The U.S. Army hadn’t changed their brand in over two decades, however in 2021 they were committed to making a shift to become more competitive in the labor market, relatable to Gen Z, and digitally oriented. Not only were they ready to progress their brand, but they were also determined to learn and understand best practices for the most effective launch and rollout. Siegel+Gale brought us in to begin working with The U.S. Army in November of 2021, which was 1.5 years prior to brand launch. Their proactiveness allowed The U.S. Army to be thoughtful when it came to timelines, socialization, mobilization, and deployment across a decentralized organization.
Prioritizing planning and preparation
To set The U.S. Army up for a successful brand implementation, we spent the appropriate time planning up front with Team DDB to allow the rest of the process to be as smooth as possible. By creating a holistic story of the brand transformation, identifying priority workstreams and detailing the outputs, we created a “roadmap” that would guide the teams to success. This included:
Once the activation plan was completed, we were asked to support Team DDB and Army Enterprise Marketing Office (AEMO) in bringing the plan to life. We did this by immediately mobilizing both groups and defining an Activation Council to support a successful brand launch.
It was critical that we aligned team roles and responsibilities with their already established escalation procedures to help them navigate change in a complex organizational structure.
Fostering intentional relationships for long-term success
We integrated with Team DDB, sitting in the middle of the various agency disciplines to develop a strategic brand implementation plan that accounted for all aspects of launch and rollout. We were also in sync with The Army Enterprise Marketing Office to ensure we had a full understanding of how The U.S. Army was structured and how we would be most successful in cascading information at the right cadence, using the right language. Through these intentional partnerships, we became steeped in their organization and delivered a complete activation plan that would prepare them for a comprehensive brand launch in March of 2023.
