How Deutsche Bahn Uses XING
to Target Engineers
The Results
- 400.000 emails
- 45% open rate
- 760 applications
„Through three email campaigns, we were able to generate approximately 760 applications from technical graduates. Targeting specific job profiles helped us efficiently reach relevant candidates—both those actively seeking new opportunities and passive talent within the XING network.“
Anna Seiwald
Human Resources Marketing Specialist, Northern Region
Deutsche Bahn AG/Group Management
The Challenge
Attracting highly qualified engineers is becoming increasingly challenging. Traditional recruiting channels generate reach but have limited ability to reach passive candidates and result in high wastage.
The goal was therefore to target qualified engineering professionals in a suitable professional environment while simultaneously improving the quality of applications.
Precise Targeting and an Integrated Media Mix
Working closely together, we developed a custom targeting segment based on fields of activity and job titles drawn from 21 million XING profiles, supplemented by DB-specific job titles. This enabled us to send over 400,000 targeted emails.
- Multi-stage XING email campaigns throughout the year
- A/B testing of subject lines for continuous optimization
- Content ads in editorial sections (+175,000 recipients) to provide in-depth content
- XING Ads to maintain a continuous presence between email campaign waves
By consolidating budgets and strategically integrating the various formats, we were able to implement a strategically planned communication strategy rather than isolated, one-off measures.
This helped build awareness, deepen interest, and strengthen brand recognition.
The extra €500 starting credit for all XING advertising formats.
XING Mailingsin den Branchen-Newslettern
XING Mailingsin den Branchen-Newslettern
XING Content Adsin the industry newsletters
Results
With an open rate of 45%, the email campaigns clearly exceeded the current XING benchmark (34–38%).
The CTR of 2.5% far exceeded the benchmark (0.35–0.55%). In total, the email campaigns directed over 14,000 potential candidates directly to the advertised job openings.
Particularly effective were the links to thematic job group landing pages in engineering, which enabled early content-based pre-qualification.
The accompanying Content Ad, placed within the editorial section of the XING industry newsletter, also exceeded the benchmark with its open rate and expanded the campaign’s total reach by an additional 175,000 recipients.
Conclusion & Outlook
The results of the campaign show that a consolidated budget strategy, a multi-stage rollout throughout the year, and the combined use of XING advertising formats have proven effective in recruiting. XING Mailings and XING Ads effectively complement Deutsche Bahn’s traditional active and passive sourcing efforts.
A key factor in this success was the collaborative partnership: Close coordination with XING, continuous optimization of the campaign activities, and data-driven analysis played a major role in successfully implementing the campaign and achieving a lasting impact on the target audience.
For Anna Seiwald, one thing is clear:
„After many successful years of working with XING, we will continue to use XING’s advertising formats in the future—as an integral part of our recruiting mix.“
An Overview of the Products Used
