Lead Track

If the Army’s ranks could be filled as easily as DMX packed concerts in 1999, I wouldn’t be writing this paper. Gone are the days of expecting prospects to simply walk into recruiting offices across the United States and meeting U.S. Army manning goals. A more targeted, agile and deliberate approach must be found. Dozens of private-sector companies spend billions of dollars a year in the age of digital marketing to sell products, but for the Army, our product is service.^[1] You might envision jingles and sleek branding to be quintessential for marketing success, but asking someone to commit to four years of service is more complex than selling soda. The Army presently competes for talent in a tight labor market where young Americans have an abundance of options, from high college enrollment to lucrative private-sector jobs and flexible career paths in the gig economy. Advertising alone will not persuade; what is needed is a concerted effort to meet young people on their own terms while authentically presenting the wide array of possibilities that Army service entails. The Army Enterprise Marketing Office (AEMO) was built for precisely this mission. Entering its seventh year, AEMO has weathered the recruiting headwinds of the early 2020s and now has helped achieve the Army’s manning mission in 2024, as well as recently meeting the 2025 mission several months early.^[2] But there is still work to be done. AEMO’s new Chief Marketing Officer, Brigadier General Matthew Braman, makes it clear that “AEMO’s job is to be precision targeters and deliver qualified leads for our customer—the recruiter.”^[3] As the Army transforms to prepare for the future, ensuring that the right talent fills its ranks will take an agile, deliberate and data-centric approach.

Success Is the Only Option—Failure’s Not

Not unlike the great rapper from 8 Mile whom I’m paraphrasing in that heading just above, AEMO was born through struggle.^[4] Standing it up in 2019 was the culmination of fragmented and ineffective marketing efforts in the late 2010s. Prior to AEMO, the Army relied on the Army Marketing and Research Group (AMRG) as well as other accessions partners to conduct marketing and recruitment efforts. These entities worked earnestly, but they were hampered by structural flaws. They did not have the true expertise to do data-driven marketing from prospect to recruit. Nor did they have the accountability mechanisms necessary to justify the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on campaigns. The siloed nature of these recruiting and marketing entities also meant that they lacked the ability to share data or do any real handoff “down the marketing funnel” to a recruiter. By 2018, a DoD-directed review led to the stand-down of AMRG and the stand-up of AEMO.^[5] AEMO’s mandate, to function like a Fortune 500 marketing firm inside the Army, was a novel task. Ignatios Mavridis, AEMO’s Deputy Chief Marketing Officer, who has been with AEMO since early 2020, explained that the office was designed to bring “best practices from the business world” directly into Army marketing.^[6] The goal was to create a model that combined the Army’s unique expertise with private-sector creativity and technical capability.

But AEMO’s initial years were not without headwinds. The compounding effects of the end of the Global War on Terror, COVID and the corresponding economic rebound made marketing and recruiting for the Army difficult, to put it lightly. In Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), COVID, school closures and reduced face-to-face recruiter access narrowed the pool of prospects, limiting the Army’s efforts. It brought in just 57,606 recruits, meeting only 91.6 percent of its goal.^[7] The decline worsened in FY22 with the Regular Army bringing in only 44,901 recruits, or 74.8 percent of its 60,000 goal. Analysts cited multiple converging problems: a shrinking pool of qualified healthy youth, educational deficiencies and waning trust in institutions.^[8] FY23 offered little reprieve. The Regular Army received 50,181 recruits, only 76.6 percent of its 65,500 goal, marking the second consecutive year of a double-digit shortfall. The issue drew national attention, with headlines warning of a looming “recruiting crisis” that threatened the all-volunteer force.^[9]

During these years of AEMO’s infancy, “The team was scrappy and determined,” according to Colonel Shannon Johnson, the outgoing director of Marketing Execution at AEMO.^[10] “The initial team of less than ten first started working from the hallway of a Corps of Engineers building. We barely had printer access,” said Lieutenant Colonel David Culver, the Chief of Paid Media at the time.^[11] In the late 2010s and early 2020s, AEMO was fledgling and understrength, more Wu-Tang than Wall Street. During the transition process from AMRG, AEMO was also overseeing the transition of their media and advertising agency industry partner from McCann Erickson to Doyle, Dane and Bernbach (DDB).^[12] AEMO’s initial cohort of officers were motivated, some arriving with graduate education related to marketing, but virtually none had worked in a professional marketing department with the scope and expectations now placed on AEMO. Despite these environmental challenges, the small organization made significant progress. In the early 2020s, AEMO launched an AMRG advertising campaign and quickly followed with their own interim campaign. While these “debut album” campaigns were effective, they were still based on preliminary research, and the ability to have fidelity on marketing attributable leads was not there yet.^[13] The office implemented a Marketing Mix Modeling to evaluate return on investment (ROI) and to properly weigh media dollars spent to assess leads generated by each activity. “Even incremental tweaks such as adjusting where on the website the contact form was paid dividends for AEMO.”^[14] Did I mention all this was being done during a pandemic? But I digress.

