U.S. Military Branch
Leveraging innovation to drive recruiting success.
A U.S. military branch engaged Credera to create a marketing innovation lab to solve recruiting challenges.
At a Glance
A branch of the U.S. military was struggling to meet its recruiting goals. There were many ideas of new ways to market to prospects, but there was no programmatic way to test and learn which ideas were winners. The military branch engaged Credera to develop and prove an operating model to continuously ingest ideas, prioritize them, and prototype, test, and learn which were the best.
Credera collaborated with multi-disciplinary teams of experts to implement a comprehensive program encompassing best-practice innovation frameworks, streamlined processes, best-in-class tools, and optimized organizational structures. These structures enabled the client to leverage data to validate ideas quickly and influence larger investments. By doing so, the client sifted through the most impactful ideas to drive large-scale marketing effort improvement.
The Challenge
Taking a new approach to recruiting.
The competitive landscape of the American labor market, coupled with evolving behaviors among the Generation Z (Gen Z) prospect demographic, prompted a compelling case for this U.S. military branch to revamp its marketing strategies. In 2018, the client had set specific recruitment targets, but the prevailing conditions necessitated a reassessment of their approach by 2021. Teaming up with a global marketing agency, the client recognized the need for a best-practice-driven innovation strategy.
The client engaged a team of marketing partners, with Credera as the innovation experts, to modernize marketing capabilities, enhance outreach efforts, and redesign their recruitment tactics. This endeavor, catalyzed by the shifting dynamics in the labor market and Gen Z preferences, reflected their commitment to staying agile, relevant, and effective in their recruitment initiatives. By establishing an innovation lab, they sought to adapt to the evolving landscape and achieve their recruitment goals effectively.
The Solution
Establishing an innovation lab.
Credera created a comprehensive playbook that encompassed various crucial aspects of the client’s recruiting initiatives. This playbook focused on the essential stages of ideation, prioritization, testing, and substantiating the impact of marketing concepts. Credera developed a robust strategy and an in-depth playbook tailored specifically for the client's innovation lab. This comprehensive playbook included multi-disciplinary expertise, constant iteration, and data-informed decision-making leading to an initial list of areas ripe for innovative interventions.
Furthermore, Credera collaborated with other marketing partners and the client to establish program governance, ensuring a structured and effective approach to the innovation process. Together, they led prototyping pod teams, comprised of over 40 team members, drawn from 10 different agencies. This joint effort aimed to bring efficiency and innovation to the forefront of the client's marketing initiatives.
The Results
More ideas, more tests, and more learning in less time.
Establishing an innovation lab empowered the client to seamlessly integrate marketing ideas from both within their organization and their network of partners. This transformative capability allowed them to efficiently prototype these concepts, subject them to rigorous testing, and validate their potential impact before committing to large-scale investments.
In the initial six months of its operation, the innovation lab delivered outstanding results, generating a total of 183 unique ideas sourced from 15 different channels. From these ideas, the lab successfully produced 10 prototypes, conducted eight prototype tests, and initiated six minimum viable product (MVP) projects. These tangible outcomes underscored the lab's value in swiftly translating innovative ideas into actionable projects, enhancing the client's ability to adapt and thrive in the dynamic landscape of marketing and recruitment.
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