thedrifter
05-17-07, 04:54 AM
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Recruiting Command wages awareness battle
By 2nd Lt. Patrick Boyce
Public Affairs Officer
Some Marines out there might remember the iconic image of a Marine officer’s sword being forged from steel and beaten into shape by the pounding of a hammer in a Marine Corps recruiting commercial from several years ago. Chances are all Marines remember something of a recruiting commercial from their youth, such as the one in which the Marine slays a dragon or climbs a nearly vertical cliff in Monument Valley. For many current Marines, these advertisements may have been their first exposure to the Corps – and may have planted the seed that later motivated them to become one of the few and the proud.
The mission of Marine Corps Recruiting Command is to plant that seed and watch it grow to fruition.
Quietly working behind the scenes, MCRC administers advertising, helps generate leads, and supports recruiters. It is often the first face of the Marine Corps potential devil dogs encounter, though they might not realize it.
‘‘We deliver the message of the Marine Corps,” said Daniel Weidensaul, deputy assistant chief of staff for MCRC here and a former Marine captain.
According to Weidensaul, MCRC uses a variety of different yet interlocking mediums to attract potential Marines and funnel them toward a recruiter. The further along the process the lead goes, the more information the prospective Marine should be able to gather, which will hopefully continue to fuel their interest, Weidensaul added.
Ultimately, MCRC’s efforts are directed at aiding the recruiter with all the weapons in MCRC’s arsenal of awareness, such as TV commercials, print advertising, phone lines and the internet. Spreading information is most effective when these different mediums are in concert with one another, Weidensaul said.
‘‘It’s a continuum,” he said. ‘‘Television can be used to drive them to Marines.com in order to get a more in-depth story. Ultimately it’s driving that lead to another medium: that recruiter. Once they get to that recruiter, they can have that dialogue.”
Recruiters are provided with brochures, pamphlets and videos from MCRC to continue to pass information on to leads.
Mediums that can convey information and a dramatic story in only a few seconds, such as a TV commercial, are key to spreading awareness about the Corps in the most exciting way possible.
Making MCRC’s sales pitch dynamic and intriguing falls to contracted advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. The company’s responsibility is to come up with a new TV campaign every five years, a turnover that is actually very slow compared to other private commercial interests, according to Weidensaul.
‘‘They come back to us with a first round of concepts,” Weidensaul said. ‘‘By the time we give them directions, there is a significant amount of work done inside the agency, where their creative teams and their account executive teams are bantering back and forth about what is the strategy.
‘‘Of the whole slew of ideas, they narrow it down to a lesser slew, and present those to us through a vetting process,” he added.
This vetting process often employs the use of focus groups, which may include either Marines or potential leads, who analyze proposed commercials and then provide constructive criticism.
‘‘It’s a sanity check,” Weidensaul said. ‘‘Are we right? Are we wrong? Are we really off the spot? In some cases we may go back and start all over again.”
Typically, these commercial concepts are presented on a DVD or video with sound effects, music and narration. To give focus groups an idea of what they might later be watching in an actual TV commercial, sketches and storyboards are filmed in the place of live-action footage, which will only be shot once one of the commercial concepts is generally agreed upon as being the best. During these focus groups, participating personnel write down what they did or did not like and whether the commercial remained faithful to Marine Corps values.
Even after a commercial is shot, the decision still has to be made about what time and station would be most effective in reaching the Corps’ target audience.
However, according to Weidensaul, it’s not easy to gauge how successful a TV commercial is, as one cannot always draw a direct correlation between a new advertisement and an increase in recruiting numbers since there are so many variables involved in the decision to join. Nevertheless, Weidensaul said MCRC can measure advertising awareness by figuring Nielsen ratings and ad recall, so they can at least determine how many people watched the commercial and whether people thought it was effective or not. This process allows MCRC to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative aspects of their commercials.
‘‘We do have an evaluation process that we go through to make sure we got what we paid for,” Weidensaul said.
While TV has traditionally been considered the premier advertising medium, Weidensaul said Marines.com is currently the largest generator of fresh leads, as more and more people have ready Internet access. As technology changes, only time will tell what the most effective and expedient medium will be for raising awareness and excitement about joining the Corps.
No matter what the method or medium, however, MCRC will be sure to continue delivering the message of honor, courage and commitment to the American public.