These early investments began to bear fruit. AEMO’s digital infrastructure upgrades enabled the launch of personalized marketing pilots that matched ad content to individual interests, doubling efficiency in lead generation.^[15] AEMO’s focus on digital infrastructure and marketing attribution showed that it had increased the conversion rate of marketing-generated leads by more than 50 percent in its first few years.^[16] Even during this turbulent time, and despite the recruiting challenges, AEMO was setting significant milestones. Perhaps most important, the office began building the foundation of its long-term brand strategy, conducting nationwide research into Gen Z attitudes and laying the groundwork for a wholly new campaign—sort of.

In 2023, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth announced that several measures across the recruiting enterprise were to be adjusted, but none more visible than AEMO’s revitalization of the iconic Be All You Can Be (BAYCB) campaign and messaging.^[17] This move was both a reset and a reminder, telling Americans that, while the campaign might look new, “We’ve been here for years.”

Don’t Call It a Comeback

Yes, that was an LL Cool J reference.^[18] LL’s hit, “Mama Said Knock You Out,” was released in 1990, smack-dab in the middle of the first iteration of the Army’s longest running brand campaign, BAYCB. The original BAYCB campaign spanned 1980–2000 and was reintroduced—scratch that, remixed in 2023 as an evergreen brand theme.^[19] The campaign’s reintroduction was deliberate, but the detailed research, strategy formation and data integration to ensure that it was working had to be built brick-by-brick during the early years of AEMO.

When AEMO was established, one of its first challenges was answering the basic question: “Who exactly is our target audience, and how do we best reach them?” Before AEMO, military marketing largely relied on PRIZM segmentation, an industry standard commercial research tool that maps consumer behaviors to demographics and ZIP codes.^[20] While useful in retail contexts, this method fell short for the Army. Selling a four-year enlistment as a combat medic is a much more complex proposition than marketing a new laundry detergent. Recognizing this gap, AEMO, along with the research arm of DDB, worked to build a custom segmentation model grounded in psychographics and not just demographics, seeking to understand what young people want in their lives, what motivates them to serve, and what barriers keep them from considering the Army. By pairing this model with nationwide research surveys, AEMO was able to measure awareness, trust and favorability of the Army brand. They could also begin to acutely test how new marketing campaigns resonated, including researching the remix of Be All You Can Be.

“Revitalizing BAYCB was not simply a nostalgic choice,” said Lieutenant Colonel Erika Zimmerman, Chief of Research and Innovation at AEMO.^[21] Extensive Gen Z research revealed interests centered on purpose, passion, community and connection. “At the same time, BAYCB carried deep resonance with Army senior leaders and created a rare convergence of ideals for the brand platform.”^[22] Campaign testing pre-launch continued to validate the proposal aligned with segmentation models of the Army’s target audience. Out with the old and in with the . . . old? Not really. “BAYCB 2023 was both timeless and timely,” said Major David Huffman, the Brand Platform Manager at AEMO during the relaunch.^[23] By 2023, AEMO had built out a creative development and production program manned with marketing officers, who, along with their industry partners at DDB, oversaw the creation of new live-action advertisement campaigns centered on BAYCB. “The brand refresh was far more than just a rehashing of a tagline. It was the repositioning of the Army in the minds of youth, their influencers and the American people. It modernized our visual identity, the logo, the look and the feel. This all set the foundation for reimagining what Be All You Can Be could mean for a new audience.”^[24] Flashy new ads were cool and all, but how could you prove if they were even working? And, if they were, how could recruiters—the people actually finalizing the contracts—be able to tap into the elevated Army brand?

From its inception, AEMO has emphasized data analytics and accountability. AMRG, AEMO’s disbanded predecessor, had been criticized precisely because it could not show where taxpayer dollars were going or how advertisement spending translated into contracts. When AEMO was stood up in 2019, it had little to no access to recruiting data and could not discretely link marketing efforts to tangible leads for recruiters. The Army’s enterprise marketing management data was so antiquated that it was stored on premises in Fort Knox servers.^[25] From 2020–2024, AEMO’s data integration team worked diligently to modernize their data architecture to both integrate it with Recruiting Command and migrate it to cloud-based systems. AEMO built robust systems of measurement, created data-visualization tools using Power BI (business intelligence) dashboards and insisted on transparent ROI tracking.^[26] During the recruiting friction of the early 2020s, AEMO was quietly building its data infrastructure to generate leads, attribute where they came from and determine how qualified they were to be ready for recruiter engagement. Sarah Parkington, AEMO’s program lead for the Army Marketing Cloud and a senior Department of the Army (DA) Civilian, said that by 2024, approximately 40 percent of enlistment contracts were directly traceable to marketing-generated leads.^[27]

Inquiries on effectiveness like this had been unanswerable just a few short years ago. But now, recruiters could prioritize high-quality leads provided through improved digital systems, reducing the burden of cold prospecting and increasing efficiency. This was precisely the accountability that had eluded earlier organizations. AEMO continually focused on the ability to attribute marketing efforts to actualized contracts while also working to reduce the cost-per-contract and to increase the quality of leads they were gathering for recruiters to engage with. For the first time, Army leaders could see a clear line from advertising campaigns, website visits and on-site engagements to recruiting outcomes. It was now possible to defend marketing efforts and dollars spent on empirical grounds.

