Wednesday, January 10, 2001 - 10:00 a.m. EST
(Also participating: Gen. Jack Keane, vice chief of staff of the Army; Linda Wolf, chief executive officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide; Chris Miller, co-CEO of Chemistry, an interactive company within Leo Burnett; and Maj. Gen. Larry D. Gottardi, chief, Army Public Affairs)
Gottardi: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Major General Larry Gottardi, Army chief of Public Affairs. I'd like to thank you for joining us today as we announce the Army's new advertising campaign.
This is an exciting day for the Army, exciting day for the Army leadership, America's youth, and most of all, for our soldiers. We're honored today to have with us today the Honorable Louis Caldera, secretary of the Army; General Jack Keane, the vice chief of staff of the Army; the chief executive officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, Ms. Linda Wolf.
Joining us today also is the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Mr. P.T. Henry; Brigadier General Bob Gaylord, who some of you may remember from his public affairs days, who is the deputy commanding general of the United States Army Recruiting Command; Mr. John McLaurin, who is the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Colonel Paul Burton, commander of the 4th Brigade of the 1st ROTC Region; and Colonel Gary Profit, director of Public Affairs, United States Army Reserve.
Additionally, we have Mr. Barry Lipsy, who is the chief marketing officer for the Army's Business and Marketing Brand Group; Ms. Victoria Varela Hudson, president and director of strategic planning at Cartel Creativo; and Mr. Robert McNeil, president and chief executive officer of IMAGES USA.
And I'd also like to welcome the staffs of the three agencies who have joined us in the Pentagon today as well.
We have a busy agenda, a lot of ground to cover, so we'll get started. Let me note that the secretary and Ms. Wolf will take questions at the completion of their presentations. And for the sake of expediency, would ask that you limit your questions in this briefing to the topics of the new advertising campaign and recruiting issues in general. We will also have subject matter experts from our partnership agencies and from the Army staff available after this briefing for any additional questions.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce the 17th Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Louis Caldera.
Caldera: Thank you very much, Larry. The vice, of course, also is available to answer any of your questions. This is really an exciting day for the Army and a culmination of two years of very hard work. Let me just recap a little bit of what those two years have represented.
The Army missed its recruiting goals three times in the last five years since 1995. Moreover, by tens of thousands of soldiers we have been short the number of soldiers that we wanted to recruit and have in our delayed-entry pool the number of soldiers who are prepared to go into basic training in the coming fiscal year. The greatest shortfall, of course, was in FY '99 when we came up 6,500 recruits short. Last year, we met our recruiting goals. We did it by dint of hard work of everybody in the Army and especially our recruiters, recruiting more than 20,000 than we had in the year before. But despite the fact that we made our recruiting numbers last year, it was very clear, since the time that I came on board as secretary, that we needed to change the way that we communicate with the young people in America.
So two years ago, we asked McKinsey and Company to start a very large marketing study for the Army and, as a result of a lot of their work, some of the insights they gave us is that we needed to do research-based advertising, understanding youth attitudes and needs. We had the Rand Corporation do a very large marketing study of more than 7,000 individuals, focusing precisely on youth attitudes and needs and how to communicate with today's 18- to 24-year-old. Every generation of 18-year-olds is different. Gen X is different from Gen Y, is different from today's 18- to 24-year-olds, is different from the one that will be here in a couple of years. So that research that we're doing, that market research, will now be an ongoing part of how the Army thinks about how it communicates with young people.
That study told us that we didn't have anybody in the Army who understood marketing, who was responsible for the Army brand and the marketing strategy, and that's why we created a Marketing Strategy Office, and that's why we hired civilian professionals with marketing backgrounds like Barry Lipsy to help us understand how to use that data to focus the opportunity the Army has to offer and communicate it appropriately to the target markets that are available to us. They told us we didn't have an Army "brand," something that identified all the different components of the Army, that tied together the opportunity that the Army represents.
A year and a half ago we made the decision to compete our advertising business, to move from a requirements contract to a performance-based contract, to go out and find the absolute best advertising agency in the world that could help the Army market its opportunities to America's young people.
Six months ago, we announced that we have selected Leo Burnett Worldwide and their partners, Cartel Creativo, a Spanish language-oriented firm -- Hispanic-owned firm, IMAGES USA, an African-American-owned firm, to help us focus on those market opportunities that are available to us.
