Jobstreet turns to mermaids and Monkey King to fix job matching

Employment marketplace Jobstreet by SEEK has launched a new Asia-wide brand campaign aimed at addressing what it calls the job search “relevancy gap”, shifting the focus from quantity of listings to quality of matches.

Rolled out across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, the campaign marks a regional push by SEEK to spotlight its AI-powered job matching capabilities.

Developed with Accenture Song Singapore, the work adapts Jobstreet’s global creative platform for Asia through locally resonant storytelling.

At the heart of the campaign is a character-led approach, featuring figures such as a mermaid and the Monkey King. These familiar cultural icons are used to illustrate how job seekers can find roles that better align with their skills, preferences and aspirations, rather than simply browsing through more options.

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The creative direction reflects a broader behavioural shift across the region. According to Jobstreet’s Workplace Happiness Index, job satisfaction levels vary significantly, with 82% of workers in Indonesia reporting happiness at work, compared to 56% in Singapore and 47% in Hong Kong. The campaign positions relevance, rather than volume, as the key driver of better job outcomes.

This shift is also reflected in platform data. Applications on Jobstreet rose 14.8%, while the average number of applications per job increased by 14% from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. The trend suggests that job seekers are increasingly “job hugging”, staying in their current roles while actively exploring better-fitting opportunities, a behaviour partly attributed to the “kiasu” (fear of losing) mindset prevalent in markets such as Singapore.

To address this, the platform is spotlighting its AI-powered search and match capabilities, which use signals such as skills, experience, preferences and user behaviour to surface more relevant opportunities. Features including personalised recommendations and the "Strong applicant" badge are designed to help users quickly identify roles where they are more likely to succeed.

Maryanne Tsiatsias, chief marketing officer APAC at SEEK, said the campaign reflects a deeper understanding of how job seekers approach career decisions. “When it comes to looking for a job, we know how important it is for people across Asia to find opportunities that are truly right for them. Everything we do is centred on delivering that,” she said.

“Relevancy is increasingly what matters most. Jobseekers don’t just want more options; they want the right ones. With this campaign, we’re making it clear that Jobstreet and Jobsdb are the best places to find opportunities that genuinely fit.”

Melissa Esiner, managing director at Accenture Song, added that the campaign was designed to reflect the emotional and cultural nuances of Asia’s job market. “Asia's job market is deeply human, shaped by family expectations, cultural ambition, and a search for purpose that goes beyond salary,” she said.

“Working closely with SEEK, we took a proven creative platform and reimagined it through an Asian lens, using iconic, character-led storytelling to make the idea of ‘the right fit’ feel personal and real.”

The campaign will run across multiple channels including outdoor, online video, radio, search, display, social media and Jobstreet-owned platforms. The films were directed by Suthon Petchsuwan and produced by MUMs Film.

Back in 2024, Jobstreet had used animated animals to convey the increasingly complex jungle of job seeking and hiring in a new region-wide brand campaign. Titled ‘Better Matches’, the campaign features a series of videos depicting a giraffe, lion and sloth working in mismatched jobs that do not align with their inherent traits which leads to unforeseen consequences.

Created in collaboration with Talon Creative (Naga DDB Tribal), one of the videos sees a sloth working as a lifeguard and ends up moving too slowly to save a drowning individual at a swimming pool.

The sloth then gets whisked away in a Jobstreet vehicle to its new job as a yoga instructor, drawing connections between animals not considered for their strengths and candidates who are not matched with the right enrollment that fits their level, strengths and pace.

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