Ellie
Recruiting Command wages awareness battle
By 2nd Lt. Patrick Boyce
Public Affairs Officer
Some Marines out there might remember the iconic image of a Marine officer’s sword being forged from steel and beaten into shape by the pounding of a hammer in a Marine Corps recruiting commercial from several years ago. Chances are all Marines remember something of a recruiting commercial from their youth, such as the one in which the Marine slays a dragon or climbs a nearly vertical cliff in Monument Valley. For many current Marines, these advertisements may have been their first exposure to the Corps – and may have planted the seed that later motivated them to become one of the few and the proud.
The mission of Marine Corps Recruiting Command is to plant that seed and watch it grow to fruition.
Quietly working behind the scenes, MCRC administers advertising, helps generate leads, and supports recruiters. It is often the first face of the Marine Corps potential devil dogs encounter, though they might not realize it.
‘‘We deliver the message of the Marine Corps,” said Daniel Weidensaul, deputy assistant chief of staff for MCRC here and a former Marine captain.
According to Weidensaul, MCRC uses a variety of different yet interlocking mediums to attract potential Marines and funnel them toward a recruiter. The further along the process the lead goes, the more information the prospective Marine should be able to gather, which will hopefully continue to fuel their interest, Weidensaul added.
Ultimately, MCRC’s efforts are directed at aiding the recruiter with all the weapons in MCRC’s arsenal of awareness, such as TV commercials, print advertising, phone lines and the internet. Spreading information is most effective when these different mediums are in concert with one another, Weidensaul said.
‘‘It’s a continuum,” he said. ‘‘Television can be used to drive them to Marines.com in order to get a more in-depth story. Ultimately it’s driving that lead to another medium: that recruiter. Once they get to that recruiter, they can have that dialogue.”
Recruiters are provided with brochures, pamphlets and videos from MCRC to continue to pass information on to leads.
Mediums that can convey information and a dramatic story in only a few seconds, such as a TV commercial, are key to spreading awareness about the Corps in the most exciting way possible.
Making MCRC’s sales pitch dynamic and intriguing falls to contracted advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. The company’s responsibility is to come up with a new TV campaign every five years, a turnover that is actually very slow compared to other private commercial interests, according to Weidensaul.
‘‘They come back to us with a first round of concepts,” Weidensaul said. ‘‘By the time we give them directions, there is a significant amount of work done inside the agency, where their creative teams and their account executive teams are bantering back and forth about what is the strategy.
‘‘Of the whole slew of ideas, they narrow it down to a lesser slew, and present those to us through a vetting process,” he added.
This vetting process often employs the use of focus groups, which may include either Marines or potential leads, who analyze proposed commercials and then provide constructive criticism.
‘‘It’s a sanity check,” Weidensaul said. ‘‘Are we right? Are we wrong? Are we really off the spot? In some cases we may go back and start all over again.”
Typically, these commercial concepts are presented on a DVD or video with sound effects, music and narration. To give focus groups an idea of what they might later be watching in an actual TV commercial, sketches and storyboards are filmed in the place of live-action footage, which will only be shot once one of the commercial concepts is generally agreed upon as being the best. During these focus groups, participating personnel write down what they did or did not like and whether the commercial remained faithful to Marine Corps values.
Even after a commercial is shot, the decision still has to be made about what time and station would be most effective in reaching the Corps’ target audience.
However, according to Weidensaul, it’s not easy to gauge how successful a TV commercial is, as one cannot always draw a direct correlation between a new advertisement and an increase in recruiting numbers since there are so many variables involved in the decision to join. Nevertheless, Weidensaul said MCRC can measure advertising awareness by figuring Nielsen ratings and ad recall, so they can at least determine how many people watched the commercial and whether people thought it was effective or not. This process allows MCRC to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative aspects of their commercials.
‘‘We do have an evaluation process that we go through to make sure we got what we paid for,” Weidensaul said.
While TV has traditionally been considered the premier advertising medium, Weidensaul said Marines.com is currently the largest generator of fresh leads, as more and more people have ready Internet access. As technology changes, only time will tell what the most effective and expedient medium will be for raising awareness and excitement about joining the Corps.
No matter what the method or medium, however, MCRC will be sure to continue delivering the message of honor, courage and commitment to the American public.
Ellie