Research respondents included spouses of active duty and retired personnel, as well as Moms of military service members, with near equal representation from the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S Air Force. These findings shed new light on shopping behaviors, retail preferences, travel habits, and big-ticket purchasing decisions of military spouses and Moms – and revealed an array of insights on what motivates this demographic when making consumer choices. The survey consisted of questions specifically targeting over 25 Fortune 500 Companies such as; MetLife, USAA, Navy Federal, Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Toyota, Ford, GM, Amazon, La Quinta Inns & Suites, Marriott, Disney, Sprint, AT&T and more.
How to market to the Military - First Ever Military Consumer Research Study
1. Connecting your brand with the military
community Influence-Central.com | MiliaryOneClick.com
Capabilities Deck
2. • Influence Central helps companies develop
meaningful conversations, connections, and
communities with your target audience
• As social media strategists, we help guide your
initiatives to communicate effectively with your
target market within the space
• We reach Influencers and activate them in
powerful word-of-mouth programs
• We engage Influencers to take action and
recommend your brand, fueling awareness,
engagement, product trial, and sales
• We provide a breadth of consulting services
including trendspotting, research, and social
media strategies, such as Influencer Activations
and Twitter parties
• We work with over 300 national brands and offer
capabilities with Moms, Dads, Canadians,
Millennials, Military families and Empty Nesters.
Who We Are
Influence-Central.com 2
3. Expertise in the Military Market
In-depth studies that look at how
Military Families are using digital in their
everyday lives
Ongoing analysis of what brands are
doing in the Military space
Monitoring the social landscape for
trends
Annual Research Reports
Brand Watch
Trend Reports
Social Media Listening
Monthly reports on various
topics/verticals
Leaders in
Social Media
Marketing
Influence-Central.com 3
4. Meet Our Partners, MilitaryOneClick
Military life isn’t easy. That’s why MilitaryOneClick.com is
the best site for military families. The site categorizes
thousands of resources, and the company gives a “stamp
of approval” to brands that make life a little easier for
military Moms. This process helps both military Moms
and supportive brands.
MilitaryOneClick works hard to stay ahead of the curve
using the latest technology, up-to-the minute market
research, and trending topics to bring relevant content to
our audience and maximize brand awareness.
Value Generation
One Step Ahead
Leaders in the
Military Spouse
community
MilitaryOneClick team members are active in the military
community (some even live on military installations), and
they have real experience with military life and an
extensive network of key influencers around the globe.
Real Connections
MilitaryOneClick is a federally registered woman-owned
business and member of the Department of Defense’s
Military Spouse Employment Partnership. Their new
partnership with Mom Central has enabled them to
extend their reach and further their mission of supporting
the military community.
Government Approved
Influence-Central.com 4
6. • Together Influence Central and MilitaryOneClick
develop meaningful relationships between brands
and military families
• Influence Central provides experience from
working with over 300 national brands and various
influencer demographic segments
• MilitaryOneClick possesses insider information
about the military community, leveraging a
website with blogs, news, and resources to help
navigate military life
• As social media strategists, our team helps guide
your initiatives to communicate effectively with
Influencers within the military space
• Our partnership enables us to activate military
influencers in powerful social media programs
strategically designed to spread authentic, word-
of-mouth dialogue
Strength in Partnership
Nationally recognized
influencer marketing
team partnered with
Military family experts
Influence-Central.com 6
9. Military Consumer Snapshot
In March 2014, Influence Central surveyed
over 400 Moms and women for their insights
into the consumer habits of military families.
Military families have a unique lifestyle that
includes frequent relocations, extended
periods of separation, higher levels of
education, and close networks of friends
and neighbors.
92% of military families make
purchasing decisions based on
military discount1
88% of military moms use social
media to communicate with
others3
Military families move every 2-3
years, 2.4 times more than
civilians2
2.4 x
Military spouses are women
under the age of 3524 5OUT
OF
73% of military children are younger
than 12 years old2
1. MCC & MOC Survey, 2014 2. Population Reference Bureau, 2011 3. Blue Star Families Lifestyle Survey, 2013 Influence-Central.com 9
10. Marketing to Today’s Military Families
Discounts drive purchasing behavior
• Military families value a discount so much that 67%
would travel further than 15 miles to shop at a store
that offered a military discount. But, this discount
could be no lower than 10% and ideally 20%+ off a
select item
• When it comes to coupon clipping, 68% military
families both download them online and cut them out
from a magazine/newspaper/circular to help save
money on products
• Depending on the size of the discount, 64% of Military
families would switch mobile carriers based on a
military benefit
• When shopping for clothing for themselves, 79% of
military families choose to shop in-store as opposed to
online
• Though the military community shops off-base for
most retail needs, many military families shop for
groceries from on-base military commissaries
Influence-Central.com 10
11. Marketing to Today’s Military Families
Travel and Vacation
• On average, 57% of Military families visit family
members 1-2 times per year, and 59% travel to a
resort or amusement park at least 1-2 times a year
Home and Vehicle Purchase
• Other findings illuminate that most military families
own only one home (65%) rather than rent (35%) or
own multiple properties (12%)
• 95% of Military families would rather purchase a car
than lease one
• These families also extend their quest for consumer
value to car purchases, as 81% of families prefer to
purchase a car from manufacturers that offer a
military discount
• 49% of Military families have life insurance in
addition to SGLI (service group life insurance)
