Jun 17, 2013 | Blog

2013 Strategic Talent Acquisition Conference Part 5: US Army Strong Campaign Marketing Secrets

Optimize Your Talent Strategy

As day 2 of the 2013 Strategic Talent Acquisition Conference began, attendees were treated to a case study of the US Army recruiting experience.  In early 2007, the Army had missed its recruiting goal for two months and it was forecast that they would miss it for the entire year.  The Army chose current Global Employer Brand Leader at Amazon David Lee to lead a new marketing campaign applying military strategy to the marketing department. 

 

Lee shared that although he had a 450 million dollar budget at his disposal, the US Army was at the time mired in its longest engagement since the creation of the all volunteer force.   He faced some significant challenges and failure to improve could mean the country might have to institute a draft.

 

Without a background in marketing, Lee found that he was able to match his background in military strategy to marketing strategy.  By break down the challenge into tasks, purpose, method, and effects, Lee was able to tackle the task.  “First, gather intelligence.  What are your competitors doing?  What is you are looking at?” explained Lee.

 

Lee utilized a social media strategy of social engagement through gamification, brand ambassador videos from soldiers in the field, and blogs from current active duty Army personnel.  Real change in the communication strategy of the brand has to start from the top down and must reflect the same message on down.

 

“Focus on the problem for your customer or your candidate,” asserted Lee, “you have to find a way to solve their problem for them.”   Lee identified 6 values of employment valued by the Army; economic, significance, attraction, development, social, and persona, and found ways for candidates to feel like they were a part of the organization.

 

Cautioning against repeating tactics from the last marketing war, Lee reminded the audience, “It’s about the effects you want to achieve.  Then you go and find the tools and weapons to achieve your goals.”

 

We have only one a few more hours of great keynotes and breakout sessions coming up today at STA 2013, so for members who were unable to attend, feel free to follow us on twitter (@Human_Capital) and watch for tweets with the hashtag #hcievents.