Making An Invisible Service Visible
Established in 2022 as the fourth service of the Singapore Armed Forces, the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) was created to defend Singapore against evolving threats in the digital domain. Two years into its formation, however, awareness of the new service remained low, and it had yet to launch a dedicated nationwide recruitment campaign.
In 2024, we were appointed to help change that.
Unlike the Army, Navy and Air Force, much of what the DIS does cannot be seen. Its work often operates behind layers of security, with few tangible assets that can be publicly showcased. At the same time, we needed to move perceptions of digital defence beyond the familiar stereotype of the “hacker”.
Targeting fresh graduates with relevant disciplines, our challenge was to build awareness of the SAF’s newest service, offer a rare glimpse into its world, and show how warfare itself was changing, without revealing the very work the DIS exists to protect.
If warfare has changed, so should the way we see defence.
The DIS was never meant to look like the other three services. Its difference was precisely the point.
Rather than trying to give digital defence the same physicality as land, sea or air, we reframed the conversation around how the nature of warfare itself was evolving, and the new generation of people needed to defend Singapore within it.
DIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
Warfare is evolving, so are we.
The campaign positioned the DIS not simply as another military service, but as a new frontline of defence, one shaped by intelligence, technology and the people capable of seeing threats differently.
Putting a face to the new frontline
If we couldn't show everything the DIS does, we could show the people who do it.
Featuring actual DIS personnel across its different vocations, our hero film offered a rare glimpse into the breadth of the service, moving beyond the stereotype of the lone hacker to reveal the people behind Singapore’s new frontline of defence.
Visualising the unseen
A HUD-inspired visual language gave audiences a window into how different DIS vocations see and interpret the digital battlespace, making an invisible domain of defence tangible without revealing what needed to remain unseen.
My Role
As creative lead, I was responsible for guiding the campaign from creative development through production and rollout, ensuring that the central idea remained intact across film, key visuals, OOH, social and interactive executions.
This meant working directly with the DIS Head of Manpower and her team, alongside the DIS Information Centre, to balance recruitment objectives, public communications and the operational sensitivities of a defence organisation. Creative recommendations were developed and presented across multiple levels of leadership, with selected work also presented to the Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service.
The challenge was not simply to produce compelling recruitment work, but to understand what could be communicated, what could not, and to find creative ways to make the DIS meaningful without compromising the realities of its mission.
The Team
DSTNCT:
Head of Strategy Matthew Zeng
Strategist Joshua Ang
Executive Creative Director Cheah Wei Chun
Associate Creative Director Shawn Heng
Art Director Cassandra Kuek
Designer Jamaine Tan
Business Director Chloe Lim
Senior Account Manager Sarah Tan
Account Executive Ethan Oh
Account Executive Isabelle Monteiro
DIS: Head of Manpower, Head of Recruitment, Publicity and Outreach Manager, DIS Information Centre, Chief Digital and Intelligence Service.
Year: 2025