The first responders from the US Army and the US Air Force are returning from Operation Unified Response in Haiti. There is still a lot of work to be done but here is a small glimpse into the work that the nine-member crew from the 729th Airlift Squadron, March Air Reserve Base has accomplished:

•Took 171,400 pounds of cargo and 25 Army and Air Force service members into Haiti

•Airlifted 263 evacuees and aid workers out in a C-17.

•Sent six missions and 40 Airmen to help move cargo into and evacuees out of Haiti since Jan. 15 as part of Operation Unified Response. Evacuated

•More than 900 American citizens and legal aliens to the United States

•Flown in more than 1.5 million pounds of equipment and supplies to Haiti

This is just one small representation of what our military has been able to accomplish. The medical efforts by the Navy and additional rescue mission by the Coast Guard can fill pages. It takes a special kind of person to serve and stories like these remind us of that. For the full stories follow the below links:

US Army South First Responders Return from Haiti: http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/02/08/34151-us-army-south-first-responders-return-from-haiti/index.html

(Air Force) March C-17 Crew Completes Mission to Haiti: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123189600

(Navy) USS Nassau ARG/24th MEU Depart Haiti: http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=51161

Yesterday’s Super Bowl witnessed a piece of history with the Saints winning, and the ratings of course being even higher this year than the previous. Everything about this year’s Super Bowl was highly anticipated, but it felt short in one arena, the commercials. Advertising Age published several articles commenting on the lack of creativity and a few of the big players missing from the equation. Aside from Pepsi’s big pullout both FedEx and GM were absent second year in a row.

Was the recession to blame for the generally weak spots or is there more to consider? Could this be one of the biggest signs signaling that traditional advertising is truly on life support? Take a look at the entry I wrote a few months ago that argues that traditional advertising may be in trouble: http://majastevanovich.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/traditional-advertising-on-life-support/

The future of advertising can’t determined by one singular event. It can be said however that as the discipline of marketing communications evolves advertising may not play the primary role anymore and other disciplines will be seen as the lead.

While Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried were promoting their new movie Dear John (out in theaters today) they made a stop at the Apple Store in NYC, SoHo where they were greeted by hundreds of screaming teenage girls and women (mostly Channing fans, sorry Amanda). Knowing that the duo was at Fort Bragg not too long ago giving a little piece of Hollywood to our troops, I wanted to see if they were going to bring that up during their discussion of Dear John.

Most people in the audience were interested in finding out about the actors and their upcoming projects. Even though the backdrop of the movie deals with the military, that didn’t seem to be a topic of interest. That changed when one member of the audience mentioned that her father is currently overseas and it got both Channing and Amanda to talk about their positive experiences with the military. I was fortunate enough to ask about their trip to Fort Bragg. They both called it extremely special and one of the best stops they made on the promotional tour.

Channing made a point to say how he has many soldier friends and how knowing their personal experiences have helped him get a good grasp of the role. He called them ordinary people with the most extraordinary jobs.

It was great to hear the theater quiet down and reflect on the fact that although this movie is fiction, it is a reality for many military couples; both the men and the women serving and those on the home front make sacrifices. A very small percentage of our society is considered to be in the military community. It is very important for various forms of media to give us a look into their lives so that we can get a better understanding. Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried were successful at giving a select group of New Yorkers a time to pause, reflect and think about our troops and their families.

Channing Greeting Fans

Amanda with Fans

American Idol is great, but how about an American Idol for the military families? The Army Family Covenant is expanding on the popular show and giving Army families their chance to experience the stage. Operation Rising Star is a program that allows military spouses to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity that allows them to record a demo CD and take their shot at stardom.

2009’s winner, Lisa Pratt earned an all-expenses-paid trip to record a three-song demo CD at DMI Music’s Firehouse Recording Studios in Pasadena, CA. To read the complete story on Lisa’s experience and learn more about this program read the story here: http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/02/02/33887-operation-rising-star-winner-cuts-cd-praises-army-family-covenant/index.html

Programs like these are a great way to give back to the backbone of the Army, its families. The military is putting a big focus on not only taking care of families, but also offering unique programs and experiences to those serving and those that are supporting them.

We are living in a branded world that seems to be on marketing steroids. Every product or service is fighting to stand out in an extremely cluttered marketplace by trying to outsmart the competition. With so many tools that brands have, it can be easy to forget the basics. One trait that successful brands share is the ability to be exceptional storytellers. Creating compelling experiences through storytelling is one of the best ways to create the connection with the audience.

The use of social media is a perfect avenue for building on the brands story; however, most have not yet capitalized on this concept. Building and maintaining a story aren’t only reserved for online activities; it takes commitment on all aspects of marketing communications. Just take a look at brands like Starbuck and Apple.

Smashing Magazine describes this perfectly:

Starbucks doesn’t want to just sell us a cup of coffee; they want customers to become invested in their story, the ambiance, the community. The goal is to become the “third place” for people (work, home and Starbucks). They say, for them, “It’s really about human connection.”

