Students Targeted by Military
The U.S. Army finally reached its enlistment goal in 2006, signing up 80,000 new recruits. Having missed enlistment goals since the start of the war in Iraq, the military is beefing up ways to lure recruits. The Army is opening a new recruiting office at State and Harrison, right in the center of an area filled with college and high school students.
Perhaps the $200 million per year designated for Army advertising is helping efforts to draw recruits to join a military where soldiers are dying daily. A part of this effort includes the Army changing its six-year-old advertising slogan from “An Army of One” to “Army Strong.” The new slogan, developed from numerous tests with focus groups and interviews with soldiers, conveys the idea that if you join the Army you will gain physical and emotional strength, as well as strength of character and purpose.
The other military services also look to slogans to booster interest by recruits. The Air Force recently switched its slogan from “Cross Into the Blue” to “Do Something Amazing.” The Navy made “Accelerate Your Life” its motto in 2001, and the Marine Corps’ “The Few, The Proud” has been a longtime favorite.