"An Army of One" & Brand-Name Identification

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

*****   The New York Times
January 10, 2001, Wednesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 1; Column 2; National Desk
HEADLINE: Ads Now Seek Recruits for 'An Army of One'
BYLINE:  By JAMES DAO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, Jan. 9

In the most sweeping revision of its marketing practices in two 
decades, the Army this week will scrap its memorable advertising 
slogan, "Be all you can be," and replace it with one intended to 
appeal to the individualism and independence of today's youth: "An 
Army of one."

Based on research showing that young people view military life as 
dehumanizing, the motto will be the centerpiece of a $150 million 
campaign that uses slick commercials, a new logo and an interactive 
Web site, goarmy.com, to bolster the Army's recruiting programs, 
which have missed their goals two of the last three years.

It all kicks off when the Army premieres the first of its new 
commercials not during a Sunday football game, as might have been the 
case in the past, but during the popular NBC sitcom "Friends" this 
Thursday night.  The Army has been criticized for broadcasting too 
many advertisements during televised sporting events, and the choice 
of "Friends" is intended to help broaden its audience and shake off 
its stodgy, male-only image.  The commercial will also appear during 
"The Simpsons" on Fox and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on WB, among 
other programs, and on MTV, Comedy Central and Channel 1, which is 
broadcast in high schools.

The 60-second spot, produced by the Army's new advertising agency, 
Leo Burnett U.S.A. of Chicago, tries to counter what Army officials 
said was the widespread perception among young men and women that 
soldiers were faceless, nameless cogs in an impersonal military 
machine.

The commercial features a lone corporal running across the barren 
terrain of the Mojave Desert at dawn.  At one point, a squad of 
soldiers runs past in the opposite direction; later, a Blackhawk 
helicopter flies by overhead. But the corporal never veers from his 
solitary path, panting under the weight of his 35-pound pack as his 
polished dog tags glint brilliantly in the rising sun.

"Even though there are 1,045,690 soldiers just like me, I am my own 
force," the corporal, Richard P. Lovett, says.  "With technology, 
with training, with support, who I am has become better than who I 
was."

"And I'll be the first to tell you, the might of the U.S. Army 
doesn't lie in numbers," Corporal Lovett continues.  "It lies in me. 
I am an Army of one."

It might seem incongruous for the Army, which for two centuries has 
trained its recruits in the art of selflessness and unit cohesion, to 
promote itself as an incubator of self-actualization.  Indeed, in 
recent decades many military officials have come to view the armed 
forces as a redoubt against unbridled individualism.

But Louis Caldera, the departing secretary of the Army, who initiated 
and championed the marketing makeover, said that no one should be 
worried that the Army is advocating self-centered behavior.

"They are going to get the ethic of selfless service, duty, honor and 
country in basic training and in every unit they are assigned to," 
Mr. Caldera said.  "But you've got to get them in the door to try 
selfless service.  And you've got to let them know that even though 
it is about selfless service, they are still individuals."

Mr. Caldera said the campaign would de-emphasize benefits the Army 
has long promoted in its recruiting literature, including college 
tuition and signing bonuses, because its marketing research showed 
that many young people were already aware of those benefits.

The research also showed that many adults of prime recruiting age, 18 
to 24, wanted swifter gratification from signing up.

"It's a me-now group," Mr. Caldera said. Partly for that reason, the 
Army coined a second slogan for the campaign, which is intended to 
promote the possibilities of eventually marketing military training 
to the private sector: "212 different ways to be a soldier."  The 
number refers to training specialties.

Mr. Caldera, 44, who has a master's degree from Harvard Business 
School, made revamping recruiting and marketing a priority when he 
became secretary in July 1998.

That year, the Army fell short of its goal of 72,550 enlistees by 
801; in 1999, it missed its target of 74,500 enlistees by 6,290.  In 
2000, however, the Army barely surpassed its goal of 80,000 
enlistees, by 113. The goal for 2001 is 78,950.

Pentagon officials have attributed their recruiting problems, which 
have hit all the services except the Marine Corps, to several 
factors: more high school graduates attending college, a booming 
economy and a decline in the number of people of prime recruiting age.

But a study commissioned last year by Secretary of Defense William S. 
Cohen suggested that some of the blame lay with the Pentagon itself. 
The study recommended that the Army, Navy and Air Force articulate 
clearer images to potential recruits, do more research into 
currentattitudes and rely less on advertising during sporting events.

Under Mr. Caldera, the Army created a four-person marketing office at 
the Pentagon.  It hired McKinsey & Company and RAND to review 
marketing practices and conduct an extensive survey of potential 
recruits.  And it ended its 13-year relationship with Young & 
Rubicam, hiring Leo Burnett last summer to be its lead advertising 
agency. Leo Burnett's clients include McDonald's, Walt Disney and 
Coca-Cola.

Army officials said the marketing data showed many young people 
wanted to be part of "something bigger."  But many also held negative 
perceptions of the military, including that soldiers cannot date, 
have no free time and spend most of their time in the mud.

And the research suggested a cultural divide, with many saying they 
did not know or could not identify with anyone in the armed forces.

Patrick Lafferty, a vice president with Leo Burnett, described one 
typical view of the Army this way: "It's people unlike me.  And if 
they're not like me, I don't want to be part of it."

