Client:
United States Army
Creative Direction | Brand System Design | Dynamic Creative Research (DCO)
Cadet Research Series Vol. 1
Client:
United States Army
Role:
ACD // Critical Mass + Team DDB
Contributions:
Creative Direction, Design System Creation, Figma Visual Design & Prototyping, User Research + Visual Testing, Dynamic Creative Offering (DCO) Development, Interaction Design, Social Campaign Creation
Overview:
The Cadet Research Series is the first in a collection of campaigns aimed at understanding our prospects better than ever before. Using Dynamic Creative Offerings (DCO), we assembled literally thousands of creative assets. Each piece of creative had subtle differences, an ever changing combination of images, messaging, and call-to-actions. Additionally, by designing the end point (6 unique landing pages), we closed the user loop and could finally derive answers to our most sought after questions.
Across social, display, and web our campaign needed to feel cohesive and recognizable. The system needed to stand apart from the evergreen creative, while also flexing to accommodate the headline and imagery variations. Hard-working doesn't begin to describe this creative.
Benefit research:
We aimed to figure out which benefit resonated with prospects the best (Healthcare, Skills & Training, Enlistment Bonuses, Salary & Compensation, Education Coverage, and Total Benefit Package). A simple question, but with a ton of factors. For each benefit we designed a social campaign with CTAs that drove to a dedicated landing page. Providing a creative user journey we could own, test, and improve.
Design system:
Our campaign needed a unique design system that brought together this benefit ecosystem. With traffic intentionally driving users through each piece of creative, the look-and-feel needed to be consistent and clear. A unique icon system, type treatment, and image style created our consistent visual journey.
All about the money:
Go figure, salary and compensation blew the rest our of benefits out of the water. In our ‘money’ page, we carefully approached the concept of compensation. Using interactive data visualization tools, we conveyed the complex differences in pay from rank to rank, answered questions, and provided soldier testimony.
Teammates:
Nigel Dennis - Creative Director, Courtney Schiffres - Copy Lead, Alex Rybarczyk - Designer, Stephanie Gough - UX, Dan Boland - Lead Developer, Cassie Mai - Producer, & Paul Serilla - Strategy Lead.