Stag Special

The launch of the new Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) awareness advertising campaign called This is For You happened Feb. 27 on social media, digital platforms and at movie theatres near you.

This new advertising campaign provides the CAF with a unique opportunity to inspire Canadians to see themselves excelling and thriving within our ranks.

The campaign was developed to increase awareness of the CAF and showcase how the military can be a fulfilling career. As Defence Team members, soldiers, sailors and the air force play a key role in shaping how the public views our organization. You all serve as ambassadors and there is no better way to support this campaign than to be a part of it.

Help spread the word about the new campaign and the many benefits that come with a career in the CAF — new and practical skills, a sense of purpose, paid benefits and continuous opportunities for growth.

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As the CAF continue to support Canada’s national and international interests, bolstering our recruitment is critical, according to CDS Gen Wayne Eyre.

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 military 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.

To improve recruitment, the CAF has developed a new advertising campaign called This Is For You, with the goal to increase CAF awareness and presence across media platforms and showcase how military service can be a fulfilling career.

There is no better time to join than now, as the CAF is actively seeking Canadians and permanent residents who are willing to answer the call to serve Canada and be a part of our team.

In alignment with the CDS/DM Directive for CAF Reconstitution and Op UNIFIED RECRUITER, the CAF is looking to support recruitment efforts by enabling each member of the CAF to continue promoting this great organization.

CAF’s military members are the best ambassadors for recruitment, and their involvement contributes to the success of this campaign, whether that’s in the form of lending your voice or simply spreading the word about the incredible opportunities available to those who join our ranks.

While these advertisements will keep the CAF in the Canadian public consciousness, the most effective recruiting tool is the voice of current or former military members of the CAF.

The CAF believes that together we can convey what it means to serve our country proudly as part of the CAF and create an atmosphere of enthusiasm and excitement surrounding military service.

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 individual’s unique ability to make an impact and demonstrates to the audience their innate strengths and qualities are transferable to the CAF.

This Is For You shows civilians the military has a wide range of opportunities and each person can find a role which fits their needs and/or interests. The campaign aims to benefit both the military as a whole and the civilian recruits it reaches.

The CAF is strengthening its numbers to support military activity, while also empowering each individual who joins to have a stable career which provides new and practical skills, a sense of purpose, as well as 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 the CAF has a wide range of careers available which 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 which civilians find relatable, and 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 which 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 the advertising using various platforms, from Flickr to Twitter, resonated with our target audience — Canadians aged 13 to 34 — cross-country focus testing was conducted throughout the production process. These focus groups garnered mostly positive comments, which demonstrated the key messages of the ads rang true with those groups of individuals we are aiming to attract.

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!”

— CFRG Commander Col Nickolas Roby

“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.”

— CFB Borden woman’s advisor 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 skill set and backgrounds, etc. This is an organization that celebrates traditions, culture, and diversity — an inclusive organization that welcomes change.”

— CFB Borden clerk Sgt Usama Mehmood

Questions related to why CAF developed a new advertising campaign called This Is For You:

Why do the ads have a civilian focus?

This was a conscious decision to allow those outside the CAF to relate better to what was being presented. Those involved in the project wanted audiences to connect to the people, stories, and qualities depicted in the civilian scenarios to demonstrate how a civilian can be suited to join the military. The civilian environments and activities also allowed for a more diverse range of interests to be shown on screen, creating greater relatability.

Why is there such a focus on the uniform?

We wanted to highlight the CAF uniform as a symbol of strength, resilience, passion, and humanity. Conceptually, the growth of the CADPAT pattern and texture of military fabric alludes to the development of one’s potential to make an impact.

Why didn’t the CAF shoot the ads on a Wing or Navy/Army Base?

The footage was captured off-Base to build a greater connection to civilian life. It helps showcase how the CAF relates to the lives of those who may not believe the organization has something to offer them. Off-Base footage also allowed for greater creative flexibility, allowing us to tailor stories to audiences and make them feel relatable.

How was the integrity of the CAF upheld even though the ads do not feature actual CAF members?

The marketing and advertising team and the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG) worked collaboratively throughout the production process of these new ads. CFRG and the environments were consulted numerous times to ensure representation of the CAF assets and the uniforms featured in the ads were correct. Two CAF members were also on set during the filming of the various scenes to verify the demeanour of the actors well-represented the values of the CAF.

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.

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

How can a current or retired military member become involved in the CAF recruitment program? Learn about the This Is For You campaign; support the campaign by sharing or commenting on social media and encouraging positivity; share your stories, experiences, and values with the community to build support; volunteer to help at recruitment events; and contact a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) if you have any questions.

Follow the CAF on a social media platform like YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/CanadianArmedForces

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Here is the CDS/DM directive for CAF reconstitution:

This directive from CDS Gen Eyre will set in motion a significant body of work that will provide direction on the course corrections that are required to overcome deficiencies that are hampering the composition and readiness of the CAF. The interim goal is to address shortcomings that are preventing the CAF more specifically from being in the position it needs to in order to excel as a modern and combat-ready military force.

