Along with other businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the U.S. Air Force to sideline its mobile tours and suspend its outreach partnerships, cutting off an important avenue for reaching potential recruits. Because recruitment could not be put on hold, we were challenged with finding a new, creative way to engage with the 18- to 34-year-old problem solvers. And with so much focus placed on digital connections by other brands during this time, we had to find a way to stand out amongst the clutter.

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the U.S. Air Force to sideline its mobile tours and suspend its outreach partnerships, we were challenged to find a new, creative way to engage with potential recruits. So we took advantage of a nationwide resurgence in jigsaw puzzles by creating the largest online jigsaw puzzle in the world. Named the “Million Piece Mission,” it featured a giant, 1.03-gigapixel image broken up into 1.2 million puzzle pieces. Users were free to play alone or invite friends to help them on a particular section as if they were sitting around a table working on it at home. And when they weren’t putting the puzzle together, players could unlock hundreds of pieces of content about the past, present and future of the Air Force.

The ideal recruit for the U.S. Air Force is 18 to 34 years old, enjoys a good challenge and likes to solve problems. The Air Force’s mobile tours that travel the country are effective means to engage them through hands-on games and interactive challenges. So when the country went on lockdown, we had to find a new way to achieve the same level of engagement while educating them about the Air Force. The Million Piece Mission accomplished this by being a first-of-its-kind challenge that they couldn’t resist wanting to master. The educational component came in the form of hundreds of pieces of content about the Air Force that they were able to unlock as more and more of the puzzle was solved.

Of the different military branches, the U.S. Air Force is positioned as the most innovative and technically advanced. This project was able to reinforce that perception by turning a gigapixel image of the U.S. Air Force Museum into 1.2 million puzzle pieces using a custom puzzle generator and then applying a proprietary LOD system so users could zoom in and out of the image without losing clarity. We wanted to give them that ability so they could explore different parts of the museum and get a closer look at the aircraft inside it.

The Million Piece Mission launched on June 1, 2020, on desktop and mobile devices at airforcepuzzle.com. Over the course of 18 days, 16 hours and 55 minutes, more than 31,000 players averaged an incredible 12 minutes and five seconds on the site solving the puzzle. Amidst the press coverage and social feedback, the puzzle received a 97.4% positivity rate. And while we were helping the client connect to the 18- to 34-year-old, problem-solving demographic that they seek in potential recruits, we also set a new Guinness World Record for the largest online puzzle.

The Million Piece Mission was fun, but it was also quite difficult. It turned out this was exactly what our audience was craving. 1.2 million pieces were put together over 18 days, 16 hours and 55 minutes. People were even competing to be the one to place the last piece, resulting in a huge, celebratory moment. Ultimately, 31,744 players averaged an amazing 12 minutes and five seconds on the site. They loved it so much that we decided to reset the puzzle after it was finished so people could play it again.

It allowed the Air Force to stay connected with their 18- to 34-year-old demographic while their mobile tours were off the road. And for those who played, it brought them a little bit of fun during the lockdown and set a new Guinness World Record for the largest online puzzle in the process.