Att_J-1_Battles_Won_FY20.pdf

Attachment J-1

Battles Won Campaign Plan for FY20

I) OVERVIEW

The Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC) introduced the Battles Won campaign in 2017 to evoke the prestige that is inherent to serving in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). Through Battles Won, the virtues of challenging combat training, leadership, and bonds forged through shared adversity render an unmatched sense of accomplishment that will be useful throughout a Marine’s life. MCRC continues to accomplish its mission through

Battles Won by emphasizing the three promises that the USMC makes to our Nation and its citizens:

We Make Marines – Battles won against adolescence, adversity, obstacles, and selfishness in order to achieve self-mastery and the title of United States Marine.

We Win Our Nation’s Battles – Battles won against traditional enemies, humanitarian crises, and our nation’s social hurdles, historical and contemporary.

We Develop Quality Citizens – Battles won to improve the lives of their fellow citizens at a local level.

MCRC will continue supporting Battles Won tactics in order to:

Increase prospect propensity and influencer advocacy through strategic marketing and advertising initiatives;

Integrate diversity in all initiatives with consideration to race, ethnicity, demographic background, and gender;

Foster relationships with stakeholders to ensure initiatives are relevant, objective, and measurable;

Evaluate and implement effective technologies to streamline recruiting procedures; and

Conduct thorough research and analyses to strengthen recruiting strategies and readiness.

Today’s environment offers an array of variables that the USMC has not faced in past years. As such, a dynamic and agile strategy is vital to countering marketing pressures generated by the economy, shifting demographics, declines in propensity for military service, and competition from other military services. While traditional metrics are effective when tracking the performance of individual-level efforts (e.g. platform and channel development), the

Battles Won campaign implements story-making strategies to communicate and interact with prospects and their influencers. This approach has differentiated the USMC from other branches and, thus, necessitates more sophisticated performance metrics to assess MCRC’s marketing and advertising efforts. In 2019, MCRC will conduct a series of research-aided, strategically considered programs to increase:

Brand awareness among prospects and influencers from diverse backgrounds of the opportunities available to those who have earned the title Marine.

Action by prospects and influencers to engage Marine Recruiters and Officer Selection Officers (OSO) to pursue joining and/or advocating on behalf of the Corps.

Support for Marines on recruiting duty through the development, enhancement, and deployment of systematic tools that to streamline recruiting procedures.

The research efforts described above will provide valuable insights regarding the drivers of prospects’ behavior, brand consideration (i.e. which military service to join), action, and enlistment choices. Specifically, MCRC’s goal in 2019 was to enhance the depth and interconnectivity of existing reports to ensure that the most pertinent information is being reported on and is within the context of the latest creative executions. MCRC was able to introduce more focused metrics to assess users’ intent and is now able to inform future strategies with more flexibility than before. MCRC understands that market pressures will continue to impact the Marine Corps’ recruiting mission, which puts a high value on strategizing, execution, and quality assurance based on measurable objectives. In response, MCRC will continue to support decision-making efforts by capturing, securely storing, and analyzing the right level and types of data to identify the interrelationships that result in a holistic view of performance.

Enlisted and Officer Recruiters are tasked with ensuring the legacy and future of the Marines Corps. As such, they are the USMC’s strongest asset in representing the Corps’ values to prospects and their influencers. The efforts under the Battles Won campaign will continue to empower Marine Recruiters to deliver relevant content for all domains in a timely manner across the entire recruitment journey.

II) MARKET ANALYSIS

The 2020 Campaign Plan is based on an assessment of the strategic environment to better understand the challenges and opportunities affecting the Marine Corps’ recruiting efforts. By framing these issues appropriately, MCRC will deliver a comprehensive strategy that drives broader awareness and interest of the Corps among prospect-aged youth and their influencers. To meet this strategy, MCRC has utilized a mix of paid media, paid social, and paid search.

