If you think that selling ice to Eskimos is a hard proposition, how about selling the US Army at a time of war?
I have written about the Army's experiential strategy to get more folks to join their ranks in both Experience the Message and the upcoming Brand New World (disregard the cover).
This latest effort by our armed services takes a page straight out of the experiential playbook and applies it to the retail space.
At the Franklin Mills mall in Philadelphia, past the Gap Outlet and the China Buddha Express, is a $13 million video arcade that the Army hopes will become a model for recruitment in urban areas, where the armed services typically have a hard time attracting recruits.
The Army Experience Center is a fitting counterpart to the retail experience: 14,500 square feet of mostly shoot-’em-up video games and three full-scale simulators, including an AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter, an armed Humvee and a Black Hawk copter with M4 carbine assault rifles. For those who want to take the experience deeper, the center has 22 recruiters.
The Army Experience Center is a fitting counterpart to the retail experience: 14,500 square feet of mostly shoot-’em-up video games and three full-scale simulators, including an AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter, an armed Humvee and a Black Hawk copter with M4 carbine assault rifles. For those who want to take the experience deeper, the center has 22 recruiters.
That's right, people. You can now shop for sneakers and join the army!!!! What a deal!!!!
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