Helping festivalgoers see themselves at LAWA

The challenge

When people think about working at an airport, they may picture TSA officers or airline gate agents. LAWA needed to introduce a broader range of possibilities, including careers in technology, skilled trades, engineering, airport operations, HR, communications, and more. Taste of Soul offered an opportunity to bring that message into a community setting. We set out to create a story that could spark curiosity and encourage festivalgoers to connect with LAWA’s Talent Acquisition team.

Our approach

We started with a familiar conversation: a job seeker wants somewhere she can grow and see a future. A visit to LAWA’s recruiting booth introduces possibilities she hadn’t considered.

The film follows Maya as she explores Taste of Soul with her friend Jordan and meets Renee, a LAWA recruiter. As Renee describes different career paths, Maya imagines herself doing the work. Those moments turn a list of career fields into possibilities viewers can picture for themselves.

We were intentional about representation throughout. The video reflects the diversity of LAWA’s workforce, from the people at the center of each scene to the colleagues working in the background.

The film closes with “Elevate what’s possible with a career at LAWA,” followed by the Elevate Your Career lockup and an invitation to take the next step.

Sur-Ryl Marketing developed the concept, script, storyboard, and visual direction, then used AI tools to generate and animate scenes. We refined the characters, dialogue, and scene continuity through multiple iterations and assembled the final film in days.

The film was shared on social media in advance of the festival, encouraging people to meet LAWA at its recruitment booth. A companion flyer features the same characters and invites visitors to watch the story. Together, the pieces connect the in-person recruiting experience with content visitors can revisit and share.

The work