{"id":15731,"date":"2019-08-23T20:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T20:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smg.go-vip.net\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/23\/armys-new-chicago-team-will-use-big-data-to-recruit-gen-z\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:50:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:50:48","slug":"armys-new-chicago-team-will-use-big-data-to-recruit-gen-z","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/08\/23\/armys-new-chicago-team-will-use-big-data-to-recruit-gen-z\/","title":{"rendered":"Army\u2019s new Chicago team will use ‘big data\u2019 to recruit Gen Z"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Army\u2019s new Chicago-based marketing team<\/a> is prepping for a new push harnessing big data analytics and the digital space to find potential soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team has left its long-time headquarters near the Pentagon in an effort to get closer to private industry talent, including DDB Chicago \u2014 the firm that won a $4 billion contract to serve as the Army\u2019s full-service ad agency<\/a> until 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Location will be paired with new approaches in the digital space, according to Brig. Gen. Alex Fink, a former Army reservist with private sector marketing experience who joined active-duty to lead the new enterprise. The team is already at initial operating capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything we do in the digital space will be integrated so that we can hyper target, so that we can deliver a message that we believe will resonate with someone that we\u2019re interested in,” Fink told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That message doesn\u2019t yet involve a new slogan for the Army, but anything could change, team leaders say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The target population for the new marketing effort is Generation Z, or those born in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. But will Gen Z be receptive to the new push, or will the Army\u2019s use of big data alienate a group already inundated with guerrilla marketing campaigns, social media influencers and online advertisements?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou always have to be respectful with an audience\u2019s concerns with big data,\u201d said Casey Wardynski, the Army\u2019s assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs. \u201cIt won\u2019t be information on kids; it will be information on how campaigns function. Information on media channels. Information about the website and how it\u2019s performing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of that is already seen with companies like Google and Facebook, but the Army\u2019s goal will be to use that big data approach to teach Gen Z about the service and then, \u201cafter they learn about us and find us interesting, well then we can learn about them,\u201d Wardynski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s kind of flipping it in terms of how some industry may work,” he added. “So, we\u2019re very respectful of people\u2019s privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If someone browsing Army media channels has an interest in welding, for instance, the Army wants to ensure it shows them roles in the service that align with that interest and teach them the various educational and credentialing opportunities available through enlisting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t want their time wasted on messages that don\u2019t pertain to them,\u201d Wardynski said. \u201cWhen you bring them salient messages, they tend to click deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t