After six months of tremendous, tremendous work on the part of Leo Burnett and their partners, we have now arrived at this point in which all of that research that has gone into this -- all the creative work that has gone into this to help us understand how to talk to young people on their level; what they want to hear about Army opportunities.
We know that it is a generation that wants to know, "How does the Army benefit me as an individual today?" And so you will see in the advertising that we are showing you that it talks to them as individuals. It talks about the Army as the door-opening opportunity that will strengthen me mentally, morally, physically, by virtue of the training that I will get. It has the concept of teamwork -- please listen closely -- that with training, with technology, with support, who I am is better than who I was. We are not selling money for college. We are selling how the Army strengthens you as an individual.
You will also note that in this advertising, we talk about 212 ways to be a soldier. We identify specific military specialties. Part of what we want them to understand is that the kind of interests they have in occupational training and work experience, they can get it through the Army; that they should come and explore those 212 ways to be a soldier to find the one that's right for them, whether it is as an infantryman, or as an artilleryman, or as a medical technician, a computer repairman, a helicopter repairman, a wheeled-vehicle generator repairman. We want to drive them to the web site where they're going to get more of that information about the opportunities that are available, and help them make an informed decision. Our goal is to make the Army one of the options that they are considering for the future.
You will see that we have branded the Army -- that there is a logo that now stands for the Army brand. And it will be the same across -- whether it's ROTC program, active duty, Army Reserve, National Guard, so that we amplify the message of what this opportunity is to serve in the Army.
When the young people go the web site [ http://www.goarmy.com/ ], they're going to hear about some of these soldiers, learn about some of these soldiers, real soldiers, in these ads, and they're going to learn about them as individuals, because one of the questions that young people have is, "Are there people like me in the Army? Would I want to be a part of this organization? Will I have a personal life?"
And so they'll see, for example, Corporal Lovett, and they'll see what he looked like as he was graduating from high school, have him talking as he was going through basic training, see him with a picture of his wife and new baby son. And they will get to see that yes, real people, people that you want to be associated with, people like you, people you want as friends are people who have joined the Army, and it is not so difficult that you can't make it through basic training and through -- and take advantage of this opportunity, if you set your mind to it.
And so with that, I would like to first show you what our new Army logo and brand looks like. It is Army of One. The soldier is an Army of One in the United States Army, a very individual message, but in the United States Army, as part of a larger team. And then we'd like to show you the 60-second commercial that will premier on the "Friends" television show tomorrow night, and then the 30-second variation of that first advertising that we're going to be doing.
With that, if we -- this is the logo: Army of One, U.S. Army of One. (To staff.) And with that, let's show the ad, please.
(Ad is shown.) [ http://www.usarec.army.mil/launchkit/tv/dog_tags60.html -- no longer available ].
With that, it is my pleasure to introduce our vice chief of staff of the Army, General Jack Keane.
Keane: Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Ms. Wolf and members of Leo Burnett, the media, fellow soldiers and Army civilians, it's certainly an honor for me to be here today to participate in this event. And I'm very proud of the men and women in uniform, who are going to reap benefit of this tremendous advertising campaign, and those who are about to enter our ranks as a result of this campaign.
Secretary Caldera, once again, your innovative leadership -- coupled, in my judgment, with unyielding passion to make our Army better -- have produced yet another comprehensive initiative to improve on our Army's recruiting efforts. On behalf of our soldiers and leaders, who will witness firsthand the success of an Army of One campaign, I thank you for making today's event possible and for the legacy of opportunities that you have provided for our Army family.
An Army of One serves as a communication bridge between our Army team and its potential new members. The message it sends is both important and powerful, because it truly reflects the character and the values of our Army. These intangibles are the heartbeat of our institution.
And soldiering, as General Shinseki likes to say, is an affair of the heart. Furthermore, the campaign realistically portrays life as a soldier and it diminishes a recruit's possible misconceptions about who we are and what we are about.
This candid portrayal does several things for our Army. First, it lets recruits know that we are speaking to their self-image, their values, and their inspirations, while conveying that our Army is larger than one person; it's part of a team. Second, it tells our recruits that in this time of transformation, we as an institution are reaffirming our values -- the importance of self-reliance, self-discipline, and the importance of each individual soldier.
