Beneath the Surface.
Trident Refit Facility, Bangor (TRFB) is a submarine maintenance facility located in Silverdale, WA, where civilians and Sailors work side by side to maintain the Navy’s strategic deterrent fleet. While TRFB employees are highly motivated and dedicated, the command recognized the need for a platform that highlighted individual stories and celebrated the people behind the mission. From this need, the Beneath the Surface campaign was born — a recurring employee spotlight designed to showcase the diverse talent, unique skills, and personal pride of TRFB’s workforce.
Scope:
The Beneath the Surface campaign highlights TRFB employees across different departments, both new employees, and more tenured team members. Each feature includes:
A personalized interview that captures the employee’s role, personal background, and what they love about working at TRFB.
A custom-designed reusable graphic template that maintains a consistent brand identity for each spotlight.
High-quality portrait photography to complement the story and humanize the feature.
Social media and internal distribution to amplify visibility and inspire both employees and external audiences.
Process:
As one of the two primary content creators on my team, I played an integral role in developing the campaign’s visual identity, sourcing participants, and crafting the individual stories.
Key steps included:
Campaign Ideation: Collaborated with leadership to define the purpose and desired tone of the campaign.
Design Creation: Co-developed a branded graphic template that could be easily reused across features, ensuring a polished and cohesive look.
Story Development: Conducted interviews, asked tailored questions to bring out personal and professional pride, and crafted accompanying written content.
Photography Coordination: Assisted with scheduling and capturing portraits that matched the campaign’s aesthetic.
Content Scheduling and Posting: Managed the publication calendar, ensuring consistent cadence to maintain audience interest.
Lessons Learned:
Beneath the Surface reinforced the power of internal storytelling in boosting morale, fostering pride, and strengthening a sense of community within a large, dispersed workforce. It also taught me the importance of maintaining consistent branding across recurring campaigns, while still allowing each individual story to shine.
Key Outcome: The campaign was well-received across TRFB, with employees volunteering to be featured and leadership praising the effort as an authentic way to recognize the workforce’s contributions.
Key Outcomes:
The campaign was well-received across TRFB, with employees volunteering to be featured and leadership praising the effort as an authentic way to recognize the workforce’s contributions.