How Advertising on Military Bases Works
Military bases are essentially like “mini America’s” with housing, retail, entertainment, and even education hubs on base. Often times, businesses find that advertising on military bases gives viable results because of the convenience and affordable costs that Exchange retail locations provide. Military members and their families live on bases around the world, giving your brand a unique and loyal audience to market to. Read on to see the types of ads available on base and how to start your campaign.
What type of ads are available?
Military Exchanges use a variety of methods in advertising on military bases to reach out to their customers.
Print Advertising: Each branch of the military Exchanges produces tabloid ads specific to their retail assortment and promotions.
Email Advertising: Along with the print tabloids, Exchanges also work with suppliers to create separate e-blasts sent directly to customers.
ECOM: For the AAFES and NEX Exchanges, ECOM sales continue to grow, especially as COVID-19 continues to impact the retail landscape. Working with the Exchange and SMI ECOM teams to create specific ECOM advertisements will help your brand stand out from the competition.
Social Media: Each branch of the military Exchanges produces specialized ECOM content catered to their customers.
Point of Purchase: To reach customers who aren’t active on digital advertising platforms, you can’t beat in-store marketing. SMI’s in-store activation team is experienced with demos, POP distribution, etc.
How can I get my brand advertised on base?
Most military bases are off limits to the public, therefore traditional door-to-door or flier advertising is not allowed. The Department of Defense also has very strict policies for advertising, and not just anyone can advertise on base. Although there are limits per the DoD’s policies, there are many brands that can still participate in advertising on military bases. The best way to get your brand advertised on base is through a broker. Military brokers like SMI can facilitate the creation, approval, and launch of an ad for your brand. Every ad has to be submitted for approval to the branch of service and to the individual base’s commanding officer where it will run. Every base has different rules, and brokers work with bases around the world to make the advertising process easy and efficient.
If you’re interested in advertising on a military base, contact us today. SMI is an industry leader in connecting brands to military members and their families, and is knowledgeable of their demographics and other key data to ensure brand success.