The Army slashes ad spend amid budget scrutiny

LONDON - The Army has halved its adspend as all aspects of its budgeting come under intense scrutiny.

The Army: start thinking soldier campaign
The Army: start thinking soldier campaign

The service spent £13.3m on ads during the calendar year of 2008. However, it invested just £6.8m last year, according to Nielsen. Its 'Start thinking soldier' campaign was one of its main ad pushes in 2009.

The reduction coincided with a £97m package of cuts imposed on the Army by the Ministry of Defence in 2009, centred on recruitment, training and soldiers' housing.

The planned cut in recruitment makes a further fall in adspend likely this year. Army marketing director Colin Cook said that its spend had migrated into the digital sphere.

Cook said: "The internet is where people are making their initial searches for jobs."

Cook acknowledged there was pressure on public-sector budgets, but said he would have cut adspend regardless. He also pointed out that he was hitting his recruitment targets.

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