Persuasion and Recruitment


There is no doubt that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) utilises persuasion in its communication. Be it for recruitment, or public relations, it is important for Australians and their allies to view the armed forces in a favourable light[i]. Defence Public Affairs Officers (PAO) do this by providing news worthy content and local community engagement to build support, relationships and be more resilient in times of crises.



Defence messaging has come a long way from the propaganda of World War One, yet the underlying strategies are still present. They aim to persuade audiences by linking the cause to people’s self-interest. Recruitment has the most direct form messaging in that aspect. Whereby videos, images and web content are created to inform audiences of the benefits of service life and how they will personally develop. Defence has the ability to appeal to every aspect of Maslow’s hierarchy:

·       Housing and medical benefits,

·       Good income and job security,

·       Being part of a community

·       Ability for promotion,

·       Personal challenges and purpose[ii].

However, service life requires an individual to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country, an aspect which is mostly removed from recruiting communication[iii]. This makes the persuasion complicated, and recruitment difficult. ADF PAO advocate the ADF position and narrative to maintain quality engagement with the Australian public and media[iv]. This is done by keeping the news in line with their mission, by means of providing updates with imagery and video on all exercises, operations and other events which revolve around defence, creating a library for journalist to draw upon. The ADF also has a strong presence on social media, providing daily content and a platform for community engagement.

The key messages which the ADF appear to send through their channels are based around:

·       Importance of national security

·       Development of science and technology

·       Community involvement.

The ongoing understanding of the role of the ADF leads to support, or a liking within the community for its mission. Science of persuasion tells us that the ‘liking’ principle of persuasion means that people are more likely to say yes to someone they like. Indicating that a recruitment campaign will be more effective if the audience like the ADF. Liking is not the only principle; other principles may guide decision making in the following ways:

·       The principle of reciprocity comes into play through the understanding that people have made sacrifices for the nation, and continue to work for communities during natural disasters. The ongoing public relations techniques the ADF utilises, shows audiences this work being done.

·       The principle of scarcity can be reached by highlighting what Australia could stand to lose if they fail to consider, that being, our freedom.

·       The principle of authority is reached by featuring statements from serving members in their content, acting as credible experts and showing their rank and job titles as credentials.

The ongoing persuasion in ADF public relations support recruiting campaigns and bring benefit to the ADF and their mission.


[i] Steward H (1991) “A Public Relations Plan for the U.S. Military in the Middle East.” Public Relations Quarterly 35(4):7-10.

[ii] Defence Jobs (2021), Lifestyle & Benefits, Defence Jobs, accessed 26 September 2021.

[iii] Maartens B (2015), “Narratives of service, sacrifice and security’ in Maartens B and Bivins T (eds) 2020, Propaganda and Public Relations in Military Recruitment : Promoting Military Service in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton.

Maartens B (2020), Your Country Needs You? Advertising, Public relations and the promotion of Military Service in Peacetime Britain’, Media, War & Conflict, 13(2):213-233.

This article was written for assessment in 'Public Relations Writing and Tactics' in 2021. 

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