Air Force Research Lab

Branding to recruit the best in the US

Forget Silicon Valley.
Recruits flock to AFRL to
join the mission.

Creating a Coveted Career Destination

The Air Force Research Lab is a governmental agency headquartered in the Midwest. Home to engineers, researchers and professionals, AFRL pursues innovation to deliver technology solutions that answer the most urgent needs of the US Air Force and Space Force. In recent years, AFRL saw its recruitment and retention efforts waning, with top-tier candidates opting for Silicon Valley instead.

The organization came to us to reimagine the department’s brand, better conveying its compelling mission and values, and with it, shaping new strategies for talent acquisition, retention and growth.

Competing With A New Class

Our work began with an immersive discovery process, interviewing potential recruits to learn why—or why not—they gravitated to AFRL. Many shared that the glamour of Silicon Valley and holistic benefits of west-coast companies eclipsed AFRL’s offerings. Others struggled with the inability to talk freely about what a government job entails.

We fused these findings with emergent sociocultural and tech trends, determining that the future brand of AFRL would need to go toe-to-toe with—and stand apart from—the Facebooks, Teslas and Googles of the world.

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Go toe-to-toe with—and stand apart from—the Facebooks, Teslas and Googles of the world.

Answering the Ultimate Call

Using LPK’s Desires Methodology to steer our strategy, we developed a solution that mirrored the Power, Independence and Prestige that potential recruits crave in their career. It informed a look, tone and feel that maximized AFRL’s message and leveraged the highly classified aspect to its advantage. Instead of spelling out every detail, campaigns spoke to duty and discretion—an intrigue-generating strategy that helped drive new conversations.

“

In under 6 months, we went from 2 recruits a year to 10.”

JOSH SHEARER,

SUPERVISORY GENERAL ENGINEER, AIR FORCE RESEARCH LAB

The Feeling of Greatness

As AFRL worked to gain and retain new recruits, we knew that inserting people directly into the job would seal the deal. To bring the experience of AFRL to life, we worked with our partners at Sinthetik, a creative studio specializing in XR solutions like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to propel brands into new dimensions of reality. Sinthetik and LPK teamed up to bring the new brand to life through immersive simulations—inserting recruits directly in the flight hangar, and even the captain seat.

10 New Recruits & Counting

In the first year of launch, ARFL met and exceeded its new recruitment goal in record time. “In under 6 months, we went from an average of 1 to 2 recruits a year to 10,” says Josh Shearer, Supervisory General Engineer at ARFL.

To date, the organization has enrolled these 10 new recruits with a retention rate of 80%.

Innovation | Branding | Design

Air Force Research Lab

Forget Silicon Valley.
Recruits flock to AFRL to
join the mission.

Creating a Coveted Career Destination

Competing With A New Class

Go toe-to-toe with—and stand apart from—the Facebooks, Teslas and Googles of the world.

Answering the Ultimate Call

In under 6 months, we went from 2 recruits a year to 10.”

The Feeling of Greatness

10 New Recruits & Counting

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Desires Workshop

Desires Canvas

Innovation Platforms

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Innovation | Branding | Design

Air Force Research Lab

Forget Silicon Valley. Recruits flock to AFRL to join the mission. corner-left-box

Creating a Coveted Career Destination

Competing With A New Class

Go toe-to-toe with—and stand apart from—the Facebooks, Teslas and Googles of the world.

Answering the Ultimate Call

In under 6 months, we went from 2 recruits a year to 10.”

The Feeling of Greatness

10 New Recruits & Counting

Get LPK in Your Inbox

FIND YOURSELF HERE.

Subscribe

CPG Brand Workshops

Desires Workshop

Desires Canvas

Innovation Platforms

Have a challenge? We’re all ears. Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears. Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears. Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears. Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Forget Silicon Valley.
Recruits flock to AFRL to
join the mission.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.

Have a challenge? We’re all ears.
Let’s talk about how we can partner.