Case Study
Atlanta Police Department
Recruitment Campaign · Film and Video · Creative Direction · Out-of-Home · Digital Advertising
To attract officers who see Atlanta and its people as home — worthy of the highest service and respect.
The Context
Atlanta is one of America's most diverse, civically engaged, and historically conscious cities. Its residents carry an intimate understanding of what policing can look like at its worst and a genuine belief in what it could be at its best.
Against a backdrop of national political unrest, rising tensions around immigration enforcement, and a broader public conversation about who police departments serve and how, the Atlanta Police Department set out to recruit officers who would see the city and its people as home, worthy of the highest service and respect.
At the same time, community debate surrounding Atlanta's proposed public safety training facility had intensified a citywide conversation about transparency, accountability, and the relationship between law enforcement and the people they serve. For APD, this was not background noise. It was the environment their recruitment campaign had to speak directly into. Earning and maintaining community trust required more than a hiring push. It required a clear and credible demonstration of the department's values and its commitment to the people of Atlanta.
The conventional recruitment playbook built around authority, enforcement, and institutional identity was not going to reach that candidate or that moment. Atlanta required something different.
A campaign capable of speaking authentically across Atlanta's full cultural landscape. One that invited prospective recruits into a vision of public service rooted in genuine commitment to the community rather than the mechanics of law enforcement.
In a city shaped by its civil rights legacy and its ongoing civic conversations, the distinction between "serve your community" and "enforce the law" is not semantic. It determines who responds, who self-selects out, and ultimately who shows up to do the work. The campaign needed to reflect that distinction clearly and credibly across every channel and every community it was designed to reach.
What Changed
The "Raise the Blue" recruitment campaign delivered measurable results across every channel — consistently outperforming industry benchmarks and sustaining a recruitment pipeline of 1,000+ pre-applications every month for over a year.
Key results included:
38.6M
Out-of-Home Impressions
The OOH campaign ran across digital bulletins, rails, buses, and digital rail networks in Florida, Georgia and New York.
1,000+
Pre-Applications
The campaign supported a recruitment pipeline generating 1,000+ pre-applications every month for over a year.
Over 718
Screens
The digital OOH campaign alone ran across over 718 screens covering airports, banks, bars, gyms, malls, restaurants, schools, and more
99%
Video Completion Rate
The videos achieved near-perfect view-through rates showing they were compelling enough to hold audience attention to completion.
What Changed
The "Raise the Blue" recruitment campaign delivered measurable results across every channel — consistently outperforming industry benchmarks and sustaining a recruitment pipeline of 1,000+ pre-applications every month for over a year.
Key results included:
38.6M
Out-of-Home Impressions
The OOH campaign ran across digital bulletins, rails, buses, and digital rail networks in Florida, Georgia and New York.
1,000+
Pre-Applications
The campaign supported a recruitment pipeline generating 1,000+ pre-applications every month for over a year.
Over 718
Screens
The digital OOH campaign alone ran across over 718 screens covering airports, banks, bars, gyms, malls, restaurants, schools, and more
99%
Video Completion Rate
The videos achieved near-perfect view-through rates showing they were compelling enough to hold audience attention to completion.