The Enlistment Behavior Model (EBM) below continues to serve as a reliable and consistent framework for organizing a prospect’s journey through the military enlistment decision:

MCRC’s goal for Priority Prospect Card (PPC) program contribution rate is 20%, which includes both enlisted contracts and officer applications.

The Changing Nature of Our Nation’s Battles

Some challenges bear strong resemblance to the end of the 20th Century, with the threat of near-peer competitors and continued commitment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, recruiting is confronted with a resurgent economy offering prospects employment options and an expanding political/cultural divide chipping away at their commitment to patriotic military duty.

On the battlefields, both traditional and now cyber domains, the Marine Corps requires warriors to face foes ranging from nation states to terrorist organizations and even small criminal operations. Armed with new technologies, asymmetrical enemies can create devastating chaos. Per the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), a Fifth

Generation Marine Corps is needed, comprised of Marines equipped with not just rifles, but with the latest tools and technology to assure that anti-access/area denial capabilities of enemies do not threaten the nation’s strategic reach.

This means the recruiting message has to reach further than before and connect with a broader audience, all without sacrificing the fundamental rifleman ethos of the brand and institution.

Moreover, recruiters are faced with a country that has not been this divided along political, cultural, racial, and geographic lines since the Vietnam era. Whether the result of, or just a symptom of these divides, propensity among

African-Americans and Hispanics (a historically dependable demographic) are approaching levels as low or lower than in 2006 when American support of the war in Iraq was reaching its lowest point. If the trends continue, it raises the question of who will answer our nation’s battle call.

The answers are not easy; indeed, MCRC’s own research (2017 Strategy Research) and outside data such as Joint

Advertising Marketing Research & Studies (JAMRS) combine to highlight a complex mix of forces driving views of the military and propensity, each creating greater challenges for the Marine Corps’ recruiting message.

Factors Affecting Propensity and Eligibility

Since the Great Recession in 2008, Marine Corps recruiting has remained relatively unaffected by the nation’s unemployment rate, primarily because that period of growth was atypical from other economic cycles. Now, as the unemployment rate falls to levels not seen since 2000, the negative forces that a strong job market have on military propensity are resurfacing as illustrated in the graph below:

A 2013 study found that the pool is further reduced by military disqualifiers, which affect as much as 75% of prospect-age youth. That reduces the pool of eligible 17 to 24 year old Americans from 34 million to just 13 million as illustrated below:

https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/the-looming-national-security-crisis-young-americans-unable-serve-the-military

Beyond the market forces and demographics, there appear to be other issues at work. Propensity by minority groups has fallen to levels not seen since 2006 in the pre-surge period of the Iraq War. It is worth noting that period represented a low-water mark in Marine Corps propensity.

It is possible that on top of an improving employment picture, the debate of issues around immigration policy are taking a toll, especially on Hispanic propensity. Enlistments by young patriotic Hispanics have been a reliable source of contracts for Marine Corps Recruiters. As a research-driven organization, MCRC will continue efforts to quantify the issue and a variety of factors related to recruiting and identify strategies and tactics that will help mitigate the impact.

III) CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES

MCRC will continue its in-depth focus on programmatic measurements and will build upon 2019’s lessons learned for increased program optimization. MCRC will evaluate the success of lead generation efforts based on Qualified

Leads (enlisted and officer), Contracts/Applications, conversion rates, and PPC contribution rates. The objectives below were established based on the analyses above and Operational Planning Group (OPG) initiatives.

Advertising Information Technology System (AITS) Migration – AITS is the Marine Corps’ database that provides digital and database marketing, leads management, and recruiter fulfillment services. The Senior Information

Security Officer (SISO) that oversees MCRC’s AITS is the Chief, Cybersecurity Division, Headquarters Marine

Corps (HQMC) C4, which established information technology requirements for AITS (see Attachment J-6). AITS is classified as a Defense Business System (DBS) and must maintain an Authorization to Operate (ATO) from C4 to ensure all PII is secured. AITS is entering its third year under its current ATO and must be migrated to a secure server site in accordance with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The

FedRAMP for AITS must be completed within six (6) months prior to the ATO’s expiration on 31 August 2020.