Third, it places emphasis on one's personal development while contributing to and being a part of a strong team. Without question, affording our recruits and soldiers the opportunity to grow and develop as people is critical to the future of our Army and, quite frankly, it's critical to continuing to serve the cause of freedom and democracy that we as Americans hold so dear.
And last, it sends a message to today's influencers -- parents, teachers, and community members who help to steer our youngsters toward a possible service in the United States Army.
I think it's quite fitting that, as our Army continues its transformation journey to our new objective force, an Army of One that will attract new recruits wanting to transform themselves; those that want personal growth, those that want to be challenged, those that want to become leaders, and those that want to become part of something larger than themselves.
Shortly, you will be introduced to five bright and talented young soldiers whose faces you will soon see on TV screens and a plethora of other media. These soldiers come from all walks of life, possess different military occupation skills, and represent different units from across the United States Army. In my view, they represent truly what is good in our Army and what is great about this nation, and I really appreciate the role, the key role, that they are playing in the development of this campaign.
As a final thought, the world has changed dramatically over this past decade. Those of you in this room have lived every bit of it with us. And no one understands this reality better than the American soldier who finds him or herself maintaining stability in a dangerous, complex world, day in and day out.
We expect them to do what is right when they are confronted with the inherent challenges associated with operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, Haiti. And the list goes on, as you know.
And I might add, we expect them to get it right with minimal direct supervision. That requires a special individual, someone with mental and physical toughness, someone with a strong moral fiber, someone with a heart, and someone with maturity, and someone that does what is right when no one is looking. This kind of a soldier is what is exemplified in this campaign and we're proud of it.
I want to thank Linda and the Leo Burnett family and our market strategy team that works in headquarters, Department of the Army, for your innovative efforts in designing this campaign. And most important, I want to thank our new advertising agency for taking the time to getting to know who we are and what we stand for, because it's reflected in these ads.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Caldera: Ladies and gentlemen, the chief executive officer at Leo Burnett, Worldwide is Linda Wolf.
Wolf: Thank you. Everyone's talked about this day being very exciting, and for us it truly is. When we were here last June and given the assignment of reenergizing the Army brand, both Leo Burnett and Cartel Creativo and IMAGES USA knew that this was going to be a very exciting challenge for us.
We got going on it very early, and as General Keane was just saying, we, in fact, did our own sort of boot camp. We did a lot of travel. We went to a lot of Army forts and posts. We talked to hundreds of soldiers and recruits. That was key to what we were doing. We jumped out of some airplanes. And we literally did everything we could to really discover what it was like to be a soldier in today's Army.
And what we found was a group of people who are very, very impressive; a group of people who are very responsible, who are smart, who are strong, who are very proud, and who are very dedicated to what the Army is all about. These are people who are also part of a team; they're part of a family. And yet each one is their own individual; an individual driven by both mental strength -- of both mind and body.
So as we set out to communicate the Army's opportunities we knew we needed to tell the soldier's story. Just as the true strength of the Army lies in the soldiers, soldiers are the strength of the Army's message. And that's exactly what "Army of One" is all about.
So what does it mean? First of all, it's a message of empowerment. It's about soldiers, the individuals who define the Army. It's about the mental, physical and emotional power that lies inside very soldier. An Army of One is about the transformation that young men and women go through as they become soldiers, and as those soldiers become leaders.
Each soldier is an undeniable force. They're trained to lead, to succeed, and protect this nation. In this campaign, we want America to see the soldier's strength.
Now, the interesting thing about Army of One is it's about the individual, but it's also about the collective strength of the Army -- the more than one million soldiers that are united around one mission. It's a team of young men and women who are dedicated to protecting all that the U.S. stands for, and protecting the Constitution. It's about the teamwork that binds these heroic soldiers, and the power of the unified force that they embody. So that's what we think is so wonderful about the Army of One -- it does both things; it talks about the individual and it talks about the overall body of people that work together.
So what I want to do now is I want to show elements of the campaign. The key is to surround our target with this message, with a message that we know is very relevant to them. So the first thing I want to do is I want to show you some of the print. And I think you've got it up here. The print is targeting both the general market, the Hispanic market, the influencers in the Hispanic market, and the African American community and the U.S. Army Reserve. And what you'll see is these ads actually play off the, obviously, icons of the Army, but they have a real humanity to them as well. And I really would like to read -- let me read the copy from the ad that is in the middle here.
