How is the Army Advertising Across Formats to Meet New Goals?

With a new administration, the military has new recruitment goals. These goals are not based solely on “end strength” numbers; the Army also plans to increase diversity in its ranks to better reflect the shifting demographics of the U.S. This push for more diversity coincides with a shrinking number of eligible recruits.

The Army Needs to Expand its Recruitment Pool

The U.S. Army has faced increasing difficulty recruiting new soldiers over the past few years for several reasons. There is a smaller pool of young, eligible Americans who want to serve in the military. Only 2% of Americans between 17 and 24 are qualified, want to serve, and have strong academic standing. This number has been decreasing over time, and recruiting people without family ties to the military proves difficult.

Public attitudes towards the military have also shifted. Historically, conservative voters have tended to trust the military more than those left of center. This changed under the last administration, with President Trump’s remarks towards top generals and criticism from conservative news show hosts and politicians about the “woke” U.S. military. As a result, Republicans have become less supportive of the military.

Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas and former Navy SEAL, tweeted, “Enough is enough. We won’t let our military fall to woke ideology.” Other conservative pundits like Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham have made similar comments or tweets.

In 2020, voters on military bases moved toward the Democratic party by eight points, while the general population shifted by only two. Veteran PACs have responded to criticism from Fox News hosts with advertising, including ads countering Tucker Carlson’s commentary on women in the military.

A recent change to VA policies now allows LGBTQ+ veterans who were given other-than-honorable discharges under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to receive benefits they were previously denied. This update was announced as part of the ten-year commemoration of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Tensions Running High, Recruitment is Difficult

The strain between public commentators and the military has made recruitment even more difficult, especially amid a pandemic and a time of racial reckoning.

Brig. Gen. Patrick Michaelis, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, stated, “We’re in a pretty challenging recruiting environment right now. It is because of the effects of COVID, [and] because of the effects of the political discourse and the discussions going on in our country today.”

The military tries to remain apolitical, but in a time when nearly everything is perceived politically, that is a challenge. More and more recruits come from the same regions and from military families.

Anthony M. Kurta, acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, told the National Commission on Military, National and Public Service, “A widening military-civilian divide increasingly impacts our ability to effectively recruit and sustain the force. This disconnect is characterized by misperceptions, a lack of knowledge and an inability to identify with those who serve. It threatens our ability to recruit the number of quality youth with the needed skill sets to maintain our advantage.”

To help with this disconnect, the Army created an animated ad campaign, The Calling, showcasing the stories of five real service members, including an immigrant from Haiti, a second-generation American, and a woman raised by two mothers. All of the service members had different reasons for joining the Army.

As the military tries to expand their recruitment pool and the diversity of new members, what other advertising strategies are taking place?

MediaRadar Insights

Even though the Army released The Calling campaign, for the most part the Army’s creative messaging has remained fairly traditional. If increasing diversity of recruits is one of the Army’s goals, it is not necessarily reflected in the majority of the advertising creative.

Overall, the US Army has invested $61.8 million into TV, digital, and print advertising so far this year. This is down 23% compared to the same time period last year.

This decrease in spend is felt mainly in digital—down 53% year-over-year from $31.7 million in 2020. Print is also down 69% from $1.8 million in 2020.

Industry Publications

In 2020, there were more recruitment advertisements in industry publications, encouraging readers to enhance their career path by joining the Army. In both 2020 and 2021, the U.S. Army advertised in: The New England Journal of Medicine, Internal Medicine News, Current Psychiatry, Dentaltown, and others.

Regional Magazines

Advertising in regional magazines made up 20% of print advertising from the U.S. Army in 2020. In 2021, this grew to 34%. New placements in regional magazines include advertising in hunting and fishing publications from Connecticut, Alabama, and Georgia. This suggests that though print advertising has decreased, the target audience for these placements is in more rural communities.

TV

TV advertising is flat year-over-year at $46.36 million (up 1%). Messaging this year is similar to that from 2020, but the audiences they are targeting using this format differ.

By the number of airings, in 2020, the top networks for Army commercials were: CBS Sports Network, SyFy Channel, UniMas, ESPN, ESPN2, and Paramount Networks. By spend, these networks account for 33% of advertising.

This year, the top networks airing the most spots for the US Army are BET, Univision, TVOne, ESPN, and SyFy. Spend from these networks also accounts for 33% of ad spend, though the target audience is noticeably different.

With a dwindling pool of eligible recruits and an increasingly diverse population, the military is trying to increase diversity—but it’s not always through advertising messaging. Though the Army did use some creative messaging for this with The Calling campaign, other branches are promoting more women and people of color to leadership and placing people from diverse backgrounds in recruitment positions.