The role of public relations in employer branding: An AIDA-based analysis of recruitment communication

In the present-day world, employer branding has gained a strategic importance with the increase in challenges for attracting competent personnel in an organization. In spite of that, there remains a gap in literature as there exists extensive literature on various strategies within human resources (HR) and public relations (PR) studies. The void is in understanding how PR strategies directly influence the attraction of applicants to a role. Therefore, this paper evaluates by incorporating recent surveys and industry reports (2019-2025) on jobseekers’ perception and analyzing recruitment campaigns, career portals of the top 3 most attractive employer brands. The AIDA (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) model shows the distinct PR strategies of each brand. This framework assesses how attention-grabbing, interest-generating and desire-building the messages are, which influence applicants’ decisions to apply for job roles in organizations. The analysis identifies patterns in which PR-driven campaigns enhance perceived attractiveness and influence application behavior. Practical guidance is offered by suggesting the integration of PR strategies with HR recruitment processes. The study demonstrates the value of PR in employer branding and contributes academically by bridging the gap between the literature domains of PR and HR.