This paper examines the U.S. military's use of sports-related sponsorships — particularly NASCAR and NHRA drag racing — as recruiting tools during a period of declining enlistment in the mid-2000s. It reviews the historical background and rising costs of military advertising, compares recruiting outcomes across the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force, and discusses targeted outreach to demographic groups including Hispanic youth. The paper also considers the effectiveness of extreme sports sponsorships, the controversial provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act related to recruiter access to student data, and the implications of continued ground-combat casualties for future Army and Marine Corps recruiting efforts.
The armed forces have traditionally had a lot to offer new entrants into the job market, but in recent years these benefits have increasingly been insufficient to sell the idea of military service to young people during a time of war. In response to this shortfall in recruiting levels, military recruiters have resorted to a number of alternative approaches to marketing military service as a viable career option to qualified candidates.
To determine the current initiatives being used by military recruiters, this paper provides a review of the military's use of sports — specifically NASCAR and NHRA racing — for recruiting purposes. An examination of the effectiveness, associated costs, and history of these sports-related initiatives is followed by a summary of the research and an assessment of current and future trends in the conclusion.
At a time when the United States is trying to wage an increasingly unpopular war on terrorism on multiple fronts — particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq — many young people are apparently thinking twice about enlisting in military service. Recruitment quotas for almost all of the military services have been dropping, with the National Guard representing the biggest concern, showing a 30% decline in recruiting for the months of October and November 2004 (Nevius, 2005).
The regular Army has managed to meet its enlistment goals; however, this achievement has come at a high cost. "The Army has added 1,000 recruiters — for a total of 7,000 across the country — and two years ago doubled its advertising spending, to $592 million. Standards for incoming recruits have been lowered for the first time since 1998, and benefits and signup bonuses have been increased" (Nevius, 2005, p. B-1). Perhaps one of the most visible responses to lagging enlistment rates has been the military's use of sports-related sponsorships to bring their message to their key demographic target: enlistment-aged young people.
The National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) is one of the fastest-growing spectator sports in the world, enjoying one of the most highly visited websites globally with more than a billion page views each year (About Us, 2005). NASCAR drivers have become enormously popular cultural figures, and the visibility of these celebrities on national television makes the sport a powerful platform for brand messaging — a dynamic that military recruiters have recognized alongside corporate sponsors. It is therefore not surprising that recruiters have also looked to NASCAR, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), and other sports-related activities as channels for reaching the hearts and minds of young people across the country (Nevius, 2005).
The U.S. Army in general, and the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard in particular, have experienced growing difficulty meeting their enlistment quotas despite increased investment in professional sports-related initiatives (Nevius, 2005). According to Nevius, "The Army has responded with a new strategy. It bombards MTV with ads, suggesting a visit to goarmy.com to play a video game. It has sponsored a NASCAR entry and a NHRA dragster. And it is sending activity exhibits to schools and campuses" (p. B-1).
By sharp contrast, the U.S. Marine Corps (Paige, 1999), Air Force (Air Force Sports Program, 2005), and Navy (Wagner, 2005) appear to be enjoying some success with their emphasis on sports-related recruiting. Moniz (2005) reports that although the Army is struggling to meet its recruiting quotas, "the Air Force and the Navy are having banner years and may wind up turning away thousands of potential recruits" (p. 1). According to Moniz, the Air Force has a backlog of approximately 9,000 enlistees it has not yet been required to call to active duty and has reduced its 2005 recruiting goals from 35,000 to 24,000. Taken together, the Navy and Air Force are reducing the total number of active-duty members by more than 27,000 that year; by contrast, the Army and Marine Corps — which provide the majority of ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan — are trying to increase their rolls by more than 12,000 troops in 2005 (Moniz, 2005).
Recruiting in the inner city is a major challenge for any branch of the armed services; however, the U.S. Marine Corps has experienced success where other services have struggled. According to Paige (1999), Marine Corps recruiters tend to emphasize the challenges and prestige of service rather than the generous benefits available. "What the Marines' own youth survey shows is that young Americans want to be challenged and tested. They want to be held to a higher standard. You'll never see one of our ads talking about college tuition, job training, or anything other than what it means to take the challenge," said one Marine Corps recruiter (Paige, 1999, p. 20). Initiatives designed to reach key demographic groups have included the Corps' sponsorship of extreme-sports events such as the X Games and Gravity Games, as well as the highly popular Team Marine NASCAR racing team (Paige, 1999).
According to Hattiangadi, Lee, and Quester (2004), "The Marine Corps has been very successful at recruiting Hispanics, and Hispanic recruits do extremely well in the Marine Corps. Hispanic recruiting is important today and will be even more critical in the future" (p. 1). This importance is related to the fact that the Hispanic population has now become the largest minority population in the United States, a segment expected to grow 25% over the next ten years (Hattiangadi et al., 2004).
Noting that the reasons cited by Hispanics for joining the military are similar to those expressed by other population segments, these authors report that the effectiveness of recruiting campaigns for this population segment is believed to be adequate. However, they recommend that more information about the military be made available in Spanish and other languages to broaden access and appeal (Hattiangadi et al., 2004).
The research shows that the National Guard and Army Reserve are experiencing serious problems attracting qualified recruits; while the regular Army is managing to meet its enlistment quotas, it is doing so at an increasingly costly rate. The other armed services appear to be benefiting from the pool of military-minded young people who might otherwise have considered the Army Reserve or National Guard.
In coming months and years, parents can reasonably be expected to become more involved in the recruiting process as military recruiters become more aggressive. An increasingly controversial provision of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires that all schools receiving federal funds must provide the phone numbers and addresses of high school students to military recruiters — a fact that escaped many parents until their child received an unsolicited call or visit from a recruiter (Nevius, 2005).
"Hispanic recruiting and Marine Corps demographic success"
About Us. (2005). The National Association for Stock Car Racing. Retrieved July 16, 2005, from
Hattiangadi, A. U., Lee, G., & Quester, A. O. (2004, January). Recruiting Hispanics: The Marine Corps experience — Final report. The CNA Corporation. Retrieved July 16, 2005, from
Moniz, D. (2005, January 23). USA Today: Washington/politics. Retrieved July 16, 2005, from
Nevius, C. W. (2005, January 29). San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 16, 2005, from
Paige, S. (1999, October 18). Mean-streets Marines. Insight on the News, 15(38), 20.
Wagner, B. (2005, July 3). Navy sports — Men's basketball: Coach Lange pleased with recruits. The Capital (Annapolis, MD). Retrieved July 16, 2005, from http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/07_03-63/NAS
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