In Plane Sight
Milmark Award Winner
Installation: 773 FSS, JB Elmendorf Richardson
Category: Sponsorship Experiential Marketing
Year: 2022
Campaign Summary
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) Alaska developed a unique sponsorship approach to the 2022 Arctic Thunder Open House – Air Show which displayed substantial enhancements and innovative thinking compared to prior years. The renewed approach increased customer participation, fun and excitement creating more potential for recruitment in the Air Force and other branches. Additionally, the marketing team’s effort helped educate 325K people in the local community on the important role JBER plays in defense of the nation.
The JBER Force Support Squadron (FSS) marketing team sought Commercial Sponsorship to enhance the Arctic Thunder Open House after the event’s four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FSS created a strategic partnership with Alaska Airlines that benefitted both the company and the military community. As a Presenting level sponsor Alaska Airlines provided $25K in prizes that could be given to the JBER community in support of the Open House efforts. The marketing team utilized these prizes during the “In-Plane Sight” campaign to garner support and attention for the open house in the month leading up to the event.
The campaign targeted young families in the JBER community and was aimed at increasing their awareness of FSS programs and events. ‘In-Plane Sight’ was a play on words derived from the hiding of Alaska Airlines’ planes, as a visual attractant to participants, on posters in plain sight. Posters were affixed on walls at FSS activities for all to see but the planes were somewhat hidden amongst the featured event advertisement. Participants had to visit the FSS activities, find the planes hidden ‘in-plane sight,’ and submit a selfie with the plane through the JBER Life website. Hundreds of entries were received but only six lucky contestants won. The winners received round trip airfare to anywhere that Alaska Airlines flies.
Relevance to Category (Sponsorship Experiential Marketing)
Overall, 310 families participated in the contest, visiting facilities and viewing advertisements of events they were previously unaware of. Across the three Facebook posts the marketing office had set up for the contest, along with the tagging by Alaska Airlines, 43.2K engagements were noted per occasion representing a 1340% increase compared to the engagement of typical contests held on the JBER Life! Facebook page. The JBER Life! Facebook page reach to customers increased by 124% over the 31-day period and an increase of visits by 22.5% compared to a typical 31-day month. Additionally, across the two Instagram posts during the running of the contest, it was noted that the post reached 1.2K viewers whereas no previous contest was posted to this platform.
Additionally, activity managers noted increased traffic to their facilities and financial data for the activities involved showed a NIAD increase of 31% during the campaign compared to June 2022, the month before the campaign, and a 33% increase compared to July 2021. Alaska Airlines also committed an additional $5,000 to hand out promotional items at ATOH representing sponsor satisfaction.
Business Challenges & Campaign Objectives
Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic the programs and activities on JBER were suffering. Financial data and customer trends showed that there was a lag in participation as the installation transitioned back to normalized operations. Facilities had to reduce staffing during historically peak times and even cut hours to remain profitable. The marketing team brainstormed the issue and determined that with personnel leaving and coming to the installation, due to PCS, many potential customers were not exposed to, or aware of, JBER programs and activities. Looking at our historical facility utilization the marketing team determined that we needed to conduct a marketing campaign targeting young families to introduce them to MWR programs and events. Additionally, the installation was trying to educate the local populace and drum up support for the second largest event in the state of Alaska, the Arctic Thunder Open House (ATOH). Support of the event was limited because people did not understand that the Joint Base Open House is our Air Show equivalent, with the incorporation of demonstrations from our Joint Base mission partners. Based on the need to reintroduce people to MWR activities and the ATOH it was clear that traditional marketing efforts were not reaching our population. Marketing established a campaign with five main objectives:
- Reintroduce installation personnel, particularly young families, to MWR activities and programs.
- Educate the base populace on ATOH and garner support for the event.
- Direct personnel to our marketing avenues to perpetuate engagement in MWR functions.
- Increase digital marketing footprint.
- Generate traffic for our partnering sponsor.
In order to measure campaign success, we targeted the following metrics:
- Social media engagement pre and post campaign.
- Event engagement pre and post campaign.
- ATOH/Campaign participation.
- Activity feedback and financial performance.
- Sponsor satisfaction.
