Our challenge was to captivate the attention of a young audience who are usually glued to their mobile phones through traditional outdoor media.

We transformed traditional posters into an interactive experience that spoke directly to Australia’s youth. Everything from the way the CTA was placed front and centre to invite interaction, to the strategic placement of the posters was all carefully considered to drive them to discover the exciting world of a career in the Australian Defence Force.

For decades, Defence Force Recruiting have created posters to persuade people to join the Armed Forces. But as recruitment targets have been rising year-on-year, applications haven’t been hitting the mark—especially with the younger, social media focused generation.

So instead of combating the problem with the same old posters, a new contemporary solution was needed to keep up with the times.

We created a series of posters to engage a digital audience. The designs were kept elegant and simple to spark curiosity—no loud headline, no demanding call to action, just a beautifully crafted visual that hinted at what the code would unlock. Scanning the code revealed an augmented reality experience where people could get up close and personal with a range of exciting Defence Force vehicles.

We crafted a rugged Australian outback for our Army tank, an epic vapor trail against a dramatic sky for our Air Force jet, and a rippling ocean in the Sydney Harbour for our Navy Helicopter.

Our posters gave future recruits the virtual keys to the Defence Force’s most formidable vehicles. All they had to do was scan to unlock.

The goal of our campaign was to get a younger generation to scan a Snapcode. While older audiences ignore them, the younger generation grew up with them as part of their lives. They know exactly what to do when they see one. So we decided to make them the centrepiece of our creative.

Our posters went up in Defence Force recruitment centres and at career expo stalls. Career expos usually involve a whole bunch of wordy brochures. To cut through the noise and grab attention, our posters were printed in large format to be striking in a crowd of white-collar corporations. They were designed to put the possibility of a more exciting career on the radar for young job seekers.

The posters created significant increases for the client’s Snapchat engagement. With reach, views, plays and shares increasing week-on-week— successfully converting analogue executions into digital engagement: Total reach: +216.7%, Total views: +406.3%, Total plays: +243.1%, Total shares: +127.6%

Ensuring the Australian Defence Force continues to recruit bright, young Australians to pursue future careers in the ADF.