The Next Episode

Unlike Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, having time to get “ready for the next episode” is not a luxury our nation’s Army has. The Army, and thus the marketing, recruiting and generating force, is at an inflection point. The Army’s transformation initiative is driving change across the whole Army, to include force generation organizations like AEMO and Recruiting Command. “AEMO must continue to be an agile and data-centric formation to man the lethal force our Army needs for the future.”^[28]

Building upon the foundation of AEMO’s digital architecture investments, the future is in the Army Marketing Cloud (AMC). Now that marketing data and infrastructure are fully cloud-based, AEMO can securely integrate new commercial tools with plug-and-play functionality, all while staying secure and compliant. More than a database, AMC aims to be the connective tissue between communications and contracts and to track every lead from first touch through appointment, enlistment and shipping to basic training. AMC is built as a vendor-agnostic suite of tools that is purpose-designed for Army recruiting. AI decisioning is integrated into AMC, and it maps each lead’s journey, delivering the tailored communications to the specific lead. A text about Special Forces or the Ranger Regiment goes to the young and enthusiastic high-schooler, and an email about officer programs goes to the life-builder currently enrolled in community college. Recruiters also benefit from 24/7 live support at the Go Army Contact Center to answer questions via email, call or text for prospects before connecting them to a recruiter. Prospect contact information is now ready at the flick of a thumb on Go Recruit Mobile Applications, connecting it to AMC and a suite of tools that allows recruiters to message potential recruits.^[29] The impacts of initial AMC efforts are already measurable. Conversion rates of leads have more than doubled since AMC implementation, days from lead to contract have dropped from over 150 to closer to 60, and the cost of marketing and recruitment efforts per contract has been cut by two-thirds since 2020.^[30] Most importantly, AMC ensures that the investments made in data, attribution and cloud architecture now directly support recruiters on the ground, giving them faster, cleaner leads and freeing their time to close more contracts.

With AEMO being moved under USAREC in late 2023, ensuring that national-level marketing efforts are connected more directly to recruiter activity has been a priority. The leads AEMO generates for recruiters currently sit at around a 5 percent conversion rate, up from 2.5 percent since 2020.^[31] AEMO is currently in the process of incorporating AI decisioning in its lead qualification process with the hopes of elevating conversion rates to 10 percent or more in the very near future. “AI decisioning will incorporate inputs from our entire marketing ecosystem to paint an even more complete picture of a prospect for the recruiter,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jason Bogardus, the lead for the AEMO’s Annual Marketing Plan.^[32] Brigadier General Braman’s goal as the Army’s Chief Marketing Officer is for that to be 20–25 percent. “Success for AEMO looks like fewer recruiters spending less time prospecting and more time closing contracts.”^[33] AEMO’s regional marketing offices, still in the process of operationalizing and building manpower, are specifically charged with supporting and consulting regional recruiting brigades and battalions. Their mandate is to integrate national efforts, media and data down to the local level. The Army marketers themselves also serve as strategic multipliers. The “No-Limit Soldiers” of AEMO recognize that their unique role is to deliver the highest quality leads to recruiters so that those recruiters can close the deal.

One of the Army’s earliest moves to support AEMO’s efforts was also to establish the Army Functional Area 58 (FA58), a new career field for Army officers trained specifically in marketing and behavioral economics, many with advanced degrees from top programs. What started as a small group of fewer than 10 skilled and motivated officers at AEMO has now grown to more than 40 marketing officers alongside several DA civilians, backed by the immense media buying power and marketing acumen of Team DDB. Marketing officers now fill roles in areas including data science, creative design and research. “Marketing officers are complementary to our industry partners but now also have the expertise to be the decision-makers that are accountable.”^[34] The future success of AEMO and the Army brand itself is ensured by the continuation of the FA58 program as the marketing acumen and technical expertise of those officers continues to compound. Marketing officers are intended to deliver outsized returns to save recruiters time and to save taxpayers’ chedda.