733 FSS Marketing Team
Kelsey Patterson, Director
Joshua De La Rosa, Marketing Specialist
Patricia Morales, Marketing Specialist
Nicholas Holland, Marketing Specialist
Kendra Couch, Operations Clerk
Insights & Strategy
Based on market surveys of 449 people we needed to ensure that those participating in the campaign knew where to look for event and activity information regarding future events. Prior to the campaign customer feedback stated that 84% had never visited an FSS facility or only visited monthly and 66% of people said they utilized social media to connect with MWR programs.
Based on the target audience and the traditional ATOH patronage the marketing team had to take a balanced approach to the overall campaign. With the relatively low cost of online marketing mediums we utilized the budget for traditional means and focused time on social media platforms. Since we were targeting young families we incorporated additional social media platforms, such as Instagram, that we hadn’t historically had a presence on. Based on the target demographic we determined that the campaign itself needed to be an experience as data suggests that experiences are valued more heavily by young families than products. We also needed to keep children engaged in the campaign so that parents kept a positive outlook toward FSS activities, ATOH and our partnering sponsor.
Concept/Big Idea
“In Plane Sight,” a plane scavenger hunt, spanning the FSS activities! Alaska Airlines’ planes were hidden as a visual attractant, on posters in plain sight. Posters were placed in activities such as the Bowling Center, Fitness Center, Otter Lake Recreational Facilities, and Outdoor Recreation, as well as other facilities across FSS. Posters were affixed on walls at activities for all to see, but planes were somewhat hidden amongst the featured advertisement. Participants had to visit all the FSS activities to find planes hidden ‘in-plane sight.’ Once located, a selfie with the person and plane had to be taken and submitted through the JBER Life website, providing the marketing team with a time stamp. Winners received round trip airfare to anywhere that Alaska Airlines flies.
By utilizing kid friendly planes, placing them throughout facilities, advertising across digital and traditional means, and using Alaska Airlines branding we were able to create a fun, engaging experience for all. Combining the campaign with round trip airfare helped to entice participants while expanding the overall experience. To allow for maximum exposure of the sponsor, the contest ran 1 – 31 July, with winners announced 1 August, on all social media platforms.
Activation/Tactics
Operating at 50% of the marketing office staffing level meant that digital capabilities were maximized. With limited personnel, printed marketing capabilities were reduced, yet concentrated to posters being affixed in ten high visibility and trafficked areas. The printed magazine was distributed in 6,000 copies across FSS facilities and other 25 locations across the joint bases. Advertisements were placed on 36 digital monitors, 2 marquees, 3 social media platforms and a fully developed webpage. The base populous received weekly e-mail notifications.
Further marketing opportunities that increased customer awareness in the Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla, and Palmer areas were enhanced by the Presenting Sponsor. Alaska Airlines shared our digital media adverts for the Open House and contest across all their social media platforms reaching a further estimated 108,000 potential participants. JBER Public Affairs office also helped with the endeavor, re-posted the digital flyers and wrote an article about the event. Local news channels and radio publicized the event and highlighted the fun ‘In-Plane Sight’ contest being held within the gates.
733 FSS Marketing Team
Kelsey Patterson, Director
Joshua De La Rosa, Marketing Specialist
Patricia Morales, Marketing Specialist
Nicholas Holland, Marketing Specialist
Kendra Couch, Operations Clerk
All 2022 MilMark Award Winners
Categories without winners did not have entries meeting the minimum score requirement. See the 2022 MilMark Awards Program Guide for more information about scoring and judging criteria.
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Age-Specific Marketing | Design the Next Plane 412 FSS, Edwards AFB |
| Content Marketing | Horizons 374 FSS, Yokota AB |
| Creativity & Innovation | No winner selected |
| Digital, Social, or Mobile Marketing | No winner selected |
| FSS Brand Activation Marketing | The FSS Dollar 48 FSS, RAF Lakenheath |
| Spnsorship Experiential Marketing | In Plane Sight 773 FSS, JB Elmendorf-Richardson |
| Age-Specific Marketing | Design the Next Plane 412 FSS, Edwards AFB |
| Content Marketing | Horizons 374 FSS, Yokota AB |
| Creativity & Innovation | No winner selected |
| Digital, Social, or Mobile Marketing | No winner selected |
| FSS Brand Activation Marketing | The FSS Dollar 48 FSS, RAF Lakenheath |
| Spnsorship Experiential Marketing | In Plane Sight 773 FSS, JB Elmendorf-Richardson |
