Convince the hard to find hackers to come to us, by challenging them to find a hidden message and prove their skills.

We created a TV commercial that operated at two levels:

1. Informing a mass audience that the U.S. Army is fighting a new threat, away from the traditional battlefield.

2. And simultaneously, disguised a call to action that spoke to hackers yet was hiding in plain sight.

Using subtle messaging, we successfully lured hackers using methods germane to them. Those who recognized the message would eventually find their way to a website that they were challenged to hack.

We open in a nondescript basement with an unmanned laptop rapidly typing lines of code. A digitized voice boasts its ability to shut down our power grids and paralyze our infrastructure. Just as the voice is about to assert its invincibility, it is stopped mid-sentence. We cut to the interior of an Army cyber command center and see those responsible for foiling the attack.

Upon second look, the code was not “prop type” but a real message to hackers directing them to a site featuring a decryption puzzle, created by real Army Cyber Command personnel. Hackers were required to use a cypher key to decrypt the code. The encryption key was changed frequently, preventing hackers from using social media to help others successfully cheat the code. Only a select few could solve the puzzle. These elite hackers received decrypted text inviting them to contact the U.S. Army’s Cyber Command division.

Highest conversion rate in Army Marketing History

Within a few months, over 700,000 hackers attempted to decrypt the puzzle. Each failed attempt spurred further participation and generated buzz within the hacking community that the U.S. Army is serious about attracting elite talent. Thanks to the puzzle’s complexity, 99% of participants were “weeded out” for lacking the necessary skills to join the Army’s Cyber Command. Of those who did prove good enough, 30% contacted Army Cyber Command directly—a conversion rate 15 times the Army’s average!