Mike, do you want to point that one out?
And this is Specialist Tiffany Komarek. She's a military intelligence specialist. And the copy on this ad says, "Straight out of the Army Language School, I joined the Tactical Analysis Team at the American Embassy in Bolivia. There I was, my first year in, working with DEA on a national security case, reporting straight to the Pentagon. I am an Army of One, and who I am is better than who I was."
And each one of these ads, obviously, tells the story of another soldier and how they embody an Army of One.
Now, obviously, in addition to the print, you saw one of the television commercials. What I'd like to do is show you another commercial, and this one is a little bit different; it talks about working as a team, the Army as a team, and talks about the tough decisions that have to be made as part of that team. We also introduce the 212 ways that you can become an soldier in the United States Army.
This spot is called "Simulation." And you'll see what we do is we ask a question in this spot, then we immediately drive the viewer to the web site because a lot of what we're doing here is driving people to the web site where there's a lot more information.
So why don't we run "Simulation"? (Runs part of ad.) [On the web at http://www.usarec.army.mil/launchkit/tv/simulation.html -- no longer available ]. Obviously, there's more on television that will be going on. We wanted to give you an idea today of the first two commercials that will be airing.
We talked about the web site, and obviously that is critical to our overall plan. With 93 percent of young adults on the Internet at least once a week, that is a key place for us to be able to communicate our message to them. It also allows us to give more information and allows the people who go to the web site to really understand better what the personal stories are of the soldiers who are being profiled there.
So what we want to do now is I want to introduce Chris Miller, who is the co-CEO of Chemistry, which is an interactive company within Leo Burnett, and Chris is going to take you through a little bit of the web site.
Miller: Thanks. Building off all the media touch points, all the television and print that you've just seen, working with a great team at U.S. Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, we were really able to redesign the web site to be reflective of everything that we've heard.
So this is the new home page and, in fact, the Internet is launching about 20 minutes ago, so when you walk out of this room you'll be able to go to goarmy.com and see all these great things that you see, in addition to the TV spots that you've just seen as well. Corporal Lovett, featured on the home page. But we want to get deeper. We want to find out who these people are about. So we have an area called "Soldier Profiles." Within the Soldier Profiles you can learn about who this person is, what they were and now what they've become, so we have various video clips that can play throughout those.
Specialist Hehs, the "Simulation" piece that you just saw there, "What do you do?" We're not going to play the answer today. You'll have to go to goarmy.com to see what he would do. But importantly, we can find out who he was before he went into the Army. So why don't we click on Specialist Hehs and we'll take a look at who he was, and we'll take a look at the unexpected. (Video clip runs.)
Throughout the other clips we can find out military intelligence, a little bit about his MOS [military occupational specialty]. We launch with two soldiers; the additional soldiers that we saw on the boards and other ads will be coming up as well. So the potential recruits and potential prospects out there will really be able to find out who these soldiers were and really find out that they're just like them and they can achieve this, too.
It's also all about jobs, as well. So we have a job section within here. So if we click on "Jobs" we can also click on the MOS of that particular individual and find out more about what they're doing. Each of the MOS categories are broken down, and this gives people the ability to not only find out the 212 ways to become a soldier, but the ways that they can become a soldier as well.
The web site being a growing thing, look for more and new innovative things coming on over the next couple of months as this continues to grow out, working with the great team at Burnett, as well as the U.S. Army.
Wolf: Thank you.
Obviously, what's key is having this message surround our target. And we have a lot of other materials that we're not going to take you through today, but there's kits that you'll be able to see -- the recruiter's kit -- there's other materials that we are doing with the whole idea of Army of One will be our message out there across the board.
Obviously, diversity is key to the Army, it's key to the work that we've been doing. We've been working very closely with Cartel Creativo and also with IMAGES USA in developing all of this work. They're as committed as we are to understanding the target and understanding what's relevant to that target, and then getting that message out to them.
So, shortly you'll be seeing work on Black History Month, and also our Hispanic both print and television advertising, which will be coming out in the very near future.