Together, the Army Marketing Cloud, deeper recruiter integration and the continued growth of marketing officers represent the maturation of an enterprise that, not long ago, started from square one; now, however, it is positioned to deliver lasting impact. These investments demonstrate that AEMO is not just adapting to the challenges of today but is actively transforming for the future. The question is no longer whether marketing can deliver measurable results; rather, how can the Army and AEMO sustain this momentum, innovate ahead of the market and continue to attract the talent of the next generation of Soldiers?

Final Set

The Army cannot afford to simply hope or assume that marketing alone will fill its ranks. AEMO’s creation in 2019 was a paradigm shift, and its efforts are now that of a professional, accountable and data-driven enterprise. In less than a decade, and through trials and tribulations, that shift has turned into measurable impact, focused on generating high-quality leads that recruiters can convert. But marketing, like hip-hop, is never static. The message has to be authentic, the beat has to keep moving, and the grind never stops. With the remix of Be All You Can Be, the Army Marketing Cloud, the growth of the marketing officer program and a focus on providing tools to the recruiter, AEMO serves as an indispensable pillar in the force generation apparatus of our Army.

★  ★  ★  ★

Author Biography

Major Ryan Crayne is an AUSA Scholar and a U.S. Army Marketing and Behavioral Economics Officer who has served in leadership and combat roles in the 1st Infantry Division, 75th Ranger Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and the United States Military Academy at West Point. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and has publishing interests centered around recruiting, retention and the Army profession. He is also a LTG (Ret) James M. Dubik Writing Fellow, and he currently serves as the Marketing Innovation lead at the Army Enterprise Marketing Office.

• [1] “Top 10 Biggest Advertising Spenders in 2025,” BrandVM, 10 June 2025, https://www.brandvm.com/post/top-10-biggest-advertising-spenders-in-2025.
• [2] “Army Hits Recruiting Goal 4 Months Early,” Association of the United States Army (AUSA), 28 June 2025, https://www.ausa.org/news/army-hits-recruiting-goal-4-months-early.
• [3] Matthew Braman, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 10 September 2025.
• [4] Eminem, “Lose Yourself,” on 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture, Shady/Interscope, 2002.
• [5] WBR B2B Marketing, “The US Army Is Dramatically Restructuring Its Marketing Strategy,” B2B Marketing Blog, 20 June 2019, https://b2bmarketing.wbresearch.com/blog/us-army-dramatically-restructuring-marketing-strategy.
• [6] Ignatios Mavridis, interview with Gregory Scruggs, transcribed, Chicago, IL, June 2025.
• [7] U.S. Army Recruiting Command, “Facts and Figures,” accessed 9 September 2025, https://recruiting.army.mil/pao/facts_figures/.
• [8] “The U.S. Army Has a Recruitment Problem. Here’s How to Solve It,” Time, March 2023, https://time.com/6260526/army-recruitment-problem-us/.
• [9] “The U.S. Military’s Recruiting Crisis.” The New Yorker, 10 February 2025, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/02/10/the-us-militarys-recruiting-crisis.
• [10] Shannon Johnson, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 10 September 2025.
• [11] David Culver, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 12 September 2025.
• [12] Kyle Remfer, “Army’s Billion-Dollar Ad Machine Is Moving to Chicago. Will It Work?” Army Times, 10 June 2019, https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/06/11/armys-billion-dollar-ad-machine-is-moving-to-chicago-will-it-work/.
• [13] Shannon Johnson, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 10 September 2025.
• [14] Johnson interview.
• [15] Johnson interview.
• [16] AEMO Transition Document, Department of the Army Memorandum for the Record, 19 July 2021.
• [17] “Wormuth Predicts Better Recruiting,” AUSA, 24 July 2023, https://www.ausa.org/news/wormuth-predicts-better-recruiting.
• [18] LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out, Def Jam Recordings, 1990.
• [19] “Wormuth Predicts Better Recruiting.”
• [20] PRIZM Premier: A Marketer’s Guide to the 68 U.S. Consumer Segments,” Marketing with Dave, 18 July 2022, https://marketingwithdave.com/prizm-premier-a-marketers-guide-to-the-68-u-s-consumer-segments/.
• [21] Erika Zimmerman, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 11 September 2025.
• [22] Zimmerman interview.
• [23] David Huffman, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 11 September 2025.
• [24] Huffman interview.
• [25] Sarah Parkington, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 9 September 2025.
• [26] Parkington interview.
• [27] Parkington interview.
• [28] Braman interview.
• [29] U.S. Army, “Army Develops New Solution for Recruiting on the Go,” Army Recruiting News, 30 November 2023, https://recruiting.army.mil/News/Article/3613757/army-develops-new-solution-for-recruiting-on-the-go/.
• [30] Army Marketing Cloud infographic and foundational documents provided by Sarah Parkington.
• [31] Documents provided by Parkington.
• [32] Jason Bogardus, interview with the author, Chicago, IL, 12 September 2025.
• [33] Braman interview.
• [34] Braman interview.