Politie

They needed 800 new recruits, and they needed them quickly.

Politiezone Antwerpen came to me with a massive challenge: they needed 800 new recruits, and they needed them quickly. My role as Strategic Creative Director was to rethink the story from the ground up. The existing campaigns focused on job descriptions, uniforms, and procedures. All surface, no substance. But nobody dreams of paperwork. People become officers because they want to make a difference: protecting neighbors, helping kids feel safe, being the one who shows up when no one else will. That was the story missing in action.

Listening to real officers and shaping a campaign under impossible timing

Before I even thought about cameras, I sat down with officers. I interviewed them about why they joined, what keeps them going, and what makes them proud to wear the badge. That listening became the backbone of the strategy.

But we had no time to waste. To launch, we had just two hours of production time. Two hours. Sixty officers. One chance. My role was to design a sharp plan: minimal moves, maximum impact. We captured the raw, human side of the job while framing it with enough cinematic grit and bad-ass energy to stop people mid-scroll and think: that could be me.

And I didn’t just keep it at creative. I also made sure HR, communication, and recruitment departments were aligned. Everyone pulled in the same direction so the campaign could land with maximum force across every channel.

Creating a bold look and a unique storytelling format – and turning it into results

For this campaign, I knew we couldn’t play it safe. Instead of soft human moments, I went for a bad-ass, cinematic look and feel. We staged the shoot inside an airport hangar in Antwerp- raw, industrial, powerful.

The creative concept I developed was called “the circle”: a dynamic setup where officers sat together in a tight formation. From that circle, I picked people to step forward, be interviewed, and share their real stories. It was fast, authentic, and visually striking — nothing like a traditional recruitment video.

The result? A campaign that finally gave Politiezone Antwerpen a voice as strong as the work itself. Unique, bold, and impossible to scroll past. And it worked: in less than two months, 404 people applied. Proof that when you combine cinematic grit with a fresh concept, you don’t just capture attention - you drive real action.

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My Role in this Project

• Led the strategic direction of the campaign from briefing to rollout
  
• Conducted interviews with officers to extract authentic human stories
  
• Developed the creative concept balancing honesty with cinematic edge
  
• Directed a high-pressure production sprint: 60 officers, 2 hours, one campaign
  
• Ensured alignment across HR, communications, and recruitment so every department reinforced the same story
• Oversaw post-production and rollout, ensuring consistency across all channels