For more than a hundred years, the U.S. Navy has had an intractable problem: getting mothers to see the Navy as a viable career choice for their children. Moms have a biological need to protect their kids from what they instinctively perceive is a dangerous choice. We needed to change the minds of mothers to succeed.
Knowing that mothers do not want to talk to recruiters, we took an entirely new tactic. We formed an online community that allows moms to talk to other moms who already have kids in the Navy. We let them talk about everything – the benefits, the experiences and the heartaches. No censoring – just women talking peer-to-peer without intervention.
To build awareness of NavyForMoms.com and to drive moms to the community, we employed a variety of tactics including: television, magazine/newspapers, online advertising, out of home and guerrilla tactics including street teams and direct mail.
Campaign Highlights:
Awards:
Knowing that mothers do not want to talk to recruiters, we took an entirely new tactic. We formed an online community that allows moms to talk to other moms who already have kids in the Navy. We let them talk about everything – the benefits, the experiences and the heartaches. No censoring – just women talking peer-to-peer without intervention.
To build awareness of NavyForMoms.com and to drive moms to the community, we employed a variety of tactics including: television, magazine/newspapers, online advertising, out of home and guerrilla tactics including street teams and direct mail.
Campaign Highlights:
- A new mother joins the site every 21 minutes.
- Moms have uploaded over 850 videos and 125,000 photos.
- Ethnographic research has helped us pinpoint the exact reason a mother will change her mind about the Navy, how many mothers she will talk to before she reaches that decision, and most important, which other moms are most influential in that process.
- NAVYForMoms™ is a featured case study referenced by dozens of social media speakers.
Awards:
- Effie Worldwide Awards; 2009 Silver Government, Institutional & Recruitment
- Webby Awards; 2009 Web Honoree/Government
- Adweek People's Choice Buzz Award, 3rd Place
- Web Marketing Association WebAwards; 2009 Social Network Standard of Excellence, 2008 Best Military Website
Original Launch
Evolution
Mother Interviews
Campaign Overview
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