CODEWORDS_

In New Zealand, for those between 18-24 years, the idea of a military career often jarred. They didn’t see a place for themselves in NZDF. It represented a loss of identity. A place where they wouldn’t belong. Reality is, NZDF can help them forge bonds like nowhere else. We needed to show that the connection our audience was seeking could be found there in spades.

CODEWORDS: unexpected words that unlock the deepest of mateships in NZDF. We showcased the strength of bonds in NZDF, by feeding pairs of mates a word only they would recognise live on camera – sparking real, emotional, funny, epic shared stories. The 15 CODEWORDS were then teased to our audience to discover their unexpected origins.

We stepped away from traditional recruitment advertising, designing for how our audience consumes content. We first teased our CODEWORDS. Bite-sized TikTok teasers got viewers tapping. Cryptic street posters got them scanning. Embracing dual-screening, scannable cinema and VOD spots were gamified to getting people scanning, fast. Tapping or scanning then led them straight to each full story on a bespoke mobi-first site that fed more stories, while letting us capture leads.

Wrapped in a social and digital-first campaign fit for how our audience consume content, CODEWORDS gave our audience an unfiltered insight into the depth of connection that life in NZDF could offer – and the extraordinary experiences that forged them.

Results:

·       Highest ever Tik Tok engagement for a government campaign: 1,300% above benchmark

·       9.11% CTR

·       Registrations: +66%

·       Web conversion rate: +99%

·       Average time on site for engaged viewers: 7.5mins