What I really want to do now is I want to introduce the soldiers who have been such a key part of the campaign that we developed. These are the people who are empowered; these are the people that truly embody an Army of One. And I know that you all would like to meet them today, because they are the new stars of our campaign. So let me start out and introduce Corporal Richard P. Lovett. (Applause.) And then Specialist Natalie Ortiz, Specialist Carlos Perez, Sergeant Leroy Durrah Jr., and Sergeant Joseph E. Patterson. The Army of One. (Applause.)
I have to personally thank them for all that they did working with us on this advertising campaign because they have a very tough job day in, day out, and in addition to that, now they have a whole other role that they're playing. So thank all of you very much for all that you're doing. And thank all of you. We are very excited about this new campaign. And I think we're ready to move on.
Caldera: Okay, thank you, Ms. Wolf. And thank these great soldiers for being here today.
Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now take your questions about our new advertising campaign. We're planning for approximately 20 minutes for a formal question-and-answer session. And then, of course, all the members of the creative team and the soldiers will be available afterwards to answer any specific questions you may have about the campaign and any specific questions you may have about the soldiers, about their background or their views and experiences in service in the Army.
So we'll take the first question.
Ma'am?
Q: Could you talk about the budget for this and how much the -- particularly how much the spot will be that's debuting tomorrow night, and then the overall budget numbers?
Caldera: It's about $150 million for the advertising campaign. Over the last few years, actually, the amount of money we put into advertising has not kept pace with inflation in advertising. So it's fairly consistent with what we've done in the past. We are trying to take advantage of the ability to buy earlier and get better prices and be more targeted in the shows that actually fit the demographic that we're trying to reach. That's why it's on --
Q: A hundred and fifty million for one year?
Caldera: That's roughly what our advertising budget is for the year.
Q: And then the --
Caldera: And then that's why we're trying to be in the kinds of programs that reflect the demographic that we're trying to reach, and not in places like NBA basketball where you're reaching a lot of people who are not in the recruitment age demographic.
Q: And so how much is the "Friends" spot?
Wolf: In terms of how much it costs?
Q: Yeah, how much did it cost for a minute of air --
Caldera: That one specific time? I think we'll have to get you that information, Pam.
Q: Can you ballpark it?
Caldera: We'll have to --
Wolf: It really depends on a specific buy, so I mean, it's not easy --
Q: Well, there is a specific buy; it's tomorrow night, it's 60 seconds on "Friends."
Wolf: No, no. I understand.
Caldera: Pam, we can get you that information, if you'd like to know what that was specifically.
Yes, sir?
Q: What is the breakdown on the budget for the demographics, Hispanics and African American?
Caldera: Well, I think, first of all, you're going to see a lot of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americas in the general market advertising, not just in specialty advertising. Over the last couple of years, we have doubled the amount of advertising that we were doing on Spanish-language advertising. We also cut our first ROTC ad in Spanish in the last couple of months. And so we've doubled it to, I think, about $10 million a year. But it is certainly a part of our focus for the future.
Yes, sir?
Q: One of the reasons that the Army has had problems, the economy has been so good. There are some people who suggest that how much you pay in bonuses, how much you pay, how the economy is doing is really more a factor than the advertising. How important is the advertising in terms of getting recruits?
Caldera: Actually, I think advertising is very important, and advertising works. You advertise, you increase your sales. And so you've got to communicate to young people and you've got to communicate to their parents. The time in our country when it was all word of mouth and it was a family tradition -- that my dad served, my grandfather did, my uncle did, my brother did, so I will too -- is gone. And so now we have to communicate what this opportunity is to every generation; we have to communicate to their parents, and we have to communicate to 13- and 14- and 15-year-olds so it will be somewhere in their mindset.
The real competition for recruits is not the hot economy, it's higher education. Three-quarters of high school graduates are going to higher education. That's why we've done things like improve our in-service education programs through Army University Access Online, our Distance Education Program for soldiers, because we want to communicate a message that says, "You can learn while you serve."
