A new campaign for the U.S. Army breaks today on network television, complete with a new theme: Army Strong. The effort is intended to boost recruitment for the military’s forces at a critical time in the war in Iraq, according to Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp, commander of U.S. Army Accessions Command.
U.S. companies have the opportunity to reach the primarily young, male audience of the nation’s armed forces by sponsoring events and recreational activities for military personnel, their families and those retired from the military, Media Life writes.
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Current Newsweek business editor and former New York Times reporter Adam Bryant is returning to the Times in May to serve as the newspaper’s business section editor and oversee auto, airline and defense industry coverage, writes the SABEW blog.
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In a ruling that may put some federal highway funding to the state at risk, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the state’s law restricting multiple billboards along highways violates free speech protections outlined in the state constitution, writes the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Though in the past it has been employees of commercial stations being found guilty of payola scams, three former employees of WUOM - a public radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan, owned by the University of Michigan - have been charged with accepting airline tickets, golf club memberships, massages, and Persian rugs in exchange for programming, writes Media Life.
The U.S. Army has awarded its advertising account to Interpublic Group’s McCann Erickson, deciding against incumbent Publicis Leo Burnett, AdAge reports.
The two-year contract, that can be renewed for three subsequent one-year periods, or up to five years total, could be worth up to $1.35 billion over five years, making it the governments largest ad account.
Agencies involved include creative agency McCann, media agency Universal McCann, MRM for digital and interactive, Momentum for event marketing, and public relations agency Weber Shandwick.
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Over 100 groups led by the Electronic Privacy Information Center have written to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to demand that the U.S. military stop developing a database of personal information about U.S. teens, AdAge reports. The database, launched in 2002, when Congress combined some individual military service recruiting functions, is apparently meant for marketing purposes for recruiting, but the letter warns that it could lead to broader government tracking of personal information.
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In a saga that began in spring 2004, the Army has once again extended its contract with Leo Burnett, this time until March 20, to avoid a “possible interruption” in its advertising during a transition period following its $200 million review, Adweek reports. This extension of the contract, which would have expired in December (following a number of previous extensions), will not affect the current review.
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The federal government gave up trying to prevent the media from reporting on the recovery of the dead in New Orleans after CNN filed suit for the right to cover the recovery efforts, CNN reports. U.S. District Court Judge Keith Ellison issued a temporary restraining order Friday against a “zero access” policy that Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who is overseeing the relief effort, and Terry Ebbert, the city’s homeland security director, had announced earlier in the day.
Ebbert said that it “wasn’t proper” to let members of the media view the bodies. CNN filed suit against Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, saying that the officials who announced the decision were acting on FEMA’s behalf.
A month after the Army awarded its current agency, Leo Burnett, another extension of the ad account that anticipated a boost in annual ad spending from $200 million to $250 million, the client has reissued its request for proposals, reports AdAge. The new contract will, for the first time, be a two-year award, with up to three one-year renewals, and the proposal says it will start September 30.
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As the US army confronts recruiting shortfalls and an extended war on terrorism, it faces the need to increase its ad budget, and has approved up to $250 million in spending for the next six months. This is a sharp increase from a previous budget of $200 million a year, according to AdAge.
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Cygnus Business Media announced it bought EMS Expo, along with its magazines EMS, Advanced Rescue Technology and Frontline First Responder from Summer Communications and Expo Productions. As is typical in deals between closely-held firms, terms weren’t disclosed.
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The U.S. Navy is asking for proposals from ad agencies as part of a regular review for its $60- to $90 million media account, according to AdWeek. The U.S. military generally picks an agency for a one-year term that has four relatively easy renewal opportunities, ending in a more major review every five years. The current incumbent, IPG’s Cambell-Ewald, will see its contract expire at the end of September. Cambell-Ewald saw its account expanding rapidly, with the Navy approving a special contract expansion agreement in January to boost media weight by about $10 million, according to Defense Industry Daily. All major service branches have increased their online recruiting efforts several fold.
The U.S. Army is also expected to farm out an RFP in June for its $180 million account, currently held by Leo Burnett. That account went into an abortive review last year, with the on-again, off-again effort slated to restart this summer.
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