The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes that teens are more often than not on their smartphones. They plan to take the opportunity to use that to their advantage by placing targeted ads on social media and streaming platforms.
Recruitment Through Ads
The primary objective of the effort is to reach teenagers and encourage qualified and potential applicants to enlist, as well as raise awareness of the Georgia Army National Guard, which is the sixth largest National Guard in the US.
Through location tracking and geofencing, the National Guard will be testing the recruitment ad at 67 different high schools. It will be in the form of beam banner ads, video advertisements, and other materials to be displayed on apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and more.
Geofencing will be used to target individuals in a particular geographical area. While students are the target audience for the ads, the Georgia National Guard also intends to reach school counselors and parents, who can persuade teens in making a decision
According to Gizmodo, the military organization has a goal in mind when it comes to the ads' reach at 3.5 million views and thousands of clicks for the first few months. Although the National Guard's target is 17-24-year-olds, there is no mention of limiting its ads to them.
Benjamin Lynde, a lawyer in Georgia, said geofence targeting could be the ad campaign's way of bypassing "parental involvement in the recruiting process." Although, Lynde also expressed that parents should be involved in the decision-making.
While some may be concerned about their location being tracked, there's also the monitoring of phone identity and activity for ad retargeting. When a user clicks on an ad, the military will send more ads their way even if they are out of the geofenced location.
The geofenced ads are still not active based on current reports, but the Georgia National Guard has other means to encourage young people to enlist, such as reaching out through phone, email, social media, or recruiting events held on campuses.
In fact, recruitment events are normally hosted at schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 has made it possible for schools to receive mandatory military funding to assist military recruiters in obtaining student contact information when requested.
Military Recruitments in High Schools
The military needs around 150,000 new recruits yearly to maintain its capabilities, and military recruiters in high school may provide teenagers with options, as well as help with establishing a strong national security force.
Staff Sergeant Krystal Currin expressed that she does the work to educate students about possible future careers. Some may be reluctant to enlist due to the fear of facing actual combat, but the military is not limited to that.
According to Currin, there are other things to do besides going overseas and fighting. She further explained that she works in the IT field where she fixes satellites, computers, and phones, meaning it's possible to work for the military without ever being in a fight.
Although, students will also have to consider that when they enlist, there's still a chance they can be sent to a war zone even if they have technical on non-combat jobs, according to Path Finder. They will still be trained to fight and may even be ordered to kill.
