US Navy, Marines Strengthen Recruiting
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.
For the US Navy, meanwhile…

Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich., is being awarded a $16 million firm-fixed-price delivery order modification under previously awarded contract N00140-06-D-0005, to provide services in support of the Navy Recruiting Command’s Navy Recruitment Advertising Program. DID covered the original award, a $91.9 million contract with four one-year option periods and a maximum total estimated value of $468.6 million.
Work will be performed in Warren, MI, and is expected to be complete by July 2006. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was awarded through full and open competition, with two offers received. The Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Norfolk, Philadelphia Division issued the contract.
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.