To get the rest of the article on the importance of storytelling find it here: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/29/better-user-experience-using-storytelling-part-one/

We often hear stories that military basic training is one of the hardest things an individual goes through. The military takes great pride in teaching skills necessary for service members to be great at their jobs. Like with any job training, as the market place and priorities change it ends up reflecting on future generations. The Army has deemed it necessary to revamp its physical training to help a more obese generation lacking physical skills get in military shape and do so without injuries. The training will also focus on mental preparation for stress of combat and will heavily focus on Army’s value system.

Today’s soldiers are faced with a different set of challenges than those serving in the past. Facing terrorist strikes and cyber warfare, the Army is adapting its training to better prepare soldiers for today’s battlefields. The key to solider success does end up being the ability to adapt, survive unfamiliar regions and be able to pick up on cultural sensitivities.

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a three star General explains the situation very well:

Today’s soldier in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea or Bosnia must also be “an ambassador, a doctor, an engineer that fixes roads who can talk with the press person sitting next to him, and yet understand his fellow soldiers and balance a family life on the home front, too. So it is important that soldiers in their earliest training get a basic system of strengths and values to draw on.

As we all face challenges and changes in our own jobs, it is the perfect time to reflect on those serving our country. It takes a special kind of individual to perform in times of uncertainty and overcome what may seem some of the most difficult situations.

It is not every day that we hear about a family that is truly dedicated to service to our country. The six siblings in the above picture are all serving either in the US Army or the US Air Force. Motivated by the eldest sibling, Captain Kate Gowel, her other siblings followed in her footsteps. Captain Gowel’s father and grandfather were also in the Army, tracing active-duty military service in their family back about 130 years.

It is quite amazing that families like these are out there and they very much deserve to be recognized. I feel confident that I can speak on behalf of all the Americans that we thank this family and those like them for their service and dedication to serving America.

To learn more about their amazing story, follow this link: http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/01/26/33501-west-point-grad-family-bring-new-meaning-to-word-service/index.html

This past week has brought us a few firsts but one that may have slipped under the radar is the first live tweet from space, sent by US Army’s Colonel Creamer. When it comes to a commitment of providing compelling social media content the US Army delivers. Tweeting from space was quite the process prior to NASA’s breakthrough and developing the infrastructure that allows for these tweets; The process actually required tweets to be e-mailed to the ground where support personnel posted them to Colonel Creamer’s account. Now that it is possible to tweet live from space, we should be seeing more from Colonel Creamer and perhaps even get some of questions answered. For updates, follow @Astro_TJ, Colonel Creamer’s account.

It will be interesting to see what else the US Army thinks of to keep its audience informed and to foster engagement and interaction. The capabilities technology offers to keep everyone up to date have proven to be amazing. The military’s use of social media has allowed its audience and followers to feel one step closer to the mission. Now that social media has crossed over to space, it is a good possibility that we’ll be seeing some other unlikely places for tweets to be coming from.

The classified crowd may not be able to openly discuss and post their statuses on the likes of facebook and twitter, but the new tool milBook may be even better. The Department of Defense community can now share ideas and engage safely behind a DoD firewall. milBook, only one part of a larger milSuite that includes a wiki and a blog shows that the military is adapting to internal communicating systems that many corporations are using to cut down on e-mail and foster engagement and interaction.

The need for collaboration and the ability for communities that may have never met otherwise to interact were the primary drivers for milSuite. Deemed professional networking vs social networking, these sites are meant to enhance productivity while allowing for engagement. One of the biggest challenges has been the ability to remain transparent and facilitate open communication while still remaining true to protecting military and government core duties. As the military is becoming more reliant on technology for all aspect of its operations, it only makes sense that communications systems are relying more so on technology and adapting from social networks that have proven successful.

It is no longer absolutely necessary to turn on the news to get a good grasp of what is happening in the world. Going directly to one’s facebook or twitter stream, doesn’t only give us an update on our friends lives, but has also become a key place for sharing news and information. Yesterday’s historic Massachusetts Senate election proved to be a great example of this. I was able to find the winner simultaneously as it happened, but not on the local news, instead on my facebook stream.

As everything is becoming more digital, it is only natural that social media avenues are not only feeding our curiosity for updates within our networks, but are also serving as the first stop to figure out what is happening on the outside world.

When it comes to the tragedy that has struck Haiti, news coverage can become too repetitive and people are turning to digital and social media for more specialized information. The military community has various facebook, twitter and youtube pages that are dedicated to the different units and branches participating in the rescue and rebuilding efforts. The Department of Defense is updating both its facebook and twitter accounts with relevant information and pointing its audience to other pages for further and more specific information. The military and government communities have mastered the use of social media as a means of sharing information and content.

As more users start to obtain desired information via social networks it will be interesting to see what impact it will have on traditional media. The interactive aspect of social networks and the ability to discuss issues in real time or close to real time should become a real game changer on who we turn to for our news over time. More importantly, is the sphere of influence changing?