The US Navy and Marines recently awarded a pair of additional contracts as part of their ongoing recruiting efforts. Walter Thompson Co. USA in Atlanta, GA received a $36.2 million modification to previously awarded GSA Task Order M00264-02-F-0213 for marketing and advertising services in support of the Marine Corps recruitment programs. The cumulative value of this contract is $196.5 million. Work will be performed in Atlanta, GA and is expected to be complete by September 2006. The Regional Contracting Office Northeast in Quantico, VA issued the contract.
Defense firms interested in doing business with the Pentagon are limited by federal law in their ability to interact with procurement officials. But that isn’t stopping them from mass advertising. The Washington Post notes that companies may invest years of work and millions of dollars just preparing a proposal for the most complicated multi-million or multi-billion dollar contracts. They don’t always know who is on the decision committee. By blanketing the area with mass advertising, they hope to reach some of the officials who have a say in the matter – or the subordinates, peers, et. al. who influence them.
It seems inefficient, and it is. Still, consider the situation. Larry Allen, executive vice president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, said: “They spend so much money putting together their proposals that the relatively small amount of money they spend on advertising is a way to try to protect their investment in the proposal,” Allen said. “They might do a $20,000 ad campaign on WTOP [a Washington radio station], which gets you some nice air time, but that is a fraction of a cost of putting together their proposal, which can easily cost more than a $1 million.”
Recruiting remains one of the top 5 priorities for the USA’s Chief of Naval Operations. IPG’s Campbell-Ewald in Warren, MI was the incumbent agency for the US Navy’s overall recruiting campaign, but as DID reported on June 17/05, that account was under its regular review.
The firm’s previous contract ended in September 2005. And the new winner is…
A number of different U.S. military organizations have recently issued recruiting-related contracts, including a $250 million advertising & publicity contract for the U.S. Army, up to $200 million for various National Guard related services, and up to $35.1 million in materials for Navy Recruiting Command.
The U.S. Army and especially the National Guard have recently had issues meeting recruiting goals as the regular force size rises, and the prime cohort for National Guard enlistment sees more of a stark choice between re-enlistment in the regular force and service abroad vs. exit from the service.
The U.S. Navy is asking for proposals from ad agencies as part of a regular review for its $60-90 million media account, according to AdWeek. The U.S. military generally picks an agency for a one-year term that has four relatively easy renewal opportunities, ending in a more major review every five years. The current incumbent, IPG’s Cambell-Ewald, will see its contract expire at the end of September 2005.
Cambell-Ewald saw its account expanding rapidly, with the Navy approving a special contract expansion agreement in January to boost media weight by about $10 million. All major service branches have increased their online recruiting efforts several-fold. MarketingVOX has further details.
After already delaying its ad account review decision by six months, AdAge reports that the U.S. Army has cancelled the $200 million review after all. The six agencies that wasted months and hundreds of thousands of dollars pitching the Army were cautioned last summer by at least one trade magazine that the process may prove one of those statutory, pro forma reviews that government agencies often must do simply to comply with the law.
J. Walter Thompson Co., USA in Atlanta, GA received a $7.7 million modification to previously awarded GSA Task Order (M00264-02-F-0213) for marketing and advertising services in support of the Marine Corps recruitment programs. Work will be performed in Atlanta, GA and is expected to be complete by September 2005. The Regional Contracting Office Northeast, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., issued the task order modification. For a good illustration of the longer-term shifts in the U.S. military’s recruitment messages and methods, this 1999 memo “Recruitment Ads: New Strategies, New Messages” offers some useful background.
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“Crush Your Limitations”
J. Walter Thompson Co., USA in Atlanta, GA received a $7.7 million modification to previously awarded GSA Task Order (M00264-02-F-0213) for marketing and advertising services in support of the Marine Corps recruitment programs. Work will be performed in Atlanta, GA and is expected to be complete by September 2005. The Regional Contracting Office Northeast, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., issued the task order modification. For a good illustration of the longer-term shifts in the U.S. military’s recruitment messages and methods, this 1999 memo “Recruitment Ads: New Strategies, New Messages” offers some useful background.
Continue Reading… »
“Crush Your Limitations”
J. Walter Thompson Co., USA in Atlanta, GA received a $7.7 million modification to previously awarded GSA Task Order (M00264-02-F-0213) for marketing and advertising services in support of the Marine Corps recruitment programs. Work will be performed in Atlanta, GA and is expected to be complete by September 2005. The Regional Contracting Office Northeast, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va., issued the task order modification. For a good illustration of the longer-term shifts in the U.S. military’s recruitment messages and methods, this 1999 memo “Recruitment Ads: New Strategies, New Messages” offers some useful background.
