Case Study: The Naval Reserve

Through the Performance Continuum™, Monster Government Solutions helped the Naval Reserve to Attract through brand development, public service campaigns, and a variety of media and Hire by improving how the Reserve handles its ad response over the phone and on the Web.

The Naval Reserve wanted to meet its recruitment goals on a limited marketing budget. Having never worked with an HR communication agency before, the Reserve approached Monster Worldwide in December of 1999. Through Monster Government Solutions/TMP Worldwide it embarked on a challenging marketing campaign, implementing print, radio, television and interactive media, as well as setting up a new ad-response system. As a result, every subsequent fiscal year (2001-2003) has exceeded recruitment expectations.Today, Monster Government Solutions continues to ensure marketing success by evolving the Reserve’s communications strategy to fit post-9/11 military conditions.

Challenge: Low Recruitment and Limited Budget

Having the smallest advertising budget of any service branch, the Naval Reserve had consistently fallen short of its recruitment goals for three years. They sought to meet these goals, as well as to distinguish themselves from the active duty Navy, but when it came to recruitment, there was a sense of competition between the two. One of the problems with the Reserve’s recruitment efforts was their candidate selection process — their ad-response phone system and web site needed an overhaul.

Surprisingly, one of the most challenging aspects of the case occurred after Monster Government Solutions had already begun developing the Reserve’s new campaign. By 2002, a Navy “stop-loss” had been enacted due to 9/11, preventing personnel from leaving active duty. Also, prior-service Navy veterans were returning to active duty at this time, severely reducing the primary target market. Monster Government Solutions would have to step up once more to meet another challenge.

Response: Brand Development, Media Coverage

After the four-year contract was signed, Monster Government Solutions immediately began a brand development strategy and three-month lead generation project. Brand development revealed that the Naval Reserve had an exclusive position in the competitive market: that of a balanced bridge between civilian and military life. Based on this revelation, a new corporate logo was developed with the tagline “Stay Strong,” and a creative campaign entitled “Lifestyle” was approved. Because of the limited budget, the marketing strategy was implemented only at the highest recruitment time of the year in strong demographic markets (high concentrations of prior service/active duty personnel). Monster Government Solutions and the Naval Reserve worked together to set up a call center to handle ad response, and the client’s Web site was revamped.

At the start of 2002, Monster Government Solutions responded to the diminishing prior-service market by turning to a non-prior audience. They implemented the new “Be Somebody” campaign, selling an opportunity to “get involved” and “make a difference,” while encouraging the remainder of the prior service market to reconnect with the military reserve service. Because marketing to non-priors required a nationwide presence, the campaign was executed primarily through Maxim Magazine, USA Today and Fox Sports Net — media reaching the mostly male, 21- to 36-year-old target market. Interactive advertising was also utilized on Monster, HotJobs and Military.com, as well as the Naval Reserve’s Web site itself.

Results: More Recruitment, Better Response System

By the end of the fiscal year 2001, thanks to new advertising and a response system, the client had exceeded their year-end recruitment goal. In FY02, despite the new challenges posed by a reduction in the primary target market, the Naval Reserve had further exceeded its recruitment goals by one of the largest margins ever, and began FY03 ahead of the game. One TV spot during that year, “What Do You Think Is Worth Defending,” not only won the top award given in the employment advertising industry for 2002, but also helped generate more than $7 million of free media exposure.

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Monster Government Solutions offers government-proven expertise in all areas of human capital management to tackle the issues you have today and the ones that will arrive in the future. Our comprehensive Performance Continuum helps you Plan, Attract, Assess, Hire and ultimately Perform at new levels of mission effectiveness. Let Monster Government Solutions develop a systematic, integrated approach to your unique challenges.