Now, we're not -- we're not pushing that, as you can tell in the ads. What we're saying in the ad is, This is an opportunity that strengthens you by the experiences you will be having. So when a young person turns 18 -- 17, 18 -- and they start to think about what their options are for the future, what does that list look like? Go to college? Get a job? Hang out with my friends? We want "join the Army" to be one of those lists of options. If it's not even on the list, then we don't even have a shot at them. This gives them a reason why they ought to say, Maybe I should think about being in the Army, because it will strengthen me mentally, morally and physically. And so this then drives them to the web site so that they can explore that option further. But you've got to get them to consider it to begin with, and you do that through advertising.
Q: Just as a follow-up on that, rate one versus the other; the economy versus the extra benefits versus advertising in terms of the lure to come to the Army.
Caldera: Young people know -- the market research that we did tells us that there are many young people out there who know that they can get good occupational training and work experience in the Army. They also know that it is a maturing opportunity, a chance to be independent, on your own, to learn discipline and teamwork and get physically fit, in better shape. They know there are positives about the military.
They also are concerned that there are obstacles. Will I have a personal life? Will I be treated friendly? Do people like me join the Army? Will I be far from home and not see my family? And so some of the -- we are both trying to communicate what the opportunities are and we are also trying to lower the obstacles by showing them, through real soldiers on the web site, that yes, in fact, people like you join the Army. You can have friends in the Army. You can have a family and family life in the Army. And that this is a good, positive experience, that basic training is not so hard, that you can make it through it if you want to, and that not everybody who is in the Army ever saw themselves as someone who would have enlisted, but they tried it and they're happy with the decision that they made.
Yes?
Q: Mr. Caldera, you hinted briefly at the performance-based nature of the contract, and in layman's language that means they get paid for performing.
Caldera: You bet.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the metrics Leo Burnett's going to be held to? And if Ms. Wolf could talk about the burden this kind of contract vehicle puts on you to make money?
Caldera: Well, it's not a burden. I think it's an incentive, and that's how they want to work.
Wolf: Right.
Caldera: But, you know, but the real measure is not impressions or how many people saw the ads. It's did you fill the boots? Did you meet your recruiting mission? I mean, that's what we want to do. And so we want to have our incentives tied with their incentives and give them a reason to have the best people, the most creative people, working on this campaign. And Leo Burnett is putting their reputation on the line here, and I think they're doing a great job.
Linda?
Wolf: I mean, actually, I mean, the whole idea of results is exactly what advertising is all about. So tying into results -- the results of getting recruits in -- is exactly what we do. And it's not that unusual, actually. I mean, the way the business is now, it is much more about what are the incentives to make sure that you're delivering, the advertising is delivering what it set out to do. So this is a contract that, from our perspective, is exactly what -- the way we like to be graded.
Q: Is that right? I mean, what --
Wolf: Yeah.
Q: -- what is the -- is this like a hundred million dollar contract over three years and there's a -- you're paid by number of recruits actually --
Wolf: Well, there's -- I mean, there's sort of a base contract, and then there's an incentive above that to be -- and the incentive is based on the results that we get.
Q: Can give us a -- do you have dollar figures real quick for that?
Wolf: You know, I honestly don't know them specifically in terms of year to year.
Q: (Off mike.)
Wolf: Yeah.
Q: Okay.
Q: So if you exceed recruit numbers you get more money.
Wolf: Mm-hmm. You've got them.
Q: A lot more money?
Caldera: That's the way it works in America. (Laughter.)
Q: Is this contract vehicle different that your commercial contracts, or --
Wolf: No. Actually -- I mean, from the standpoint I was -- the industry has moved much more towards compensation that is results- based. So it usually is based on -- there's a guarantee, and then above that is the incentive to be able to do more. And it's because you really want to make sure that you're getting the results for the advertising you're running.
Yeah.
Q: And if you fall short then there's no --
Wolf: Then there's no up side.
Q: But there's no -- but there's no -- they don't take money away from you.
Wolf: No.
Caldera: But Leo Burnett is investing its own money and resources --
Wolf: Oh, sure. Absolutely.
Caldera: -- on research. I mean, that's part of the -- under our old requirements contract the agency didn't get paid for anything we didn't ask them to do. They had no incentive to invest their own resources to make sure it was success. Now they do.
Wolf: Mm-hmm.
Q: Secretary Caldera, is it true as -- I think you've been quoted as saying publicly that the Army's investigation into No Gun Ri has substantiated that --
Caldera: I think we're going to just stick to advertising and recruiting. I'll be happy to talk about other things afterwards.
