Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Richard Tedesco

National Guard road show simulates missions

The levees holding back the surging floodwaters of the Mississippi River near Chattanooga have broken. In an eerie echo of the tragic New Orleans flood, the water is threatening to inundate the city and the surrounding Tennessee countryside, and the National Guard must act immediately and decisively to avert catastrophe.

That's the basic scenario presented in a mission simulation that is the central experience in a new interactive road show being conducted by the National Guard.

National Guard Lt. Col. Joseph Day is clear on the very real primary mission at hand: “It's to get people in boots.”

The National Guard is driving the three-month road show — in a 45-foot branded tour bus — to mine potential recruits, and also to inform the public about its primary role to aid in domestic disasters.

RedPeg Marketing developed what's being billed as the Rock Star Challenge for the Guard. The tour is starting this month featuring interactive educational programs and that crisis flood scenario intended to convey the practical challenges that National Guardsmen face.

The bus will hit 10 cities in as many states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina. The venues will be four state fairs and music festivals that typically draw upwards of 100,000 people. The expectation is that approximately 1,000 people will be engaged in the experience at each locale. The first stop is Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA, on Aug. 8-10. The final stop is the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh on Oct. 18-19.

Lt. Col. Day says he hopes to draw 20 or more recruits from the 1,000 people who walk through the experience at each stop. The target demographic is male ages 18-24.

Local recruiters in each state will follow up with any visitors who request an appointment to discuss the prospect of joining the National Guard.

The tour bus features a stage where band competitions will help to draw crowds, with the expectation that at least some of those who stop to listen to the music will walk through the exhibit and virtual mission inside. The project has been in development over the past six months.

“We're utilizing interactive screens that make it very clear what role the Guard plays in domestic crises,” says Brad Nierenberg, RedPeg president.

The interior of the bus is set up to simulate a National Guard Mobile Command Center. Interactive 52-inch touch screens show video primers on training, education, adventure, remuneration and service. National Guard recruiters will be on hand to answer questions from groups of eight who will be guided through the tour bus.

The second, more intense phase of the tour brings visitors into a simulation room, where they don flack jackets and headphones to receive instructions on handling the simulated relief mission in Chattanooga.

As the mission starts, the lights dim, “Code Red” lights flash and a National Guard instructor starts running a clock that frames the experience. The people playing Guardsman each have eight minutes to complete a mission on a 52-inch touch screen that requires them to direct troop deployment, study relevant maps, deliver vitally needed supplies and organize a mass evacuation of the area.

Premiums are awarded in the form of iPod speakers and T-shirts to those who are quickest in completing the simulation.

The recruitment effort in the states the tour will visit is as urgent as the virtual mission it presents.

“Some states have units that are about to deploy. They need to make sure their numbers are up,” says Lt. Col. Day.

For more articles on experiential marketing, go to http://promomagazine.com/eventmarketing/

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