Navy advertising -- from budget to execution: a trend analysis of national advertising awareness

Abstract

Military recruiting and advertising expenditures by the United States Navy totaled $42.6 million in 1995. Commander, Navy Recruiting Command (CNRC) is responsible for executing the Navy's advertising budget. The problems faced by CNRC lie in determining if the FY 1994 and FY 1995 increases in advertising dollars fulfilled their objective of increasing national awareness. This study examines the increases in Navy national general enlisted advertising budgets to determine if additional spending resulted in (1) an increase in national awareness among the target population, as measured by the number of leads, or inquiries, generated, and (2) an increase in the influence of advertising on new recruits, as measured by the New Recruit Survey (NRS) responses during the period July 1994 through August 1995. To provide an analysis of the effects of advertising expenditures, this thesis investigates national advertising data by media type (television, radio, magazine, and direct mail), and the number of leads generated at the Navy Recruiting District (NRD) level. Due to data limitations, findings of this study are limited. Correlations between advertising expenditures and leads generated at the recruiting district level revealed little interdependence; however, a four month advertising lag effect emerged. Trend analysis of expenditures versus leads revealed no real change due to the increased budget. Lead patterns remain constant despite additional advertising. However, evaluation of the New Recruit Surveys revealed that national advertising creates awareness and has a positive influence on an individual's decision to join the Navy