Maine Air National Guard Hires Texas Creative, Ltd. for Digital Marketing Assistance in Recruiting Efforts
May 17th, 2018 - by Texas Creative, Ltd. | Share on:
The military is finding it difficult to reach new recruits because we are looking at the smallest pool of eligible candidates in decades.
In a recent Pentagon panel cited in the U.S. Naval Institute News, "All the military services face increased recruiting challenges because more than 70 percent of America's youth do not meet Pentagon standards for enlistment," a member of the House Armed Services Committee said Thursday. Rep. Don Bacon, (R-Neb.) and a retired Air Force brigadier general, said, "The single most important ingredient to readiness is the constant flow of willing volunteers." But with 71 percent of the population between 17 to 24 unable to meet the fitness, weight and moral standards requirement, "it's a red flag for our country."
When the Maine Air National Guard went searching for a digital media buying agency to help meet recruiting goals they found Texas Creative through a competitive bid in GSA e-Buy system. Their challenge, not unlike other recruiting commands, was to reach 17 to 39-year-olds. These targets do not use the same media their parents and grandparents have used. As well, in remote communities like Maine, many use online music channels and apps to get their favorite music on demand.
Our successful digital media buying campaign was a 4-month effort, using digital music distribution channels to deliver a minimum of 300,000 ad impressions per month on streaming radio stations. We also geo-targeted the larger population centers in Maine and targeted both new recruits and those with prior service for the Maine Air National Guard.
We delivered 114% against the 1,200,000 goal. All this for $16,000. Digital streaming media is cost-effective, budget-friendly and measurable.
It's critical for today's military to partner with an experienced media team who can negotiate, plan, buy, monitor, optimize, verify, and deliver the results our recruiters need to find those qualified candidates. Our national security depends on it.