Strategic Partnerships – Identify, evaluate, and engage in partnerships with American groups that share common values with the Marine Corps and whose members may be more inclined to speak to recruiters. The diversity of these groups includes candidates of different race, gender, and geographic location. These relationships should reach prospects and influencers alike and serve as a cultural segue to enter into a conversation with someone within the

Marine Corps’ target demographic. To maximize the efficacy of these partnerships, MCRC must ensure that appropriate national and district-level support is planned for and executed at all major milestones. In 2020, MCRC will target the conversion rates of 5.6% and 2.3% for the enlisted and officer populations, respectively, which translates to an estimated 38,500 enlisted recruits and 1,700 officer candidates.

Maximize Paid Media – Implement a more coordinated and strategic Paid Media plan to ensure advertisements, media, and other efforts are implemented early and effectively. Paid Media is essential for creating awareness of the

Marine Corps brand, driving engagement, and generating leads through complementary tactics. In 2020, MCRC will aim to provide a strategic approach in February, March, April, and May (FMAM) and then late August through

November. This will deliver timely messaging to the prospect audience at effective monthly reach and frequency levels. These efforts will be validated by ongoing internal research efforts (i.e., frequency of three times a quarter to at least 50% of the prospect audience).

Dynamic Recruitment Tools – Refine and update MCRC’s Recruitment Tool portfolio (i.e. Advertising Portal) to eliminate redundancies, establish efficiencies in the recruitment process, and to ensure Recruiters have the necessary means to meet their goals.

Innovation and Emergent Technologies – Increase focus on innovative methods to acquire leads and integrating emergent technologies (e.g. mobile applications) to maximize recruiters’ communication capabilities. These assets should promote the Marine Corps to a broad cross-section of youth and their influencers that represent the racial, ethnic, regional, gender, and social diversity of the country.

Dynamic Sales Materials – Standardizing the production and branding of sales materials to meet Recruiters’ needs.

New Campaign Plan Development – The success of this effort will be determined not only through quantitative assessments and studies tracking brand awareness for the USMC, but also through: media value, pre- and post-campaign research, volume of paid media coverage, impressions, reach, overall traffic to desktop and mobile sites, traffic to and completion of the lead form, and, ultimately, qualified leads and contracts.

Research & Measurement – MCRC remains a research-based, data-driven organization that depends on measurement to make decisions that impact the brand, the recruiting force, and the institution. The understanding the journey influencers take to go from vague awareness of the Marine Corps and its opportunities to passionate advocates capable of positively impacting new cohorts of youth prospects will continue to be a priority. The analytics capabilities of the MCRC team will help to protect the future of the program by quickly and consistently answering Requests for Information (RFI), demonstrating a clear, responsible, and effective command of taxpayer resources aimed at supporting the mission of MCRC.

IV) CAMPAIGN INITIATIVES

The efforts listed below establish the FY20 needs for MCRC’s Campaign Plan:

Material and Data Management

Advertising Information Technology System (AITS) II – The current AITS Authority to Operate (ATO), dated

17 August 2017, requires that AITS must be in a DoD-approved Federal Risk and Authorization Management

Program (FedRAMP) hosting facility by February 2020. This initiative includes the efforts needed to ensure compliance with the ATO. In addition, this effort also includes re-architecting AITS to ensure compliance with

FedRAMP provider requirements for hosting within their facility. AITS II will include evaluating, and if applicable, licensing various COTS software.

Information Security Maintenance – Information Security is based upon maintaining the existing information security standard for the AITS currently in place through 30 August 2020. It is not intended to cover new projects, new cloud computing requirements, FedRAMP migration, or new information security standards. Information security maintenance to defend information and information systems with measures intended to protect confidentiality, integrity, authentication, availability, and non-repudiation of AITS is based on current configuration.

