Patti,
I know you play a critical role in spreading the Army Strong story, so that's why I want to give you a preview of a new, fully-integrated advertising campaign the Army will launch on Memorial Day. The campaign uses the symbol of the Army uniform – a "Symbol of Strength" – to inspire young adults to see for themselves how putting on the Army uniform will strengthen their own lives.
An extension of the popular "Army Strong" campaign, the "Symbol of Strength" campaign highlights the life-changing decisions that the majority of young adults are focused on as they begin to plan for their futures. It takes a tremendous amount of strength to be a Soldier in the U.S. Army – and the experience itself strengthens a Soldier every day they serve. The uniform is the outward symbol of the variety of experiences and opportunities each Soldier gains by putting on the Army uniform day after day.
Three television spots will each feature a different aspect of serving as a Soldier – getting a strong education, having access to a variety of options and opportunities that will set them apart, and gaining important leadership skills to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
The integrated campaign encourages young adults to go online to discover more about the strength gained by wearing the uniform. Additional elements of the campaign include:
Interactive features on goarmy.com, such as personal interactions with real Soldiers through the "Soldier Q&A" page or exploring the "Soldier Stories" page for an authentic look at the lives of Soldiers from nearly every rank, background and career path.
Leveraging the Army's hundreds of thousands of existing fans, friends and followers across Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and Army Strong Stories.
A collaboration with the new X-Men: First Class movie through cinema activations, including a 30-second co-branded Army/X-Men video featured in theaters nationwide from May 20 – June 23 and offering exclusive X-Men footage on facebook.com/goarmy before the movie's release.
We're excited about this new campaign and will provide additional information on the Army Advocates site on Memorial Day. In the meantime, we invite you to share this exciting news with friends, family and colleagues by directing them to goarmy.com. We also encourage you to share the video and other resources about the campaign with other community members through organization meetings such as the Kiwanis Club or Rotary Club.
Thank you again for your continued support and all that you do for your Army.
ARMY STRONG!
LTG Benjamin C. Freakley
United States Army Accessions Command
Commanding General