This directive, which will be the first of several as we progress through the themes of this considerable endeavour, will lay out the complementary lines of effort that will adjust our operational commitments within the bounds of the direction provided by the Government of Canada (GC) and modernize our personnel generation process.

The enduring aim is promoting and defending Canadian sovereignty, security and interests, and commitment to delivering excellence in operations at home and abroad. As this is a pan-departmental effort, this directive applies to all members of the Defence Team.

Personnel and staffing issues, combined with a changing demographic and expectations of our existing and potential work force, continue to challenge both the strength and the readiness of the CAF.

The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated pre-existing shortfalls in the CAF strategic intake of new members and has severely impacted the organization’s ability to deliver professional and collective training.

These strains continue to imperil the force size available for operations and have resulted in a significant loss of experience and expertise within the CAF, creating a requirement to recover and rebuild (reconstitute) the organization.

The rebuilding process needs to occur on an accelerated timeline given the geopolitical environment that we find ourselves operating within, especially in light of the invasion of Ukraine. The overall situation has given us an opportunity to relook at our recruiting and training processes and will lead us to aggressively modernize them to meet the needs of the National Defence of today and in to the future.

CAF reconstitution will narrow its focus to the aspects of people and operations, as modernization is being addressed elsewhere.

Culture change will remain the top departmental priority throughout the reconstitution process. This endeavour will require significant resources and a willingness to embrace recommendations from external review authorities examining the Defence culture and providing recommendations on ways to effect the necessary changes.

As always, the operational environment and threats that the CAF will face are evolving. Adversaries and Allies are outpacing us in the evolution of technology advancement and ability to operate in a pan-domain environment, making it an imperative for National Defence to evolve and improve itself to ensure we are a relevant and trusted partner.

This imperative will drive National Defence to invest in the Force Development and Design (FD&D) of the Future Force and work to implement new flexible and responsive procurement approaches in order to ensure the long-term effectiveness, relevance, and credibility of National Defence, and create a truly joint Defence Team that can seamlessly integrate in a whole of government approach to delivering on national security priorities.

Reconstitution will not be a short-term effort. It will require the engagement of the entire Defence Team over an extended period of time. The convergence of the lines of effort (LOEs) in support of reconstitution, while recognizing the capacity limitations of the institution, will require consistent review and articulation of leadership priorities while maintaining buy-in at all levels of the institution.

This will be done through effective communication in order to achieve the balance needed to advance reconstitution along with the foundational initiatives that will be concurrently undertaken. During this period of change, we will need to make difficult choices about our readiness levels, capacity for sustained operations, as well as our level of commitment to all activities, while continuing to deliver strategic effects for the GC.

Owing to personnel and staffing issues that have been compounded by the CAF’s heavy commitment to operations, the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a culture crisis, National Defence continues to lose its ability to deliver and sustain concurrent operations at the scope and scale necessary to achieve the strategic effects directed by the GC.

One of the major limiting factors to the CAF’s readiness is its mid-level leader capacity, which must be focused in a disciplined manner. These strains continue to imperil our ability to recruit, train, employ, and retain diverse Canadian talent, thus jeopardizing the readiness and long-term health of Canada’s defence capabilities.

The following assumptions are provided to guide and enable planning for reconstitution:

• The CAF will experience higher than normal attrition and lower than normal recruiting unless appropriate professional culture and personnel management modifications are implemented. As a result, CAF effective strength will likely continue to shrink over the very short term;

• The increase in strength of the CAF to the desired level of 101,500 military personnel, comprised of 71,500 Regular Force, 30,000 Primary Reserve Force members, as well as an increase in numbers in our Canadian Rangers and Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (COATS) cadre, will take considerable time and require an all-hands approach. A concerted effort in reprioritization of personnel towards personnel generation and culture change efforts as well as a refocus of our international commitments will be needed;

• Private and public sector workforce shortages will continue to offer increased opportunities for CAF members outside the institution, and impose significant competition in attracting talent;

• Flexible work arrangements for knowledge workers will continue and should be encouraged when possible. These offer new possibilities for remote work and increased flexibility with respect to military employment, while respecting security in an environment where we are increasingly susceptible to foreign collection. Increased flexibility with respect to military postings and succession planning will be required in order to consider more complex family dynamics;

• The level of domestic operation commitments will likely remain constant or increase. Accordingly, National Defence will need to continue its efforts to ensure Requests for Assistance for CAF support are considered only in circumstances where it is the force of last resort; and

If the CAF does not create an institutional climate which is more welcoming and inclusive to all Canadians, then attraction and retention problems will persist.

Visit this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UPWn0L1aMk to see the This Is For You video.

This Is For You video shows civilians the military has a wide range of opportunities and each person can find a role that fits their needs and/or interests, from infantry to artillery, plus purple trades such as cook, padre or photographer. Military members can also represent their Bases/Wings playing sports, or be involved in activities offered on the Base/Wing by CFMWS. Plus, there are deployments overseas like Op REASSURANCE and Op UNIFIER. Photos Jules Xavier/Shilo Stag