U.S. Army Sends Visitors on goarmy.com into a Virtual Post
U.S. Army Sends Visitors on goarmy.com into a Virtual Post
‘A World Like No Other’ Is an Immersive Web Environment for Potential Recruits to Learn About Army Life
NEW YORK—(February 2009)—The U.S. Army has launched a new Web experience called “A World Like No Other” on goarmy.com as part of the fully integrated “Strength Like No Other” campaign from the agencies of McCann Worldgroup.
“A World Like No Other” is a technical and creative integration break through, conceived and built by the New York office of MRM Worldwide, the client’s lead digital agency.
“Our virtual Army post displays all the facilities, equipment and Technology a U.S. Army Soldier experiences on a physical post. Visitors to the site will gain a better understanding of why we believe today’s Soldier is the best trained, best led, and best equipped member
of the most elite team in the world, the United States Army.” said Gen. Benjamin Freakley of the U.S. Army.
This Web-based virtual world opens from the perspective of a Blackhawk pilot flying into a richly detailed Army post rendered with high-resolution computer animation (CGI) similar to a video game interface and very familiar to potential recruits.
“Our target lives in the digital world. They interact, play and learn differently from the way the generation before them did,” said Edward Walters, CMO U.S. Army. “We’ve been pushing the boundaries of our marketing practices to find new and innovative means of reaching our future Soldiers. We want to prove, not just through words, that the U.S. Army is the most technologically advanced Army of our time.”
Positioned throughout the post are “hot spots,” representing different mission specialties in the U.S. Army — from Robotics to Special Operations to Space and Missile commands.
Clicking on a hot spot transports the user into virtual missions allowing a first -person experience of the career option and location. The experience is engaging, informative, dynamic, and fueled as much by adrenaline and discovery as pride, commitment, duty and honor.
Mark Singer, SVP, Digital for the U.S. Army account at MRM Worldwide, explained, “We’ve taken a lot of disparate technologies and seamlessly fused them to create ‘A World Like No Other.’ You really don’t know where all of these complex technologies and functionality begin and where they end. It takes a lot of creative and technical acumen to pull that off with ease.”
The immersive experience gives users a perspective of career opportunities in the Army, complete with videos from real teams of deployed soldiers who tell their own Army Strong stories about their jobs, their lives and how technology makes them an elite military force.
“Our goal was to create an online experience that complemented today’s Army in a multi-dimensional way – strength through mental, physical and emotional character,” said Michael Jacobs, executive creative director of MRM Worldwide’s New York office. “In short, this virtual world is an experience like no other. The objective is to give users a first-hand account of life in the Army. “
The creative required a complex coordinated effort to balance the storyline and tone, quality, content, and functionality.
“We wanted to make authentic and candid films that would attract viewers who might not typically go to an Army website.” Said Smuggler director Henry-Alex Rubin, “The challenge was to pull all this together unscripted and with short prep time, at multiple locations in parallel with online development.”
The high impact, interactive site was developed using Flash and the full Adobe Creative Suite, film, CGI animation, server scripting, custom audio and photography.
“Building this experience would not have been possible without the use of Adobe Flash,” said Jon Rubino, director of multimedia and motion design at MRM Worldwide’s New York office, “Flash provided us with the platform, and we pushed its limits beyond expectations.”
MRM Worldwide is part of McCann Worldgroup, an Interpublic Company, which won the U.S. Army account in 2004.
CREDITS:
Account Services Team
Sylvia Crawford, Account Supervisor
Marisa Dougherty, Account Executive
Creative Team
Michael Jacobs, Executive Creative Director
Rob Bajohr, Art Direction
Rob Pihl, Copywriting
Brian Schierman, Executive Producer
Geoffrey Guinta, producer
Motion Graphics Team
Jon Rubino, Director of Multi-Media and Motion Design
Eric Schulte, Director of Flash Development
Peter Berthold, Motion Graphics Artist
Chris Edwards, Senior Flash Developer
Project Management
Maceo Marquez, Program Manager
Darren Chilton, Project Manager
Kala Lea, Associate Project Manager
Proofreading
Joe Abate, Proofreader
Technology
Maia Cheslow, Technical Team Lead
Stephen Cohrs, Web Developer
Alex Chan, Web Developer
Matthew Jacobs, Web Developer
Yelena Debanich, Quality Assurance
SOURCE: MRM Worldwide