A Bold Brand For Bright Futures
New Zealand Cadet Forces needed a refreshed visual identity and marketing campaign to resonate with today’s youth while respecting the organisation’s military heritage.
The Challenge: How do you capture the discipline and legacy of a military-style youth organisation while appealing to modern teenagers and their parents? The identity needed to feel strong yet fresh, structured yet dynamic.
Design Formula
The new identity is anchored in the core elements of air, land, and sea. I drew inspiration from uniform epaulets in a nod to tradition while introducing bold, bright, and fun colour palettes to reflect energy, diversity, and growth. The result is a visual language that feels both authoritative and approachable.
This visual system was then applied across a full suite of stationery, templates, and a comprehensive brand guidelines document to ensure consistency and adaptability across all levels of the organisation.
Marketing Campaign
To support youth recruitment, I developed a campaign focused on tangible benefits: Real Skills. Real Terrain. Real Growth.
This campaign positions the Cadet Forces not as just another extracurricular activity but as a place to gain real-world skills, confidence, and a sense of direction. The campaign drives traffic to the website, sparking interest and converting it into action.
Results
The refreshed identity and campaign have helped the Cadet Forces modernise their presence, align more closely with their mission, and better connect with their future cadets.