MCRC will support this effort to maintain current monitoring of the existing security posture across three hosting environments and associated components. It will include current on-time support, controls, safeguards, and service levels. It also includes annual (or as deemed appropriate by the agency) vulnerability scanning; remediation planning; vendor evaluation and assessment to support planned projects; Operation Directive review; and ongoing assessment and mitigation where deemed appropriate, permitted such tasks fall within existing funding.

Warehouse and Distribution – This program maintains the self-service warehousing and distribution system, allowing for fast and efficient collateral and promotional item fulfillment.

Lead Generation

Analytics Maintenance – The analytics maintenance budget is intended to fund analytics-related support for many different functions that are crucial to the optimal performance of the program. Items include monthly and quarterly report generation as well as strategic program and tactical-level support and measurement. This effort also includes any other data-driven ad hoc analyses required to illustrate the program's success.

Data Entry Operations (Inclusive of RSN Inputting) – This program is intended to maintain data entry support for Recruiter Supplied Names (RSN), Business Reply Cards (BRC), leads from the Hand Held Enhanced Area

Canvassing tool (HHEAC), Lead Cards, undeliverable addresses, and returned mail. Regular program evaluation meetings and quarterly client review meetings will continue to be held to evaluate measures of effectiveness and cost-saving opportunities. The RSN schedule is as follows:

Campaign Mail Drop

1 High School Junior (HSJ) Male & Female (School Year (SY)’ 20) JAN-20

2 High School Senior (HSS) Male & Female (SY’ 19) JAN-20

2 HSJ Male & Female (SY’ 20) MAR-20

3 HSJ Male & Female (SY’ 20) MAY-20

4 HSS Male & Female (SY’ 19) JUN-20

4 HSJ Male & Female (SY’ 20) JUL-20

1 HSS Male & Female (SY’ 20) SEP-20

Database and Reporting Maintenance – Maintenance activities cover all efforts required to keep these processes running correctly, consistently, and timely, as well as covering minor ad hoc projects and requests. This includes the

Campaign Management tool, database storage and hardware, reporting and database maintenance, minor business rule changes, and any data-related investigative research and remediation as required.

Direct Mail (High School Mailings) – The High School Direct Mail program executes six (6) campaigns per year:

3 junior mailings and 3 senior mailings. Female prospects will continue to receive universal gender creative and males will receive creative that features male imagery.

Direct Mail (Additional High School Junior Mailing) – The High School Direct Mail program will expand in

2020 to include a 4th junior mailing in addition to the six (6) Direct Mail campaigns above.

Direct Mail Premium Item Purchase – Premium items, including items such as dog tags, t-shirts, and/or duffel bags, will be purchased to support the direct mail program.

Distributed Lead Analysis and Working Group – The analysis of the behavior of leads who have been distributed over the last year but have not been contacted by a recruiter to determine what common characteristics are shared and/or to what extent they may respond again or enlist. Additionally, a working group will be convened to collect qualitative input regarding why all leads are not currently being worked.

Email Operations – Email operations will facilitate ongoing email communications with prospects, as well as leads and influencers. Furthermore, this program will support the execution of the Bad Address email campaign and the

OSO/PSR email generators.

Fulfillment Operations – USMC literature packages are sent to responders who request more information.

Quarterly program review meetings with the fulfillment vendor.

Leads, Contracts, and Media Budget Projection Tools Recalibration – This effort includes evaluating the impact on the number of leads and contracts from the availability of and changes to media funding. In support of ad-hoc budget defense inquiries, and to account for any reconciliation efforts between projections and actual results, tools used in the estimation process will be recalibrated as required and additional analyses as warranted.

Look-Back Analyses – A Look-Back Analysis will be conducted and delivered taking into consideration lessons learned from previous years’ Look-Back Development, as well as insights from other Measurement Initiatives (e.g., B2D Model, Media Landscape Analysis, EBM research, etc.)

