This document analyzes and compares the recruitment strategies and success of the US Army and Marines from 2005-2008. It finds that while the Army aimed to promote tangible benefits, the Marines emphasized intangible concepts of pride, honor and achievement which resonated more strongly with recruits. Despite having more recruiters and offering bonuses, the Army was less successful at meeting recruitment goals, highlighting the power of the Marines' message of "becoming" versus simply "joining". The document provides recommendations for how each branch can improve its recruitment strategies by better targeting key demographics and promoting its unique strengths and culture.

1. Recruitment Strategies of the
United States Military
ARMY
VS
MARINES

2. Threat of New Entrants:
Very low
Threat of Substitutes or
Service:
Medium
Bargaining Power of the
Supplier:
Low
Bargaining Power of the
Buyer:
High
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
Porter’s 5 Competitive Forces

3. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

4. WHO WAS MORE SUCCESSFUL
● QUANTITY OF RECRUITS
● QUALITY OR RECRUITS
● SATISFACTION OF RECRUITS

5. QUANTITY
NAVY
100%
• 9,047
accessions
• 8,968 goal
• 17,241
accessions
• 16,935 goal
• 18,456
accessions
• 18,440 goal
• 40,964
accessions
• 49,285 goal
ARMY
83%
NAVY
100%
AIR
FORCE
101%
MARINE
CORPS
103%

6. QUALITY
MILITARY RECRUIT QUALITY
Fraction of recruits graduating from high school,
a measure of "recruit quality" used by the military.

7. SATISFACTION

8. CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
Surveys & Interviews
1. Current/former Army personnel
2. Current/former Marines
3. Current Army recruiters
4. Current Marine recruiters
Segmentation Factors
1. Gender
2. Years of Service (by decade)
3. Age Decision to Join Was Made
4. Enlisted or Commissioned
5. Number of times deployed

9. KEY FINDINGS
Pre Decision Considerations
• A Recruiter for their chosen Military branch
• Family Member / Legacy
• TV Commercial
How Decisions Were Made
• Army - Duty to Country / To Pay For College (G.I. Bill)
• Marines - Sense of Personal Achievement / World Travel / Develop Leadership Abilities
• Values at Time Of Enlistment - Pride, Honor, Respect vs. Overall Service Goals and Duties
Post Decision Satisfaction
ARMY MARINE CORPS
CompletelySomewhat VeryNot at
all
A little

10. Head to Head, the Army should be able to attract more recruits to their organization;
so why couldn’t they achieve this from 2005-2008???
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

11. While the Army promoted and
marketed the tangible:
- Education
- A Career Path
The Marines promoted and
marketed the intangible:
- “Becoming instead of Joining”
- “the few and the proud, the marines”
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

12. ARMY
MARINES
Offers tangible
options
Offers intangible
options
The difference between “joining” and
“becoming”
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

13. SWITCHING
SWITCHING TO THE ARMY
• Emphasize education and career
choices
• Opportunities to advance in rank
• Re-enlistment bonuses
SWITCHING TO THE MARINES
• Emphasize “the best of the best”
• Sense of community
• Acceptance from other branches

14. RECRUITER ANALYSIS
MARINES
Advantages
• “Esprit de corp”
• Elite group
• Leadership
training
• Professional
development
• “Becoming” vs.
“Joining”
• GI Bill
Disadvantages
• 13 week boot
camp
• Smallest
government
funding
• “Re-used”
equipment
• 4 year
enlistment time

15. RECRUITER ANALYSIS
ARMY
Advantages
• Career focused
• 8 week boot
camp
• Enlistment time
*2 years
• Signing bonus
• World travel
• GI Bill
Disadvantages
• Large branch
• Not as close-knit
• “joining” vs.
“becoming”
• Less strict entry
requirements

16. THE 5 Ms
MISSION
MESSAGE
MEDIA
MONEY
MEASUREMENT

17. MISSION
ENLISTMENT

18. • On-the-job Training
• Career-minded Focus
• Respect and Honor Seekers
• Adventurer
• Intangible Sense of Belonging
• Purpose Driven
• Esprit de Corps
• Call to Duty
MESSAGE

