Does the Army Have A Good Brand?

After watching the US Army’s latest commercial I began to think, “How good is the US Army brand?” This is very hard to put your finger on. For many reasons, the idea of the US Army varies greatly in the minds of people across the world. In a recent debate on BrandChannel most people believe that improving the Army brand is almost impossible. Most people understand Marines as commandos, Navy as seamen, Air Force with pilots, and the Coast Guard protects our Coast, what about the Army? Most people probably think of the Army as the military in the most broad sense. The Army commercial talks about strong vs. Army Strong. This is not a very good brand in my opinion. The key elements of a good brand; value proposition and differentiation are missing. Here are a few tips in making the Army brand better.

Why Army?

The Army strong tagline is nice, I admit it even sounds cool, but does it get anywhere towards what the Army has to offer? The US Army is strong, just like the hundreds of other organizations out there, but strength is not the value of the Army. What does the Army do, that no other organization can? Keep America safe in every realm. Possibly the US Army should consider advertisements that are less “hero” and more realistic and in your face. I know some of the most powerful stuff I have seen have been through email forwards that show the everyday life of troops abroad with a message of peace and freedom. Unfortunately, the Army does not use its advertisements to build its brand.

Okay, we have seen this before

The Army has done very little to differentiate itself from other organizations. There is nothing that separates stands out in one’s mind about the Army. The Navy has boats. The Air Force has planes. The Marines have swords and cool uniforms. What about the Army? There is very little that separates this organization. They must begin to separate themselves. Instead of the cliché brand, what about something a little different. What about more imagery of identifiable Army veterans? How about more movies about Army groups such as the Special Forces or Airborne soldiers? By emphaizing its uniqueness, the Army can help improve its brand.

Solution

If the Pentagon knocked on my door tomorrow to head up a marketing campaign for the military, I would try connect with the people that would be most moved, Generation Y. Unlike the generations of the past, they are not as moved by heroes. To the young heroes are on the movie screen or football field. Army and heroes do not go hand in hand (unfortunately) like it has in times past. Today the Army must focus on tugging on the emotional strings with a more gritty, controversial campaign. It could even go as far to have its soldiers profiled more often in real situations. Consider the popularity of reality TV, why can’t this be duplicated and used by the Army? Reaching out to the youngest generation could start a wave that can reverse most people’s gut feeling about one of the oldest American organizations.

Check out what others have to say about the Army brand on BrandChannel.