SmarTone turns to IG reels to recruit Gen Z interns

SmarTone is inviting tertiary students across Hong Kong to compete for a full-time summer internship in 2027 by creating a single Instagram Reel.

Built around the idea that "one Reel outshines 100 CVs", the campaign asks Hong Kong tertiary students to create a reel answering one brief: "How would you get Gen Z to choose SmarTone?" Entries should come from a Gen Z perspective and offer fresh, creative ideas. Three standout participants will join SmarTone as full-time summer interns in 2027 and put their ideas to work in a real business setting.

While a traditional CV rarely captures the full range of a student's creativity, commercial sense and understanding of the market, the "InternSIM: Tertiary students grab your SIM. Get career-ready" campaign uses Reels, a format Gen Z knows well, as a stage for participants to present their ideas and potential in their own way. 

Judges will assess entries on how well the concept fits the brief, the commercial thinking and strategic insight behind it, and how feasible it would be to carry out. Students are encouraged to think as consumers of their own generation and turn what they see in the market into ideas with real commercial value.

The three winners will join SmarTone as full-time interns in summer 2027, getting involved in real work and projects and gaining hands-on experience. Those who successfully complete the internship will also receive an internship certificate.

Through "InternSIM", SmarTone seeks to find promising tertiary students and give them a platform to show their talent and test their ideas in practice. The campaign also gives the company a first-hand Gen Z view of what the next generation of consumers needs and where the market is heading.

Registration and submissions for InternSIM are open from 21 October to 20 November. To take part, students from designated tertiary institutions can register for a free SIM to join the Gen SmarT AI experience plan, or sign up for a SmarTone Gen SmarT AI plan or be an existing customer. They then upload their reel to Instagram, tag SmarTone's Instagram page and add the hashtag #SMTInternSIM.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to SmarTone for more information.

SmarTone’s social-first recruitment strategy mirrors broader shifts across Hong Kong's corporate landscape to reimagine talent acquisition. Similar creative approaches have previously made waves in the market, such as HSBC's 2023 “Knock Knock” campaign, which leveraged interactive physical and social executions to break industry stereotypes and attract frontline banking talent.

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