Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        National Guard Office of Special Victims' Counsel

    Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Air Guard looks inward for new recruiting campaign By Tech. Sgt. Mike R. Smith
                National Guard Bureau
 ARLINGTON, Va. - A new Air National Guard recruiting campaign that uses Guardmembers to advertise the "unique" opportunities in the Air Guard will kick off April 4 with the launch of a new recruiting Web site. It will continue throughout the year with ads for theaters, radio, television, magazines and newspapers. Getting the public interested in the Air Guard and learning its story is the main goal of the campaign, said recruiting and retention officials here. "What we would like to do is introduce a robust advertising campaign and get our story out and let people know who we are, what we do and what we are all about," said Lt. Col. Randy Johnson, chief of Air Guard Recruiting and Retention. The Air Guard has not had a large, formal campaign in nearly 10 years, said Johnson. In that time, it has changed its logo and changed its slogan to "Guarding America, Defending Freedom." Both will continue through the new campaign. Johnson said they are using in-house talent at the states, including a group of four Airmen at the Vermont Air Guard's 158th Fighter Wing they call "Studio 158", to produce the ads. Using their own designers, he said, allows Recruiting and Retention to redirect funds previously spent on marketing agencies. The savings will be used to purchase additional advertising space. "We want to build an emotional attachment to what the Air Guard means and its offerings of specific part-time jobs in air and space with full-time benefits," said Master Sgt. Rob Trubia, Studio 158's creative director. By employing the Air Guard's talent, Trubia said they will produce products for a fraction of the cost of contracting the work out. "We can make the same professional products a design agency would produce," he said. The team's newly-designed Web site, www.GoANG.com, connects potential recruits to the Air Guard's nearly 550 recruiters through an interactive homepage. There, viewers can chat with recruiting advisors through instant messaging. A hyperlinked map provides locations, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of local recruiting offices. In addition, the Web site has online games, videos and photographs of Air Guard careers, aircraft and missions. With the Web site redesigned, Trubia's team will develop the Air Guard's ads. He said the team will use real Air Guard members in the ads to help identify what is unique and different about the branch. Although the Air Guard will market itself nationally, officials said they will run a higher percentage of the ads in undermanned states to achieve unit end-strength goals. Johnson said the campaign will expand if additional funding is received. The Air Guard's current end-strength goal is 106,700 Airmen, and it has missed its goals for the last six years. "The Air Guard used to be able to make end-strength goals, year after year, and people knew about the Air Guard and where they were," said Johnson. Johnson explained that part of the reason for the Air Guard's identity loss is that their demographic of qualified recruits changed significantly. "There have also been many changes [in the Air Guard] that have taken place over the past years," said Johnson, who included Base Realignment and Closure, Total Force Initiatives and the Air Guard's mission reset as the forces behind those changes. Johnson said the new campaign will get some strength from the Air Force's recent "Above All" campaign, which uses a statement in its ads similar to the Air Guard's "Guarding America, Defending Freedom" slogan. But recruiting officials here said they hope to capitalize more upon the Air Guard's ability to offer recruits specific jobs at community-based units as opposed to broader active-duty offerings. "We have a fantastic product that we are offering out there," said Johnson. "But we have had an inability to get that out. If we get smart about using the resources available, we are going to get our message out there and accomplish the goals we need to."
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course
 By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith,
  38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry,
  Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska
 By 156th Wing
  More
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course Guard News • 5 hours ago
 38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise Guard News • 13 hours ago
 Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska Guard News • 13 hours ago
 Air National Guard Conducts Sentry Savannah Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 Hawaii Air National Guard Hosts Sentry Aloha Joint Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 2024 (196)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil