How to Pitch the Military When a War Drags On?

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Wed, 28 Sep 2005 14:53:48 +1000 (EST)

Sunday's NYTimes: " How to Pitch the Military When a War Drags

On? "

 

--- B..... wrote:

 

>

>

> Thanks, E, for posting this article. For anyone

> inclined to respond to the NYTimes with a Letter to

> the Editor (letters), this paragraph,

> near the end of the article, includes relevant text

> to quote/associate with Sec. 9528 of LNCB and our

> LMCA campaign:

>

> " The group [Department of Defense] also maintains a

> well-stocked database of young Americans who might

> become recruits. That has drawn fire from critics

> who assert that the electronic catalog violates

> privacy rights and was hidden from the public until

> recently. In an e-mail message, a Defense Department

> spokesman said that the database's existence has

> been publicly disclosed, that the information is

> kept secure and confidential, and that the

> department began collecting personal data in 1982 in

> response to a Congressional mandate that " the

> Secretary of Defense obtain and compile directory

> information pertaining to students enrolled in

> secondary schools throughout the United States. "

>

>

> " E... LeaveMyChildAlone "

> <leavemychildalone wrote:This

> illuminating article was published in Sunday's New

> York Times...

>

>

>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/business/yourmoney/25recruit.html

>

>

>

>

> September 25, 2005

> How to Pitch the Military When a War Drags On?

>

>

> By TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN

>

>

> THE camera tracks a mother's field of vision as she

> hovers over a checkbook and a calculator lying on

> her kitchen table. She looks up as her daughter, a

> young African-American woman, sits down to speak

> with her.

>

>

>

> " Look Mom, if I decide I still want to be a doctor

> when I get out, I'll have had four years experience

> as a nurse or an X-ray tech or an O.T. specialist

> working with real patients, " the daughter says,

> speaking directly into the camera and into her

> mother's eyes. " That's why I want to enlist in the

> military; it'll be good for my career. What do you

> think? Mom? "

>

>

>

> Block letters spelling out " Your Turn " rise across

> the daughter's face. But before the mother's

> response can be heard, the advertisement fades to

> white and displays the address of the Defense

> Department's military recruitment Web site. A

> no-nonsense voice-over then weighs in, offering

> advice to parents: " Make it a two-way conversation.

> Get the facts at todaysmilitary.com. "

>

>

>

> With the brutal realities of the ground war in Iraq

> contributing to a well-publicized drop-off in

> recruitment, the federal government will roll out a

> sophisticated and expansive marketing campaign on

> Oct. 17 that will rely on advertisements like this

> one to convince parents - mothers in particular -

> that military service remains a wise choice for

> their children.

>

>

>

> " This is advertising that is designed not to look or

> feel like advertising at all, " said Edward Boches,

> chief creative officer at Mullen, the agency in

> Wenham, Mass., that created the recruitment ads.

> " The one thing we felt we got parents to agree with

> was that if their children ask them questions about

> enlisting, they had an obligation to, one, engage,

> and then two, be informed. "

>

>

>

> The United States ended the draft and instituted an

> all-volunteer military in 1973, fulfilling President

> Richard M. Nixon's earlier campaign promise, made

> amid public protests against the Vietnam War. Ever

> since, the packaging and promotion of soldiering to

> those who might fight our wars has tapped all of the

> persuasive power that Madison Avenue can muster.

>

>

>

> From overcoming antipathy toward the military during

> that time to embracing a rebirth of military

> prestige spawned by the lightning-strike victories

> of the Persian Gulf war of 1991, advertising

> agencies and the armed services have worked hand in

> hand to strike a chord with recruits: " Today's Army

> Wants to Join You. " " Join the People Who've Joined

> the Army. " " We're Looking for a Few Good Men. " " Aim

> High. " " It's Not Just a Job - It's an Adventure. "

> " Be All That You Can Be. "

>

>

>

> The war in Iraq represents the latest watershed in

> the shaping of public perception of the military and

> military service. But as the government and ad

> agencies gear up their marketing machinery to stave

> off the recruitment shortfall and avoid possibly

> having to resurrect the draft, they are encountering

> a promotional hurdle: the perception that serving in

> the armed forces means more than merely coming in

> harm's way. Service, in the eyes of many potential

> recruits and their families, may mean death.

>

> The armed forces have brought billions of dollars to

> bear on recruitment since the 1970's. Last year, the

> federal government ranked 25th in Advertising Age's

> annual rankings of the country's major marketers,

> spending about $1.2 billion - a large portion of

> which, analysts say, was related to the military.

> That put the government ahead of such big spenders

> as Microsoft, Wal-Mart and Gillette and in the same

> league as PepsiCo, Home Depot and Merck.

>

>

>

> Among the four major branches of the military, the

> Army is currently the government's advertising

> heavyweight - and for good reason. Navy and Air

> Force recruits may not be as likely to face the

> potentially lethal uncertainties that ground

> fighting in Iraq entails. While the Marine Corps

> also puts its troops on the ground, military

> analysts say it recruits new enlistees in smaller

> numbers than the Army and faces fewer recruitment

> challenges because the corps prefers to field a

> young, agile force and therefore does not emphasize

> service as a career.

>

>

>

> The Army has had the most difficulty of any of the

> services in finding recruits, even though its ad

> spending has almost doubled since 2000, to about

> $290 million this year, according to Army data. The

> Army is reviewing new advertising proposals from

> agencies and expects to spend at least $1 billion on

> marketing under a five-year contract that it plans

> to award sometime this winter. The Chicago agency

> Leo Burnett currently manages the Army ad campaign.

>

>

>

> The Army is also courting " influencers " like

> parents, trying to reach them through ads and by

> sponsoring rodeos, all-star high school football

> games and Nascar races. And the Army is Web-savvy.

> Besides offering recruitment information, its Web

> site, www.goarmy.com, gives visitors realistic

> digital war games that they can download to personal

> computers.

>

>

>

> " This is based on research, qualitative and

> quantitative, that we apply to all of the work that

> we do, " said Col. Thomas Nickerson, the Army's

> advertising director, of its marketing campaign. " It

> truly is a business process using the best practices

> of corporate America to make an informed business

> decision. "

>

>

>

> Colonel Nickerson said that while the current " Army

> of One " message promotes personal success and does

> not emphasize the risks of war, the Army's Web site

> outlines dangers that recruits might face. Although

> the Web site of the Defense Department does not

> contain similar information, a department spokesman

> said in an e-mail message that " our new 'Get the

> Facts' campaign dictates the need for some

> acknowledgment of current military issues and will

> be available " on a revamped Web site to be unveiled

> as part of the marketing push on Oct. 17.

>

>

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