Army National Guard strength maintenance conference
Situation Analysis:
Annual Recruiting Conferences. The Army National Guard (ARNG) is a large
organization with pressing needs for effective communication, on-going
training, and team building exercises. The National Guard Bureau, the
headquarters for the National Guard, organizes one annual and one
semi-annual recruiter conference called the Strength Maintenance Conference
and the Strength Maintenance Awards Conference.
Gathering from Near and Far. These conferences are venues where Guard
colleagues from all states and territories converge to share recruitment
knowledge, experiences and receive on-going training in a friendly
environment. Each of these conferences hosts up to 2,500 Soldiers, vendors
and family members.
Short Planning Time. Unlike private sector company conferences, ARNG
conferences cannot be planned far in advance. This is due to a variety of
circumstances surrounding the conference. Planning for these events
sometimes commences as little as two to four months prior to the event. This
short turnaround time requires effective organization, communication,
planning and execution skills — along with a strong stomach for the large
amounts of coffee consumed during the long production nights.
Flexible & Efficient. To successfully organize and execute these
conferences, the Guard needs a flexible company, capable of working on short
deadlines with efficiency and professionalism.
Strategy:
Hooah Answers the Production Call. To make the conference a reality, the
Guard works with a travel and lodging planner, an event planner, and a
production company. Hooah answers the call for production needs while
working closely with the other teams.
Design to Deadlines. The Guard’s requirements for the events call for the
design and production of the following task items: conference logo and
theme, branded apparel, event signage, registration materials, conference
website with online registration database and e-commerce capability,
newsletter, email communications, video backgrounds, A/V graphics,
motivational and inspirational videos, interactive CD-ROM, PowerPoint
presentations, and in-conference technical support for audio visual
operations. Hooah burns the midnight oil, making sure the deliverables are
finished on schedule.
Results:
Army National Guard strength maintenance conference
Another Successful Year. Working within tight deadlines, the team at Hooah
created a cohesive brand identity for the National Guard’s Strength
Maintenance Conference in the years 2005 through 2008. The ARNG was very
pleased with Hooah’s timely, creative work. We have been invited back to
handle these conferences for the ARNG each year since we started.
Army National Guard Heritage Outreach Program
Situation Analysis:
History for High Schoolers. The Guard wanted to spark an interest in
America’s military history by developing a new program that Guard Career
Counselors could take into high schools and share with students nationwide.
To accomplish this, the Guard needed to team up with a company that could
fully develop the information they had compiled, conceptualize how the
program would work, and design the course materials. At the same time, the
Guard needed a company to supplement their initial concepts with additional
ideas and strategies to complete the program and ensure its success.
Strategy:
From Concept to Completion. The Guard came to Hooah with a seedling of an
idea, a brief outline for a textbook, and no sure way how to execute it.
They wanted the Heritage Outreach Program (HOP) to be a curriculum
supplement that would inspire students to further investigate their military
heritage. Hooah analyzed the textbook outline, consulted educators, and
developed a comprehensive plan of execution for the entire program. Making
recommendations and conducting research, Hooah took the seed of the Guard’s
idea and grew it into a comprehensive set of educational materials, defined
processes, program marketing strategies, and web based tools to track and
manage the program.
Effective Education. In order to ensure success –significant and consistent
adoption rates in classrooms, this program needed to: 1) fit efficiently
into teachers’ existing lesson plans, 2) be highly educational, 3) be well
organized, 4) meet national curriculum standards, 5) track results, and 6)
capture the attention of its audience. To be well received by students, the
program would need to be fresh and modern in its presentation style and
methods.
Hooah designed a Student Textbook full of vintage graphics and photographs.
We also made sure the Textbook was written in full accordance with
educational curriculum standards, which further ensured its swift adoption
rate. Since the National Guard Career Counselors presenting the program have
little or no experience doing this kind of presentation, Hooah recommended
and subsequently developed a career counselor curriculum guide with
information on classroom management and teaching skills. To ensure that
Career Counselors delivered the material in a timely, organized fashion, we
also recommended creating Career Counselor Presentation Guides to accompany
the Student Textbook.
For teachers, Hooah recommended and developed an additional Teacher
Curriculum Guide which clearly described the Heritage Outreach Program’s
objectives to teachers, and included supplemental projects and discussion
points they could use at a later time.
To ensure that the classroom presentations would be effective, Hooah
recommended and developed interactive slideshow presentations for each war
featured in the program. These slideshows would guide the Career Counselors
in presenting HOP, and also serve as reference materials for teachers.
To market HOP, we developed a brochure mailer, promotional website and an
interactive CD-ROM.
Launching HOP in the Field. Hooah recommended using web based forms where
teachers could request presentations for their schools. Recruiters could use
a similar web form to inquire about signing up for HOP.
To administer the program, we recommended and developed an administration
website where shipments of the presentation materials could be managed.
Results:
The Wrap Up. As we put our creative arsenal to work, we inspired the Guard
to think beyond the norm. We delivered a program that is exciting, hip, and
highly informative. The Guard is both happily impressed and eager to begin
using HOP.
All HOP curriculum items were created in accordance with national curriculum
standards. This enables Career Counselors to present captivating material,
use effective classroom management, and provide an educational experience
for students.
The Heritage Outreach Program shows Hooah’s ability to exceed our client’s
expectations to inspire our nation’s youth to learn about America’s history
and military heritage.
Army National Guard “Hooked On Success” Program
Situation Analysis:
A
National Passion. America’s largest tournament fishing organization, the
FLW
has grown exponentially over the past ten years. Ranked as the fifth
most
popular sport in our nation, fishing boasts forty-four million
participants.
With such demographics, the Army National Guard (ARNG) saw
excellent
potential there to reach their target audience.
In 2006, the ARNG
launched a new marketing program sponsoring professional
anglers on the FLW
fishing tours. The sponsorship consisted of four bass
fishing boats wrapped
with branding, four professional anglers, and a few
co-anglers.
The
Missing Link. Although the sport sponsorship was reaching large
demographics,
the ARNG still lacked a clear marketing message connecting
recruitment to
bass fishing.
Strategy:
Answering the Call. Hooah teamed up with the
National Guard and proposed a
clear strategy for connecting fishing to the
Guard. Hooah’s strategy would
create a clear marketing and recruitment
message among FLW audiences. Hooah
recommended the development of a
recruitment video and website that would
match the sport’s style of
entertainment. The proposed television style
video would entertain audiences
with fishing stories, tips, and tricks while
delivering role model
advice.
The Story of Fishing Competition. The video tells the story of
what it’s
like to be in a fishing competition – explaining what is needed to
succeed
in sports, life and personal goals.
Results:
HD
Production. Hooah delivered an introductory four minute teaser for
the
Guard’s website, along with the full-length 30 minute High Definition
(HD)
DVD. This crystal clear HD video production was distributed as a stand
alone
promotional DVD, as a streaming video on the 1-800-Go-Guard website,
and
showcased through the Guard’s mobile team’s theater system – a custom
made
semi-trailer that expands to create a surround sound High Definition
(HD)
theater.
Fun, Effective Marketing Hits Its Target. This National
Guard video is an
effective branding tool. Without using a hard sell, the
video has generated
positive brand association by relating great role models
to the Guard family
and way of life. Audiences had as much fun watching this
HD production as we
did creating it. We have since become quite the bass
fishermen here at
Hooah. If you watch the “Hooked on Success” video, you may
find yourself
heading for the lake or giving the recruiter a call; perhaps
both.