Q: Will you be releasing that report before you leave?
Caldera: I think that that is the goal, but we can talk about that afterwards. And --
Yes.
Q: I was just asking because I wasn't sure that it'd be the last chance we'd get to ask you about it before you --
Caldera: No, it won't. It will not.
Q: How much of this campaign will be targeted toward reserves, recruiting and officer recruiting, and how will that be done?
Caldera: Currently the officer recruiting has a separate budget which by and large is really only minimal support print advertising. As I said before, we're starting to do a little bit for television as well. Reserve component budget -- advertising is also part of what the marketing strategy group is responsible for and Leo Burnett is responsible for. The National Guard has its own separate advertising budget. However, they are very much interested in being identified with the Army brand and with the concept of Army of One because it reinforces the message. And so you get benefit from the advertising that is being done for the other components and in other mediums.
Yes, ma'am?
Q: Can you comment on the difference between these ads, emphasizing the individual, and previous ads, where you had the soldier's family and friends playing a role?
Caldera: Well, I think that the -- first of all, that we understand that young people today -- you have to talk to them where they're at, where they're coming from. They want to know how does being in the Army benefit me today, how does it benefit me now, not how does it benefit my country or how will it benefit me when I'm 50 or 60 and looking back at the course of my life; how does it benefit me today. And so we're talking to them as individuals. It is the door-opening opportunity that will strengthen you as an individual. We -- so therefore it should be on your list of options of what you are considering for the future.
There is advertising that is -- and I think the other services are doing a little bit more of this -- but similarly, in the way that we're trying to use the web site to communicate that real people join the Army, you'll notice that some of the other services are doing more what I would call lifestyle advertising -- the sailors playing in the rock band on the ship, the young sailor home at the family barbecue. Those are also, in many ways, emphasizing the notion that real people with families, connected to their communities, are in our military. That's who's serving in our military. They're just great young Americans from all over this country. So they're not people who are different than you are.
And you know, it -- again, it's about lowering those obstacles and those hurdles to enlisting.
Q: Mr. Caldera, to what extent, if any, did your research indicate a lot of the young public out there remembers negatively about the Army in terms of the sexual harassment scandals over the last few years and the unfortunate death of that gay soldier? Were those -- were there images that you had to overcome in the advertising?
Caldera: I'm not sure that we have gone into that kind of research. I mean, there are many very positives, and what you start to see is that there are different people at different points in the buying decision, from whether they even have awareness of the military as a good option for them to "Yes, I'm going to join the military, but I need to look at the different services and see what they have to offer."
So we're really focusing -- trying to focus not on those who have no interest in the military, but on those who should be considering the military as one of their options for the future.
Yes?
Q: You can run this exact campaign, but use the slogan "Be all you can be." What was wrong with "Be all you can be"?
Caldera: I'm not -- well, first -- I'm going to let Linda answer part of this question, but let me say a couple of things about that.
First of all, I think "Be all you can be" is going to be part of the way the Army talks forever; it will be part of our lexicon. We will -- not just the Army, that phrase has transcended the Army, and many people use the phrase in talking about their job -- "I'm trying to be all that I can be." So I think that that phrase will always be part of the way that the Army talks.
Some have said, "Why did you change it? Be all you can be was working." As I told you earlier, we missed our goal three of the last five fiscal years, and we were tens of thousands of recruits short in the delayed entry pool. You want about 30 percent of your recruits already signed up to go to basic training on the first day of the fiscal year so that you can parcel them out to the training center over the course of the next 12 months and not just have them all in the post-high school graduation rush. That delayed entry pool -- we've been whittling away at that; we've been depleting that in order to fill the training center ranks.
So, if someone says to me "Be all you can be" was working, I'd have to beg to differ; it was not working because we were not meeting our recruiting goals and we were depleting our delayed entry pool.
Every once in awhile -- and I'd like to ask Leo Burnett to address this -- but when you're talking about advertising, every once in awhile you've got to change the message because brand messages get tired, they get dated, they no longer connect. If you saw one of our old commercials and the first three words were, "In the Army," mentally you know that it's -- that you can now tune out. "In the Army -- okay, this is an Army commercial. I'll watch the visuals because they'll be interesting; there'll be guys jumping out of airplanes, but this is not a message for me."
