Uncle Sam Ups Ante For Recruiting Effort

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

ADWEEK -- Between the wars in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq (news - web sites) and a wave of retirements set to begin in just three years, ad spending on federal job recruitment is on the rise and Uncle Sam, like other marketers, is employing increasingly sophisticated tactics.

Take the U.S. Army, which uses a promotional online video game, "America's Army," as a recruitment tool. In the game, the combatant takes on a black-garbed enemy and, at times, other online players dressed as U.S. soldiers, preparing players for the risks of what appears to be friendly fire.

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In fact, Uncle Sam is now a larger marketer than Unilever and, as the No. 34 U.S. advertiser in 2003, just behind McDonald's. Federal ad spending peaked at $680 million in the boom year of 2000, but underwent a recessionary decline in 2001. So far this year, concern about a ballooning deficit hasn't stemmed the flow.

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In the civilian departments, lots of little ad accounts have bloomed in the last decade. In Clinton's first term, there were 215 separate ad campaigns recorded by CMR. Under Bush, there have been 323. "There are a lot of those accounts out there that I think will make a significant increase in the amount of money being spent on government advertising," said the 4A's Dove.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=628&e=1&u=/adweek/20041203/ad_bpiaw/unclesamupsanteforrecruitingeffort