Advertising Campaigns Master's Capstone | ADV 6399

As part of my graduate capstone course, Advertising Campaigns, I worked in a small agency team to develop a full integrated marketing campaign for Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR), one of the largest public safety departments in Texas, serving over 1.3 million residents across 380 square miles. The course, taught by Professor David Hadeler, a seasoned Dallas agency owner, is the culminating experience of the master's program and operates like a real agency pitch: the client is in the room, the budget is real, and teams compete for the business. Learn more about the course and its past clients here.

Our research revealed that while 98% of Dallas residents hold a positive perception of DFR, most only think of the department during emergencies. Over a third of the public believed DFR primarily responds to fires, despite fire calls making up only 17% of their total volume. Services like community education, safety inspections, and youth outreach were largely invisible to residents despite being core to DFR's daily work.

The campaign we developed aimed to close that visibility gap by transforming passive trust into an active community partnership. Our strategy spanned paid and owned media, earned media, community events, and educational programming, all grounded in primary research from Dallas residents. The goal was to position DFR's firefighters not just as emergency heroes, but as everyday guardians already present in the community. View the full plansbook below.