19. MESSAGE
Principle Target When Used
Persuade Recruits Wartime, Favorable Economy
Inform
Recruits +
Public
Peacetime, Unfavorable Economy
Remind
Recruits +
Public
Wartime/Peacetime,
Favorable/Unfavorable Economies
Persuade
Remind
Inform

20. MEDIA
Dialogue-centric Reach-centric

21. SOCIAL MEDIA WINNER
3,213,882 4,070,959 MARINES
392,758 135,971 ARMY
20,177 78,860 MARINES
636,000 546,000 ARMY
366,781 74,001 ARMY
8,300 4,200 ARMY
28,000 11,000 ARMY
63,000 263,000 MARINES
MEDIA

22. MONEY

23. MEASUREMENT
WEB 2.0
Facebook Insights
Free Analytic Software
Twitter: counts to assess tweets and
raw numbers
YouTube: option to count channels
Facebook Insights
Free Analytic Software
Audience Demographics
Posted Content Conversations
- No Measurement Data Available
Note: Current ROI model is not adequately suited for measurement
purposes

24. TECHNOLOGY
RECENT / CURRENT EMERGING FUTURE
PROBLEM SOLUTION
Costly | Outdated | Slow |
Paper-based
50% savings in cost | Faster | Mobile | Fewer Devices | Enhanced
Security
- DEPLOYED TO FORCE FUTURE
Laptop + Paper +
Scanners/Printers/Fax
Smart Phones (fully-enabled) Thin clients + Cloud
Virtual Private Network
(VPN)
Social Media engagement,
Dynamic Collaboration,
Increased Responsiveness
Mobile applications designed to integrate
and increase recruiter efficiences
Costly: $1,200 per laptop
GPS merged with contact
information
Secure for PHI/PII (Legal & GOV/DOD/DA
compliant)
3-Yr. Tech Upgrade cycle (if
budget available)
MCRISS Recruiter Software E-signatures, Image Capture: certify/sign
- ARISS Recruiter Software
Virtual Interactive Processing Systems
(VIPS)

25. Virtual Interactive Processing System Goal:
Provides a system that adapts to the changing recruit demographic
CURRENT SYSTEM FUTURE SYSTEM BENEFITS
Time Intensive for Applicants Reduced Processing Time
Considerable (system) down time Improved Data Quality
Labor intensive for Recruiting Personnel Save Recruiter Time & Resources
Sequential / Batch Processing Single Data Entry
TECHNOLOGY

26. SALES PROMOTION
Army reduced their requirements:
ASVAB
Physical Fitness
Marines did not run “promotions”

27. SWOT - MARINE
STRENGTH WEAKNESS
High Quality Recruits
Reputation
Sense of brotherhood
Old/hand me down equipment
Lowest pay/bonus
Commanders pick MOS
Longer Basic Training/Boot Camp
Lack of career training for after
service
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Public perception of
heroism
Improving Economy
Wartime
Media Portrayal

28. SWOT - ARMY
STRENGTH WEAKNESS
Recruitment Bonuses
Number of recruiters
Pick your career
Longer deployment
Sense of community
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Public perception of
heroism
Career Path
Improving Economy
Wartime
Media Portrayal

29. ARMY
RECOMMENDATIONS
Thrillseeker
“Warriors Welcomed” Campaign
Utilize Social Media with video
vignettes – Army Rangers,
Paratroopers, Special Forces

30. “Warriors Welcomed” Campaign
Create testimonials with
active/veteran– Army Rangers,
Paratroopers, Special Forces
ARMY
RECOMMENDATIONS
High Achiever

31. Couch to Combat
Video Game Trucks
America’s Toughest Teenager
Adventure Days/Summer Camp
ARMY
RECOMMENDATIONS
Teenager

32. MARINE
RECOMMENDATIONS
Career Education
After Marine Life Program
Sponsorships

33. “Don’t forget that human beings have
a responsibility to one another and
that Americans will always have a
responsibility to the oppressed.”
2LT Mark Daily