GFD: Volunteer Recruitment Marketing Campaign

The Solution

Graphcom developed a comprehensive volunteer recruitment marketing campaign designed to educate, motivate, and recruit volunteers across multiple touchpoints. These materials included:

Three targeted promotional videos – an overview video targeted at adult volunteers, a video targeting junior firefighters, and a video based around family and legacy. We interviewed participants, conducted on-site video shoots, drafted scripts, and handled post-production editing to create the final products. These videos showed the life and heart behind GFD – its members. People who don’t just care for the community, they’re a part of it. People who didn’t just jump into firefighting – they grew up in it. The videos displayed their stories, their history, and their reasons why others should join them.

A custom microsite that dove into the specifics of GFD, sleekly designed and expertly crafted to speak directly to their target audiences. Each sub-page displayed information about each volunteer role and the benefits of joining them. All calls to action led to an easy-to-fill-out contact form, making it simple for potential members to learn more and join the GFD family. Explore the microsite here!

Informational brochures, rack cards, and flyers served as vehicles for top need-to-know information. These were distributed at community events and local businesses to increase awareness of GFD, what they do, and how to join them.

Branded vinyl with QR codes installed on all apparatus and vehicles turned every vehicle into a mobile billboard for recruitment, ensuring that, wherever GFD went, their call to action followed.

Customized signage, including retractable, indoor, and outdoor banners, yard signs, a pop-up table, and gas station ads, ensured GFD’s message, brand, and call to action were displayed loud and proud.

Ad placements in local publications such as Celebrate Gettysburg Magazine and the Gettysburg Times, so GFD’s message directly targeted and reached their intended audience – Gettysburg community members.

Post-recruitment materials, such as a custom pocket folder, orientation presentation, and orientation packet with inserts, so new members could learn more about their responsibilities and take home branded materials that were clear and memorable.

Quarterly campaign materials, including direct mail postcards, social media content, billboard designs, and digital advertisements, ensured the GFD team was set up for ongoing recruitment campaigns long after our one-year contract ended.

The Results

The strategic partnership between GFD and Graphcom created a sustainable framework for ongoing volunteer recruitment. 

Over a 6-month span, this volunteer recruitment marketing campaign successfully generated over 45 inquiries, resulting in several new junior-level volunteers and a total of over 15 new members. Outside of increased membership, we generated a high volume of awareness with more than 144,000 digital ad impressions, achieving a 2% click-through rate – nearly four times the benchmark of 0.59%. The microsite received nearly 5,000 website views, with each user spending an average of three minutes on the site. 

We also:

• Increased Community Awareness: Educated Gettysburg residents about GFD’s comprehensive services beyond firefighting, including water rescue, emergency medical response, and fire prevention
• Clarified Volunteer Pathways: Provided clear, accessible information about different membership levels and requirements
• Established Ongoing Recruitment Infrastructure: Created reusable marketing materials and messaging frameworks for sustained recruitment efforts
• Built Foundation for Growth: Developed educational resources that GFD continues to use for community outreach and volunteer retention