The U.S. Air Force is regarded as the most-advanced military branch in the world. But inspiring new recruits to join continues to become more and more challenging due to a strong job market, alternatives to higher education like trade schools and apprenticeships, and changing demographics. Today’s youth is simply tuning out the traditional marketing messages that have inspired thousands before them to consider a career in the U.S. Air Force. So we were tasked to find a different way to reach this 16- to 24-year-old, STEM-focused target audience that spends most of its time on devices and playing videogames.

The solution was simple. We created an expandable online gaming arcade available on mobile and desktop devices called Aircade. Visitors to airforceaircade.com could see if they have what it takes to be an Airman by playing Airman Challenge, test their cognitive skills by playing E.C.H.O. or explore different types of aircraft in the Air Base. They could also take on the Million Piece Mission by solving the world’s largest online puzzle or command high-stakes aerial missions by playing the AR game Command The Stack, having fun while learning about the Air Force and the types of careers available to them.

Because our target audience is 16- to 24-year-olds who are STEM-focused and into gaming, we wanted to create a single gathering place to engage with them through a variety of Air Force games. Each one is a stand-alone experience designed and built to answer a different objective, but the target audience is the same, making this gaming hub a natural way to reach them with a call to action to learn more about a career in the Air Force.

While the creative idea was simple, the execution was a little more complex. All the games were built using a different tech stack and for different platforms including mobile AR, web VR, VR and web only. After the initial concepting and design phases, we worked with Wildlife and gaming partners Active Theory, We Are Royale and eshots over a five-month period to create a hub capable of housing the multiple experiences. This included developing a WebGL-powered site that brought all the games together while enhancing the user experience by applying a dynamic particle system that evolves to mirror the unique brand of each game. The back-end system is powered by a robust, custom API that passes each user's unique call sign, ID and score to leaderboards and individual profile tracking. This not only encourages repeat play and builds a communal environment but it allows the Air Force to then connect with potential recruits that fit our target audience.

In the first five months, nearly half of all visitors to airforceaircade.com registered on the site, playing a total of 110,253 games. And while playing any of the Aircade games like Airman Challenge, E.C.H.O., Million Piece Mission, Air Base or Command The Stack doesn’t necessarily mean they rushed out to their nearest recruiting offices, we were able to connect with them on their level, educating and entertaining them about the most-advanced air force in the world. Of those who registered, nearly 15,000 elected to keep the conversation going and learn more about the possibilities that are available in the Air Force, while everyone else simply had a good time and developed a view of the Air Force as a future-forward organization with a variety of mission sets, capabilities and high-tech assets.