Get involved with Canadian Armed Forces recruitment

Recruitment Overview

As the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) continue to support Canada’s national and international interests, bolstering our recruitment is critical. Appealing to potential recruits has become harder due to increased competition for qualified candidates, misconceptions about the military environment, and changing workplace values. As a result, basic outreach efforts are no longer attracting enough new members.

This personnel generation challenge provides us with a unique opportunity to deliberately refocus and inspire Canadians to see themselves excelling and thriving within our ranks.

• Campaign Overview
• Campaign Material
• Q&A
• Social Media

New Advertising Campaign

Campaign Overview

The “This Is For You” campaign was developed to counter the traditional military advertisement and show audiences people they can relate to. The concept recognizes every person’s unique ability to make an impact and demonstrates to the audience that their innate strengths and qualities are transferable to the CAF.

“This Is For You” shows civilians that the military has a wide range of opportunities and each person can find a role that fits their needs and/or interests. The campaign aims to benefit both the military as a whole and the civilian recruits it reaches. We are strengthening our numbers to support military activity, while also empowering each individual who joins us with a stable career that provides new and practical skills, a sense of purpose, and future opportunities.

It was critical to showcase diverse backgrounds and interests to speak to audiences who may not recognize what the military can offer. By seeing roles outside of combat, audiences begin to understand that the CAF has a wide range of careers available that fit many different skill sets.

The campaign was filmed off base in British Columbia using actors. These decisions were made for several reasons:

• Working with actors ensured we had greater control over who was featured in the advertisements and reduced the strain on military resources.
• Filming off-base allowed us to better reflect our audiences’ personal lives. The off-base scenarios feature a wide range of activities that civilians find relatable, which increases the emotional connection they feel to these stories.
• Using off-base locations added greater flexibility in the scenarios depicted as there were fewer approvals and reviews during the filming process. By leveraging diverse scenarios, a wider range of the general public can see themselves and their values in the ads and in the CAF as a whole.
• Hiring actors allowed us to ensure scenarios felt as realistic as possible with greater emotional performances that would be difficult for those not professionally trained. This heightened emotion increases audience connection, which in turn increases the campaign’s overall impact.

The development of this campaign was grounded in research on the key demographic groups critical to bolstering recruitment numbers. Content is designed to reflect what these groups look for in a career and encourage their interest in the CAF.

In order to ensure that the ads resonated with our target audience (Canadians 18-34 years old), cross-country focus testing was conducted throughout the production process. These focus groups garnered mostly positive comments, which demonstrated that the key messages of the ads rang true with those groups of individuals we are aiming to attract.

Creative Material

CAF Testimonials

“The ads invoked a sense of pride in me. I believe the internal audience, our currently serving members, will stand a little taller after seeing the new campaign. Just like I did, they will probably think to themselves: This IS For ME.”
- Col Nickolas Roby, Commander CFRG

“The thing that struck me most was that this was the first time the CAF has created something that is for the prospect. An ad that doesn’t showcase us, the CAF, and what makes us great, but an ad that showcases civilians and what makes them great. As a CAF member, it’s reminded me of why I joined and makes me feel proud to be connected with so many amazing and talented people.”
- Sgt Shilo Adamson

 “The Awareness 2023 campaign ads are unlike their predecessors. The ads not only reflect our society in this day and age but also speak to the type of individuals we want in rank and file. Watching the clips, no longer do you get the sense that the CAF wants to ‘mould’ you or ‘change’ you into what ‘they’ want. Rather, the CAF wants you – for you, the diverse skillset and backgrounds, etc. This is an organization that celebrates traditions, culture, and diversity – an inclusive organization that welcomes change.”
- Sgt Usama Mehmood

Do You Have Feedback? Let Us Know!

Do you have any feedback about this campaign? If so, feel free to send it to ADM(PA)'s Advertising and Marketing team. Advertising-Publicite@forces.gc.ca

Your testimonial could be posted here as well!

Q&A Section

Help Unite Our Forces For This Recruitment Effort

As stated in the Canadian Armed Forces Ethos: Trusted to Serve doctrine, the CAF stands for inclusion, courage, loyalty, integrity, accountability, and above all else, excellence. We see our members display this every day. We believe in the message of this campaign that the skills, values, and interests you have as a civilian are transferrable and can lead to an amazing career in the CAF.

CAF members can refer to the following tools/references when engaging in recruitment activities:

• OP UNIFIED RECRUITER CANFORGEN 172/22
• Recruiting Aide-Mémoire