Influence-Central.com 11
13. Who Are Our Military Influencers?
Our IC military network consists
of over 100 top military Moms
and continues to grow
more than
100
bloggers
active
across
all major
platforms
Diverse
interests &
editorial
focus
Influence-Central.com 13
16. Elevating Blogger Relations
Influence-Central.com 16
Hand-selected &
vetted for tone,
editorial quality,
reach, and
look/feel
Activated based
on family
demographics,
location, personal
interest, and
passion for
specific brands
Reliable based on
predictability in
participation and
engagement
Our relationships with bloggers built longitudinally over years of campaigns and opportunities
provide reliable participation rates and predictable results.
Continually
tracked for
experience and
engagement in
the space
19. Activate a group of Influencers to leverage their far-reaching blogs and social
media networks as part of an ongoing relationship with your brand, over a
number of months, through numerous posts
Influence Central Activations
Engage passionate Influencers to build brand awareness through a timely
and concentrated blogger engagement program
Execute sponsored get-togethers in homes across the country and/or drive
attendance of key online and offline influencers to attend brand-sponsored
events
Understand your target and pinpoint messaging that resonates with
Influencers through polls, online focus groups and research
Develop fast-paced online conversations between a brand and Influencers
on Twitter through a unique, one-hour experience
Influence-Central.com 19
Ambassador
Programs
Influencer
Activations
Influencer
Events
Research
and
Sampling
Twitter
Parties
20. Elevate blogger engagement programs with activity on key social social
media sites. Identify moderators to drive conversations for your brand or
activate influencers to link to, or post on, your brand’s social networking
platforms
Influence Central Activations
Social
Media
Integrations
Secure reviews on top online retailers through targeted product-testing and
sampling to increase SEO and visibility on key e-commerce sites
e-commerce
Reviews
Reach our Influencer Testing Panel with brand communications, exclusive
offers and product sampling
Sampling,
Coupons
and Offers
Editorial
Content
Influencers
Secure brand-sponsored coverage on InfluenceCentral.com through feature
articles, advertorials, blog posts and spokesperson Q&As
Engage Mom, Dad, Empty-Nester, Millennial and Military bloggers and
influencers for Ambassador Programs, Influencer Activations, Twitter
Parties, surveys and other activations
Influence-Central.com 20
21. Reaching Military Moms:
MilitaryOneClick.com
MilitaryOneClick.com reaches military
families around the world by providing
valuable information in one click! Features
include an extensive resource library, the
latest news, inspiring blog articles, upcoming
events and more!
Reach is extended with a weekly e-
newsletter, boots on the ground events and
an active social
media presence.
Average time on page
3:50
Increase in pageviews
since March 2013
200%
Of traffic from mobile
devices
50%
Including military bases
100+ countries
Influence-Central.com 21
22. Building a Campaign
• At Influence Central, we strongly
believe in working closely with each of
our clients to develop a program that
fits their needs.
• Each proposal is personalized and
created to accomplish specific
objectives whether you’re looking to
support a new product launch, build
ongoing conversation about a brand
with its most influential advocates, drive
attendance an event, distribute
samples to a targeted audience, collect
targeted feedback – or more!
• From far-reaching, multi-platform
executions to highly specialized and
targeted programs, we look forward to
working with you to developing a break-
through strategy that creates the buzz
and engagement you most value.
Custom programs that
align with your strategic
goals and program scope
Influence-Central.com 22
23. How We Measure
Influence-Central.com 23
IC will create a tailored measurement strategy to ensure a comprehensive analysis of program
results and how the campaign created movement in the wider social/consumer space. We can
track:
Viral Activation
Share of Voice
Reach / Impressions
Engagements
SEO
Influence / Authority
4
29
%
Star
Rating
s
25. Generate awareness of the
MetLife’s dedication to the military
and promote fun interactions with
the brand
MilitaryOneClick works with MetLife to
increase awareness about its Military
Dental Program (TDP).
The goal is to promote the benefits of
the program and build trust for the
brand through a variety of campaign
strategies.
Generating Awareness for MetLife’s Military Dental
Program
Custom
FAQ
Page
Contests
+
Giveawa
Encourage enrollment and
answer questions about
eligibility
“Where in the
World
is Military
Snoopy?”
Share facts, updates, and positive stories
about MetLife TDP to build confidence in
the program
Robust
Social
Media
Influence-Central.com 25