dentsu WA’s MFA Award-winning ‘Cop Week’ drives 132% increase in WA Police applications

Western Australia Police Force has recorded a significant year on year increase in applications and a 58 per cent uplift in website traffic following ‘Cop Week: Behind The Badge’, an immersive recruitment campaign developed in partnership with dentsu WA and Southern Cross Austereo.

The campaign was recognised at the 2026 MFA Awards, where dentsu WA was awarded Best Content Amplification for the work.

The campaign was designed to address the recruitment challenge of attracting quality candidates aged 16 to 39, and to change how potential recruits experienced a career in policing.

Research found that only 7 per cent of young Australians would consider a career in policing, while 43 per cent actively resisted conventional government recruitment advertising.

The research also pointed to a different way of engaging the audience. 63 per cent were receptive to content from trusted social media sources, while 68 per cent responded more positively to humour and authenticity, rather than the traditional messaging.

The campaign responded with a simple yet strategic idea: don’t advertise the job, let people live it.

Cop Week: Behind The Badge was developed and became a week-long content takeover of Triple M Breakfast Perth, with local personalities Xavier Ellis and Katie Lamb embedded inside Western Australia Police Force.

Each day revealed a different dimension of policing, from conversations with Commissioner Col Blanch APM and frontline officers to experiencing the Bomb Squad’s robot dog, tackling the WA Police Academy obstacle course and participating in live training exercises.

The approach allowed audiences to see the people, purpose, variety and realities behind a career in policing, with recruitment messages integrated into content rather than delivered as traditional advertising.

Amplified across three phases, the campaign was far reaching; with on-air promotion and social teasers building anticipation, live broadcasts and daily content sustaining engagement throughout the week, and extended social content and highlight packages continuing the story afterwards. The results translated into significant increases across the recruitment journey.

During Cop Week, Western Australia Police Force recorded a 58 per cent year-on-year uplift in website traffic, a 132 per cent increase in applications and a 117 per cent increase in completed submissions, exceeding the campaign KPI by 16 per cent.

In the fortnight following the official campaign dates, site engagement rates remained 20 per cent higher, while conversion rates increased by a further 4 per cent.

For Western Australia Police Force, ‘Behind the Badge’ demonstrated the value of giving potential recruits a genuine look into the organisation and the breadth of careers available.

Michelle Testa, Managing Director, dentsu WA, said: “This is an incredibly proud moment for our WA team and a wonderful recognition of what can be achieved for our clients when media, creativity and partnership come together around a clearly defined goal. Winning at the MFA Awards is such well-deserved recognition for our team, who worked passionately to support Western Australia Police Force throughout this campaign.”

Tiaan van Jaarsveldt, Strategy Director, dentsu WA, said: “The strategic challenge was not a lack of awareness. Policing was simply not entering serious career consideration for enough young Western Australians.

“Our answer was to stop advertising the role and allow people to experience it. By using trusted local talent as creators rather than endorsers, we could humanise policing and reveal its purpose, camaraderie, innovation and variety in a way that institutional messaging could not.

“Cop Week shows that finding an audience for content is one thing. Changing minds and driving action requires intelligent amplification, and we are thrilled to see that thinking recognised at the MFA Awards.”

Western Australia Police Force Assistant Director Carmel Condemi said the campaign provided audiences with a genuine insight into the organisation and its career opportunities.

“The partnership offered a unique insight into life at the WA Police Academy and generated excitement about the wide range of career opportunities available within the WA Police Force.”

Credits
Client: Western Australia Police Force
Director, Media and Corporate Communications: Joey Catanzaro
Assistant Director, Corporate Communications: Carmel Condemi
Senior Marketing Manager: Rosharna Femia
Marketing and Communications Officer: Niki Long
Media Agency: dentsu WA
Strategy Director: Tiaan van Jaarsveldt
Group Investment Director: Sam Giuffre
Snr Client Manager: Morgan Hopkins
Media partner: Southern Cross Austereo
Group Sales Manager: Melissa Henville
Account Managers: Kendal O’Brien & Lara Hudson
Lead Campaign Ideas Manager: Jess Moug