Marine Corps Recruiting Information Support System (MCRISS) Integration Phase II – Integration efforts will continue with MCRISS to ensure that interfaces are built, tested, and functional between the AITS and MCRISS in order to remove duplication for recruiters. Features for integration may include PPC data, RSN/HS lists, accession data, and Management Unit Designator (MUD) file data. The goal is to remove redundancy for recruiters and

OSO’s. Through this effort, additional data exchanges to enhance program analytics will also be explored.

Officer-Targeted Mailings – Two (2) officer-targeted mailings will be executed, the first in February 2020 and the second in September 2020. The recommended splitting of the mailing will ensure officer-qualified leads are delivered throughout the year.

Research Effort – Research will be conducted for programmatic content. This is vital to ensure future planning, as it will allow an area to research given the priorities or concerns for the current year.

Student Programs Maintenance (SFAAP and SLCDA.Marines.com) – This effort entails management of the

SFAAP website (sfaap.marines.com) and the Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy (SLCDA) website (slcda.marines.com) to include refreshing content for each program’s application site as well as opening the annual application window. It includes troubleshooting for both websites and their corresponding Ad Portal applications, as needed.

Trigger Mailing Selection Analysis – This project will cover an assessment of current extent of overlap between the Trigger program, which targets a specific list of individuals to receive a DM piece outside of the RSN program, and MCRC national core mailings. Additionally, the QL propensity will be determined to gain better insight on the caliber of individuals being mailed as part of the Trigger program. Finally, Triggers will be evaluated within the context of other district efforts to determine best value.

Third Party Leads (Officer and Enlisted) – A substantial volume of leads is generated through current programs, additional leads can be acquired through third-party sources as needed. These will focus on enlisted and officer leads geographically or based on gender/ethnicity needs.

Awareness

USMC Birthday Campaign – Marines and their supporters are proud about the birthday and share their celebration. The Birthday Campaign will provide a platform for them to share their message with others. It will also increase awareness of the brand while positioning it in a context that is different from traditional advertising messages. Assets to be developed include pre- and post-event coverage and/or a suite of materials for leveraging added-value media space, as well as

Campaign Development and Execution – Advertising campaigns will continue to be produced to further drive awareness and understanding of the Battles Won message. The strategy should provoke action from the prospect to learn more about the USMC and to speak with a recruiter. The advertising campaign should be comprised of creative materials such as: TV commercial(s); video(s); paid media and social media assets; posters; event materials;

:06 video series; training materials; DVD for use by Recruiting Stations (RS); new activation spaces; podcasts;

360º/180º video(s); virtual reality (VR); etc. Current campaign ideas are:

Waged in Will (Approved Script) – Designed to attract a broad cross-section of highly qualified youth with a branding message that showcases an elite warfighting institution comprised of its single greatest weapon, the

Marine, that is trained to overcome adversity, bonded to other Marines by a time-tested ethos, equipped to conduct complex Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF)-led operations, and imbued with a fighting spirit to do what the nation expects of it: win.

Earthquake (Approved Script) – Designed to attract a broad cross-section of highly qualified youth with a branding message that contextualizes the multi-dimensionality of “battles” and showcases the fighting spirit that drives Marines to win.

Toys for Tots – Based on gaps in paid media buys, the Public Service Announcement (PSA) program is taking on an increasingly important role in maintaining a media presence in the market that targets the Toys for Tots campaign. The current suite of Toys for Tots creative materials includes the “Christmas Morning” (2007) TV spot and corresponding “Nostalgia” (2012) radio spot.

Battles Won Explained – The focus of this campaign will be based on getting an immediate association of

“winning every battle” when a prospect hears the word “Marines.” Context for the many ways Marines win battles of self, for our Nation, and in their communities will be created.

Brand Advocacy (YouTube Overhaul) – An enhanced Influencer campaign geared toward Community

Influencers, Social Media Influencers, and parents. A dedicated educator/influencer’s workshop may serve as the platform/vehicle to collect stories and content for the development of this campaign.

