Facing the tightest New Zealand employment market in years, the Department of Corrections and Stanley St set to work on a high-profile, multi-media recruitment campaign.
Recognising the public understanding of the Corrections Officer role has been superficial at best, the campaign messaging, developed by Stanley Street, needed to be authentic, confronting and compassionate.
Stanley St employed advertising techniques to develop a creative campaign that would rapidly shift perceptions, demonstrating aspects of the important role Corrections Officers play – keeping New Zealand safe, making a difference within the community, improving outcomes for those in Corrections management, and their whānau.
The campaign centres around three powerful and nuanced stories, bringing to life the three core ideas – Community, Pride and Rehabilitation. Directed by Robin Walters for Film 360, each story is unapologetically emotive, informed by the real-world experience of the cast, Corrections Officers and the people they work with.
The 45” emotive stories are followed in the same commercial break by 15” harder hitting spots that feature the characters from the earlier films breaking the ‘fourth wall’ and making a direct invitation for the audience to join the Department of Corrections team.
“Right from the first day of auditions it was clear we were working with powerful thematic material – it’s rare that a script read-through gets those taking part to reach for the tissues,” says Brad Collett, Executive Creative Director.
The fully integrated campaign launched with the first story, “What Do You Do?”, followed by “Your Dad’s A Good Man” and accompanying recruitment 15’’ spots. Offering a holistic approach to the client, the wider Waitapu Group, of which Stanley St is a part, will also play a supporting role over the coming months delivering targeted digital and social media campaigns.
Credits:
Agency: Stanley St
Production: Film 360
What Do You Do?
He’s a Good Man
