Commissionaires Value of a Veteran Campaign

Commissionaires is Canada’s only national not-for-profit security organization, dedicated to providing meaningful work for veterans and former military personnel. As the country’s largest private-sector employer of veterans, they employ over 6,000 veterans nationwide, delivering security services to government and private organizations across Canada.

To further their Beyond Service messaging, Commissionaires launched the “Value of a Veteran” campaign. With the tagline “We Know the Value of a Veteran,” the campaign aimed to communicate a powerful, direct message to veterans and active service members: their skills and experiences are deeply valued by Commissionaires.

Horizontal web ad featuring a Commissionaire holding a photograph of their time in service, on a light grey gradient background.

Two vertical "Value of a Veteran" newspaper ads, each showing a Commissionaire and their photograph of their time in service.

Two vertical "Value of a Veteran" newspaper ads, one is a Reservist variation, and the other is the French variation.

Veterans bring unmatched skills and dedication—Commissionaires knows their true value.

RECOGNITION.

To bring this vision to life, we first created a thoughtful and authentic campaign rooted in pride—a feeling shared deeply in the military community. We developed a bold visual approach with portraits of Commissionaires holding framed photos from their service. This connected their military past with their current roles. Each portrait included details like rank, deployments, division, job title, and starting year. These elements showcased personal stories and highlighted the diverse opportunities within the organization.

We then rolled out the campaign nationally across many formats: newspaper and magazine ads, social media posts, large-format pop-ups, trade show backdrops, and bus advertising. For social media, we made two styles: clean white backgrounds with service statistics and bold orange backgrounds with personal quotes. Throughout, we maintained consistency across platforms and touchpoints. As a result, the campaign drove a 406% increase in visits to the veteran recruiting page. It also generated over 1,000 applications in the first year and boosted internal engagement as employees proudly shared their stories.

To learn more about Commissionaires and their commitment to valuing veterans, visit commissionaires.ca.