This message, Army of One -- "Who I am has become better than who I was" -- "The strength of the Army lies in me" -- presents the Army opportunity in a very fresh contemporary, different manner than the jingle. So while that may be sentimental favorite of people who serve in the Army today, what we need is not something that's sentimental and a favorite with people serving in the ranks, we need something that's going to attract young people who aren't thinking about the Army today, and giving them this bold, fresh, new approach I think is appropriate.
And I think -- if I could, maybe Linda will talk about how companies regularly do this when it is important to update your advertising.
Wolf: The key with any advertising is understanding the target that that advertising is directed at. And that's we did, is we dug into our target and really understood them. To our target, to those young adults, "Be all you can be" was not motivating.
We learned a lot about young adults. And I'm sure a lot of you, in terms of your experiences, would know they don't like being told what to do a whole lot. And the sense of "Be all you can be" is a little bit more telling them -- you know, telling them what to do as opposed to putting it in their hands. They really want to be in control. They really want to make the decisions themselves. And the whole idea of "An Army of One" does just that.
So, when we look at -- and when any company looks at what they're doing with their message, they always are checking to make sure, is it relevant to the target that we're going after? And that's the most important touch point to really understand what you keep and what you change. And in this case it made a whole lot of sense to change this line to something that was really motivating to the young adults.
Q: Mr. Caldera, was there any talk of putting a Super Bowl ad on?
Caldera: (To other briefers.) Do you want to talk about this?
Staff: I can speak to this.
Wolf: Yeah, right, (Ray ?), why don't you --
Staff: I'm also from Leo Burnett.
We did look at that and we talked about it because obviously it's high-impact, high-visibility. But as Secretary Caldera mentioned, we're trying to really concentrate on the key audience members -- the people we're trying to recruit.
Obviously you're going to get a significant number of 18 - 24 year-olds, but why do you want to pay for the 25 - 75 year-olds who are watching? So it was really, where do we best put our money to reach this target as quickly as possible? So we elected to put our money in other places that we thought we be more efficient and more effective.
Q: How about Madden's TV Super Bowl special? (Laughter.)
Caldera: Yes, sir?
Q: Yeah, in regards to -- back to diversity -- just a couple of questions. First of all, that $150 million campaign is for three years?
Caldera: That's about what we spend per year on advertising.
Q: Okay. And how does that break down as far as Latino -- direct Latino advertising?
Caldera: I can't tell you the numbers specifically for advertising. I can tell you that our partners are an integral part of presenting these opportunities; that the Army today is about 29 percent African-American, about 8 percent Hispanic. And so we have to focus well and effectively in those markets to be able to get the soldiers that we need to get from those markets.
And I can tell you that as the Army -- that the Army does about 10 percent of its contracting with small businesses. We lead every other department in the Department of Defense. We're very proud of the fact that we have a very aggressive, small minority in disadvantaged women-owned business program. And so this contract is like -- just like every other one.
We want that to be part of the success of this contract, including how we place ads in minority-owned newspapers and the talent that is used to produce these ads and in the placement of these ads.
Q: And what's the recruiting numbers per year?
Caldera: We're recruiting about 80,000 for the active component. About 160,000 between active, Guard and Reserve.
Yes, sir.
Staff: Ladies and gentlemen, we have time for one more question.
Q: Thank you. I would like to find out what drove the decision to have the young man there run down the road with his flashing dog tags, no camouflage. Isn't that -- I mean, does he need help? I mean, if we're an Army of One, why isn't he geared to be an Army of one?
Caldera: Wonderful, creative drove those decisions, and we hope everyone will be talking about the different elements of the commercial, because if they're talking about it, then we've made an impression on their mind.
Why don't we take your question as the last question?
Q: I'm curious. That gentleman over there looks like an Army of one. Just what does he do? (Laughter.)
Caldera: He is. He is a future soldier. One of the messages we're communicating is that this is an Army that uses technology in all its weapons systems that that is looking toward the future. It's transforming itself in the way that General Keane said, and we're looking at the future, at the way that the future soldier is going to be equipped, outfitted with a body suit that will control his body temperature, other levels of protection. Why don't you talk to him right after this?
Thank you all very much.
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