of engagement, a reason to stay, connect, and reflect.

Why this recognition matters

This recognition affirms what we strive to bring every client and partner engagement: a strategy-first approach, a clear creative point of view, and an unwavering belief that the most powerful thing in branding and marketing is connection itself. The Stevie® Award validates everything that drives our work: intentional storytelling, rigorous strategy, and experiences built around real human insight. This is what creates work that the broader market recognizes as best-in-class.

It is also a signal about where recruitment marketing and talent acquisition are headed. As the industry grows more complex and competitive, the brands that succeed will be those that create genuine connection with candidates, with communities, and with each other. This activation, and the recognition it earned, is a proof point that we’re collectively building toward that future.

“This activation reflects the kind of agency we continue to build together: purpose-led, strategy-first, and deeply committed to the people and industry we serve.” — Joe Shaker Jr., President & CEO

What comes next

The Journey Through the Eras of Recruitment Marketing activation was just the beginning. It opened Shaker’s year-long 75th anniversary celebration, a tribute to the people, clients, partners, and ideas that have moved this industry forward across seven decades. That celebration continues throughout 2026.

For Shaker’s clients and partners, this recognition is a reminder of what’s possible when strategy, creativity, and a genuine commitment to people come together. Whether through branding, talent attraction, martech, or analytics, we bring that same level of intention and craft to everything it builds.

Seventy-five years in, that spirit still drives everything we build.

Watch the experience

Relive A Journey through the Eras in the highlights reel and explore the full photo gallery, then read the full story behind the activation to see how it came together.

Ready to bring this thinking to your talent brand? Let’s talk.