In part to address those perceptions, the Army has tried to 
personalize its advertising by using real soldiers instead of actors. 
On its Web site, potential recruits will be able to click on 
photographs of soldiers and hear them talk about themselves and Army 
life.  Future commercials will also depict soldiers confronting 
problems, and challenge viewers to solve those problems, with the 
answers to be posted on goarmy.com.

Army officials said their market research also suggested that the 
Army needed stronger "brand-name" identification.  The result was a 
new logo, a white star with gold and black edging.  Army officials 
said that there were no plans to incorporate the logo into uniforms 
but that it would probably be woven into running gear and other Army 
products.

Mr. Caldera said it was unlikely that "Be all you can be," which was 
created 20 years ago this month and remains one of the most 
identifiable slogans in advertising history, would be completely 
dropped.

Leo Burnett's one-year contract, which can be renewed annually for 
three additional years, calls for the firm to receive bonuses if the 
Army exceeds its recruiting goals.  The Army has budgeted $150 
million for the entire campaign in the current fiscal year, which 
ends in September.  But it has declined to disclose the size of Leo 
Burnett's fees.

When Leo Burnett was first hired, the Army was accused by some 
critics of not doing enough to recruit minority-owned advertising 
firms.  Forty percent of soldiers belong to minority groups.

In part to address that concern, Leo Burnett hired two minority-owned 
subcontractors, Cartel Creativo, a Hispanic-owned agency, and IMAGE 
USA, which specializes in marketing to African-Americans.

Some of the new material will also be tailored to minority 
communities, with, for instance, certain commercials appearing on 
Univision and Telemundo, the Spanish-language television networks.

The Army also made a point of featuring mixed-race soldiers in some 
of the advertisements.  Corporal Lovett is of Panamanian and Native 
American descent.

Mr. Caldera said he had no plans to brief advisers to President-elect 
George W. Bush about the marketing campaign, saying he was confident 
they would like it.

"It would be capricious to come in and say, gee, I've got to change 
it just because there is a change in administration," he said.

GRAPHIC: Photo: An image from the Army recruiting commercial that 
will begin tomorrow.  The spot is intended to appeal to 
individualistic youth.   *****

*****   The New York Times
January 12, 2001, Friday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 23; Column 2; Editorial Desk
HEADLINE: Marketing an Army of Individuals
BYLINE:  By Lucian K. Truscott IV;  Lucian K. Truscott IV, a 1969 
graduate of West Point, is the author of "Full Dress Gray."
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

After decades of attempts to convince the youth of small-town, 
conservative America to join the Army team, the new recruiting 
campaign with the slogan "An Army of One" had its debut this week 
during NBC's "Friends."  The stark departure from the old emphasis on 
team spirit shows a bit of desperation.  A real-life Army corporal 
faces the camera and says: "And I'll be the first to tell you, the 
might of the U.S. Army doesn't lie in numbers.  It lies in me.  I am 
an army of one."  By hitting this lone-wolf tone, the ad attempts to 
address the concerns of young adults who see the Army as a nameless 
horde, conditioned to follow orders blindly.

Marketing research ordered by the secretary of the Army, Louis E. 
Caldera, a 1978 graduate of West Point, confirmed what he must have 
already known: Many young Americans see life in the military as 
dehumanizing.  It can be.  The Army and the other armed services are 
the only employers in the United States that can send you to bed at 
taps, wake you up in a rain-soaked tent, order you to don a 40-pound 
pack to march 20 miles and prosecute you under a federal law if you 
refuse to comply.

The ad campaign is fresh and visually bold, but I doubt that what 
motivates people to sign up has changed much over the years.  Joining 
the Army is not about individualism and rarely about money.  For most 
enlistees, I think it's still about a desire to serve your country 
and an irresistible urge to escape the confines of one-stoplight 
hometowns and big-city apartment blocks.

The new marketing strategy seems designed to appeal to 
individualistic youth, and while that may seem to be a departure from 
the Army's stated goal of unit cohesion, the Army of 2001 clearly has 
different needs than the Army I served 30 years ago.

By moving some of its ads from the Sunday afternoon football, with 
its male-heavy audience, and running them on MTV and during "Buffy 
the Vampire Slayer," the Army seems to be placing more emphasis on 
recruiting young women.  The Pentagon is clearly aware that female 
recruits are, by and large, better educated and enter the Army with 
higher skill levels than male recruits.  Today, women make up 14 
percent of those on active duty, and 20 percent of new recruits.

But since the late 1990's, the Army has had increasing difficulty in 
retaining women once they have been recruited.  According to its own 
figures, in 1999, a year when the Army missed its recruiting goals by 
6,290, fully 47 percent of enlisted Army women either resigned 
voluntarily or were forced out before they had served three years. 
Only 28 percent of men left before serving three years.

The new advertising approach might attract more women, but marketing 
alone won't change the fact that many female soldiers still perceive 
a cultural gap in an Army with an officer corps that tends to be 
largely Southern, white and very conservative.

Nearly everything in corporate marketing today is about brand name 
identification and appealing to a specific segment of the public. 
But applying marketing "science" to military recruiting may backfire. 
Every time the Army comes up with a new recruiting program, it is 
attempting to address a deeper problem.  The current problem is 
retainment. The Army's new advertising campaign seems likely to fail 
if it succeeds in recruiting smart, independent-minded young people 
who find that the Army doesn't live up to the image in the ad they 
saw on "Friends."   *****