5th Generation Marines – Designed to inspire prospects to raise their hand and join a modern Marine Corps postured to fight and win battles now and in the future. It will portray a force-in-readiness that continues to innovate, leverage technology, and invest in deadly infantry systems and weapons.

Content Effort – Branded content is essential to the success of the program. Based on specific needs, assets (e.g.:

photography, video, audio, podcast, infographics, etc.) will be developed to expand the Longer Marine Corps Story

(LMCS). Some needs include: updated photography of Marines in action; long-form video for sponsorship events throughout the year; shorter-digestible formats for Multicultural Engagement Activations; video(s) highlighting the

Musician Enlistment Option Program (MEOP) daily routine; content that shows a day in the life for Prior Service

Recruiter (PSR); technology-focused content; female and males battling together; photography without gun imagery; Marines deployed around the world; interviews with Marines who are leaving the Corps; etc.

Marines.com Research and Audience Study – Based on the Marines.com 150-Day analysis deck, the new site is attracting a slightly higher percentage of new visitors, but overall website traffic is down, additionally compounded by high drop-off rates. To further explore whether this shifting behavior is due to demographic or possibly societal influences, the website usability, or other factors, focus groups will be established and other website-specific testing to evaluate and improve the understanding of current user behaviors to maximize conversion from existing traffic. As a complement to the research, available data from existing tags and construct grouping of aggregated journey mappings will be utilized to understand what content is consumed between a New versus a Returning visitor versus visitors starting on the Lead Form page versus not (based on new website only). The result of this analysis will inform and/or validate where online dynamic testing would be best suited (e.g., popular website journeys that do not lead to an Request More Information (RMI) submission, introduction of next likely page of interest functionality, etc.).

Mobile Short-Code Licensing – Three (3), one-year licenses are branded for short codes for potential SMS and

MMS mobile campaigns: MARINE (627463), BATTLE (228853), and/or THEFEW (843339).

Paid Media (Plan, Design, Purchase, Run, and Traffic) – Paid media supports all aspects of MCRC’s advertising program, from amplifying advertising campaigns that drive brand awareness, to targeting key populations driving action at events Marines’ support, to generating high-quality leads through traditional and innovative platforms. In order to deliver on the Awareness objectives, run seven (7) months of media which includes six, 4-week periods of

Scale media at optimal reach levels as well as support for Content Integration, Targeted, and Social. Layered on these are Conversion and Search, which are always-on for the full year. This effort also includes the research, planning, and creative work to include in briefings as well as collaboration sessions to ensure all media are aligned to the strategy, approach, objective, deliverables, and key performance indicators (KPI) required. In addition, costs also covered are Trafficking and Clearance for Broadcast partners and Ad Serving and Operations for the Digital partners.

Paid Talent and License Fees – Though most tactics feature actual Marines who are not eligible for talent payments, there are additional performers, voiceover talent, and musicians who must be paid per the Screen Actors

Guild (SAG) bylaws governing wages and allowable usage rates for the continued use of the advertising. Holding fees for SAG performers are paid on a 13-week cycle, industrial and online payments are on a 21-month cycle, cable and network usage is paid per media flighting, and overall contracts are renegotiated every 21 months.

PSA Program Maintenance – Maintenance of the core PSA program assets, including constant communication with Public Service Directors (PSD) in the form of solicitations throughout the year. Additionally, upgrades will be made to the website to include ordering and tracking of digital Out-of-Home billboard assets.

Social Media Maintenance (Management, Tools, and Content Scoring) – Social media maintenance includes the support monitoring, listening, response, and maintenance of all MCRC social properties. This support will also include outreach efforts related to recruiting and diversity event support as well as ongoing support and training at the local level to answer questions from page managers and assist with content planning and/or development.

