The Coast Guard is leveraging the power of online video and the number two search destination on the web YouTube to send their recruiting message.
As opposed to TV spots that depict military service as an adrenalized fusion of Top Gun and an exceedingly intense game of hide-and-seek, the YouTube channel simply lays out the type of work that Coastguardsmen and women do. It highlights their technical knowledge and problem-solving faculties, and downplays the showing-Somalian-pirates- who's-boss component of the gig. It humanizes them.
To be honest, I'm not sure what the public affairs folks are attempting to accomplish by sharing this material with the masses. They sure don't seem hell-bent on using it to bolster recruitment. The clips contain no propaganda and, aside from a single professionally produced video ("Legacy," which traces the evolution of the Coast Guard through the years), no recruit-baiting fluff. They don't attempt to lure otherwise disinterested individuals with, like, quick-cut montages of deep-sea ops set to the strains of "We're Not Gonna Take It."
Instead, "Hoist on the High Seas" shares footage, complete with scratchy audio, of a medevac rescue of an ailing individual from a big honkin' boat. For those who want to see something more involved, check out the series of clips that concludes with "Healy Ice Breaking Time Lapse," which detail the extrication of a fuel tanker from the frozen Bering Sea. Do any of the videos boast Hollywood twists (oh no! the rogue admiral just stabbed the lieutenant commander in the eye with a butter knife!)? Of course not. They don't even try, trading manufactured thrills for authenticity. In doing so, they present a fascinating sketch of several stages of the operation.
Has the Coast Guard determined that this is the future of Recruiting the next generation of candidates in a more cost effective way? We'll soon find out.
Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/166626/coast-guard-skips-recruitment-spiel-adds-informat.html?edition=42798#ixzz1kyQjn8pj
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