Additionally, develop content strategies and calendars to include acquiring and producing content assets, as necessary. Finally, a regression modeling technique will be explored to better understand which social media post attributes (e.g., day of week, time of day, photo versus video) lead to increased engagement and lead generation.

Story-Capturing App Optimization and Maintenance – This project maintains and optimizes the story-capturing mobile application, which aims to decentralize the collection of stories from proof sources, events, and other opportunities. While also evolving, this app will continue to allow Marines, influencers, and prospects to become

Battles Won storytellers by giving them the opportunity to curate, edit, and release their stories as owned/branded content.

Third-Party Channels and Entertainment Engagement – Beyond marketing and advertising, amplifying the

Battles Won message using third-party owned and operated (O&O) platforms is necessary. This effort will include the co-creation and publishing of stories, as well as the ongoing maintenance of the Entertainment Engagement site.

Entertainment is driving youths’ beliefs, motivations, perceptions, and behaviors; therefore, it is crucial to evaluate this relevant and evolving venue to expand the Battles Won idea.

USMC Associations Support (Leatherneck Reprints) – Distribution of Leatherneck magazines to Recruiting Sub-

Station’s (RSS) and Priority-1 high schools across the country to allow prospects to connect and identify with the

USMC culture during the enlistment consideration. This will serve as a proof source, speaking to the history of the

USMC in a way in which recruiters possibly cannot. News and feature stories on individual Marines and units (i.e.:

where they serve, what they do, and the training they receive) may not always be a priority for a recruiter to share yet are relevant to the prospect's future in the USMC.

Web Properties Maintenance (Desktop, Mobile, Hosting, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)) – This includes providing crucial services such as hosting, licenses, and technical services required to run, support, update, and protect Marines.com desktop and mobile properties. The content will be managed on the Content Management

System (CMS) and maintain the SEO’s, technical features, and functionalities for existing properties to keep them timely. Maintenance includes regular content updates to include Law, Aviation, MEOP, and other mission-focused requirements. Maintenance does not include the creation of new components for the CMS.

Recruiter Support

Advertising Portal Maintenance – Ongoing maintenance for the Advertising Portal, which is the online, permissions-based platform/hub for MCRC-provided recruiter support tools. There will be limited optimizations made to the system and focus will instead be on maintaining what exists in-line with bug fixes and answering support tickets. Additionally, the optimization of the Advertising Exchange subpage by implementing modifications to the dashboard and project views to better identify the timelines, deliverables, and responsible parties for each project task.

Advertising Portal Rebuild (Phase II) – The Advertising Portal system will continue to be optimized. This will include identifying potential strategic integration opportunities with MCRISS, as well as assessing functionality to optimize the infrastructure framework according to the AITS II architecture. Updates in 2019 include upgrading the administration component, assessing a responsive design experience for the Ad Portal homepage, and upgrading the ticketing system all within budgetary constraints. Commercial off-the-Shelf (COTS) software will be evaluated and potentially leveraged for this effort where applicable.

Desktop Calendar – New educator calendars will be designed and produced that will align with the Battles Won brand strategy. The calendar provides education about the USMC for the influencer audience, so they can position the Corps as a viable and inspirational option for their students. Success will be measured by reviewing how many calendars are distributed in the field.

Digital Engagement Working Group Support (DEWG) – The DEWG will be held quarterly to discuss social media, websites, blogs, podcasts, etc., as they relate to the current recruiting environment and recruiting command.

Based on these discussions, MCRC will decide if any updates to the Digital Engagement Strategy need to be made.

Success is measured by the implementable output from each meeting.

District-Led Programs (Account Team Representation) – The Contractor will provide the appropriate staff members to support the Marine Corps’ District Program, which aims to make local Marines successful by arming them with the appropriate brand knowledge, training, and support through the most current advertising materials available.

District Program Support (ERR and WRR) – Through the District Program, each district is supplied funding that allows Marines to respond quickly to the changing landscape of Marine Corps Recruiting and allows local Marines to address needs specific to their RS missions. Support includes funding for items such as event activations, media partnerships, replenishment of EAC equipment as needed, and training, as determined by local Commanders and

District staff.

Marine Corps Opportunities Book Overhaul – The Enlisted, Officer, and Reserve Marine Corps Opportunities

Books (MCOB) will be updated to include new content and imagery.

Marketing and Communication Officer/Chief Training – In conjunction with the MCRC Marketing and

Communication (MAC) Team and National Training Team (NTT), Marketing and Communication Officer and

Chief (MACO/C) & Recruiting Station MAC Training sessions will be held. These sessions will provide instructional/informational briefings for District and RS-level Marines surrounding the marketing program and related topics. Meetings will require a minimum of two (2) briefing days for the agency team members (minimum of 5) and will include presentation/material creation and agency travel.

National Engagements and Partnerships – National engagements and partnerships provide opportunities for the

USMC to positively influence and affect the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of key audiences so they better understand who the USMC is, what it does, and how that may be of value to them, ultimately in support of recruiting operations and engagements for the Corps itself. National and local community engagements will be explored that will positively increase awareness and generate advocates for the USMC brand. Partnerships and engagements may include but are not limited to efforts such as USA Wrestling, CrossFit, Central Intercollegiate

Athletic Association (CIAA), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), etc.

Online Advertising Resource/Digital Asset Manager (OAR/DAM) – All relevant assets (totaling nearly 3TB, including audio, images, and video files) are housed on the OAR/DAM. Maintenance of the OAR/DAM will evaluate the need to move the platform to government cloud storage. Ongoing maintenance for the off-site disaster recovery storage of the high-resolution versions of all assets. Additionally, quarterly updates to the Social Media

Assets library created. Each quarterly update will include the addition of new or requested templates for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and video. Success is measured by qualitative feedback from the field and the agency

District team as well as application usage reports.

Sales Media Review Board – To ensure marketing and promotional materials stay up to date with relevant information for the key audience year-over-year, an annual Sales Media Review Board will be hosted with the appropriate attendees (i.e., District Marketing Chiefs, NTT, MCRC, and the agency) present. The Board will convene for 2 to 3 days in the first quarter of the calendar year so that changes required or requested may be executed or initiated at the Operational Planning Group (OPG) in the May/June timeframe.

Semper Fidelis All-American Program – The Semper Fidelis All-American Program (SFAAP) is an opportunity for the USMC to recognize students who are fighting and winning battles both on the playing field and off the field to make their community and country stronger. This project will continue building on the success of the first two years of the SFAAP and the culminating 3.5-day Battles Won Academy. More focus will be put on driving applications and converting nominations during the promotional window and streamlining recognition of the All-

American participants. The program promotional materials and website will continue to be updated with more dynamic content and optimizations to each phase of program execution will be made as needed.

Semper Fidelis All-American Program: Pre- and Post-Event Engagement – As part of the greater program, participants are afforded the opportunity to be recognized at one of two potential points of engagement: the selection tour phase of the program prior to the Battles Won Academy or post-attendance to the Battles Won Academy.

USMC Assets Library (Film, Photo, and Audio) – The Assets Library will continue to be maintained and those film and photo assets not already converted and house these assets in a cloud-based archive storage to eliminate the need for physical storage space. This effort will allow access to assets, historical or current, and ensure backup copies are created for each piece.

Call Center Support

Call Center (1-800-MARINES) – The Call Center program, which provides 1-800-MARINES call center support seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST will be maintained. Regular call monitoring and program evaluation meetings will continue to be held. This effort also includes the text messaging and live chat programs.

Lead Nurturing – For this effort, the call center vendor will perform outbound telephone calls to leads that have not been worked by recruiters or OSO’s with the goal of performing a hot transfer to the correct RSS or OSS, respectively. Regardless of whether or not a hot transfer was successful, leads that are still interested in speaking with a recruiter or OSO will be provided back to the RSS or OSS for another chance at making contact.