Army Enterprise Marketing and Behavioral Economics Officer (FA 58

Enterprise Marketing & Behavioral Economics

 15 March 2021

Army Enterprise Marketing and Behavioral Economics Officer (FA 58)

1. Introduction

a. Purpose. The American people and their elected representatives expect the U.S. Army to be the

world’s premier land combat force. Talented people are the Army’s most valuable resource and

chief source of competitive advantage. Effective marketing is critical to acquiring talent. It enables

the Army to acquire the Soldier and Civilian talent needed to achieve Total Army readiness, to

employ that talent, and to retain it as well. Marketing, however, does not provide instantaneous

results. In an Army context, marketing must, over time, eliminate widely held misperceptions

regarding service cost and benefits which can impede the flow of the right talent into our ranks. In

other words, Army Marketing’s purpose is to build awareness, set expectations for those who would

serve, and shape their preferences for opportunities within the Total Army by communicating our:

Employment brand – who we are, what we do, what we value, and what type of people thrive with

us, and our Employee value proposition – the true benefits of Army service versus the costs. This

spread between costs and benefits is the consumer value. When this is positive, the Army becomes

an employer of choice to those we want on our team. To do this successfully, the Army must

employ a different marketing approach than it has in the past, led by Functional Area 58 officers.

While today’s hyper-competitive labor market certainly presents us with new challenges, it also

presents the Army with tremendous new marketing opportunities, provided that the Army’s

marketing is innovative, integrated, data-driven, and multidisciplinary. To do this, the Army’s

marketing efforts must draw upon talented officers through the Functional Area 58 program, not

just those skilled in marketing, but also behavioral economics, the social sciences, and the decision

sciences (which may include economics, psychology, systems engineering, and statistics).

Figure 1: The critical relationship between Army marketing and officer and enlisted accessions

(1) In a strategic context, Army Marketing manages the Army’s brand in the eyes of the American

public, the media, and current, former, and future Soldiers. Strategic marketing looks at the Army’s

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brand through a holistic lens and determines what the marketing strategy of the Army will be,

helping communicate the value proposition of Army service, and when necessary, completely alters

the Army’s approach by identifying and implementing a new approach, or in some cases, an entirely

new strategy. These marketing campaigns and strategies become what the public and media

associate with the Army and ultimately impact future recruiting and societal perception of the

Army. Strategic marketing is tightly nested with the accessions goals of the Army. Thus, Army

Marketing’s most important partner is its accessions force: the recruiters of future Soldiers and

officers. Army marketing strategy shapes future accessions by helping Army leaders determine who

their marketing efforts should be focused towards and how to best meet those populations with the

value proposition of Army service.

(2) In an operational context, Army marketing translates the strategic branding of the Army to

tangible modes of advertising through advertising campaigns and content creation. Army marketing

emphasizes creativity to determine the best modes of communicating the strategic message to meet

the intended target audiences. Data analysis helps drive this process, aided by a strong

understanding of the latest research and practices within brand messaging and advertising

capabilities. Creative, curated content makes the Army’s marketing message both relevant and

effective. This assists the Army’s accessions force of recruiters in communicating the value

proposition of the Army to society.

(3) In a tactical context, Army marketing determines the best placement of advertisements given the

contextual factors within local markets, known as content delivery. This component is the most

nuanced and requires an understanding of the Army’s strategic goals (such as specific recruiting

needs for certain skill sets) as well as a deep understanding of the customer, down to the local level.

This critical component relies on data analysis and a strong understanding of modern marketing

capabilities from search engine optimization and social media marketing to more creative and ill-

defined, emerging methods or locally important considerations. Content delivery is tightly nested

with the Army’s accessions force, able to make real-time adjustments to delivery methods to

support the Army’s accessions goals.

Figure 2: The Army Marketing Cycle

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b. Proponent information. The FA58 proponent is the Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis

(OEMA), United States Military Academy (Program Director:

FA58Army[email protected]). Additional information on FA58 can be found on the

proponent’s MilSuite page available at: https://milsuite.mil/book/groups/fa58/overview.

c. Functions. Enterprise Marketing and Behavioral Economics officers provide the talent for the

Army Enterprise Marketing Office and other strategic marketing roles throughout the Army, while

remaining tightly nested with the Army’s accessions enterprise. Marketing is a broad term and

implies many functions from the determination of the strategy, to how the value proposition of

Army service is conveyed, to where that message is placed to find future Soldiers and their

influencers. Army Marketing must ensure there is a valuable return on investment for the Army’s

marketing expenditures relative to the success of its accessions. Thus, Army Marketing must

specialize its functions among experts in each domain at each stage of the marketing cycle, known

as the four roles of Army Marketing.

d. Assignment locations. While FA58 is a small career field, its assignment locations are relatively

broad and diverse in order to ensure FA58 officers are living in locations that allow them to

understand the populations to whom they are marketing towards. Most FA58 officers will be

assigned to the main Army Enterprise Marketing Office in Chicago at least once in their career.

Officers will usually also serve in one of the regional offices (once opened), which are templated to

include Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, New York, and Austin. Other limited assignment

opportunities can be found in the National Capital Region (Washington, D.C.), Training and

Doctrine Command Headquarters (Fort Eustis), U.S. Army Recruiting and Cadet Commands (Fort

Knox), and the U.S. Military Academy (West Point). Broadening assignments may allow FA58

officers other assignment opportunities outside of these locations.

2. Officer characteristics required

a. Characteristics required of all Enterprise Marketing and Behavioral Economics officers. FA58

officers are both creative and analytical thinkers who synthesize market signals and data to develop

branding and marketing strategies in support of the Army accessions enterprise. FA58 officers must

be:

(1) Soldiers first: Their prior career as basic branch officers, combined with marketing knowledge

and experience, helps them translate strategic concepts into effective messaging that communicates

and burnishes the Army brand and the value proposition of Army service.

(2) Educated in marketing or economics (or related fields): Officers should have a relevant graduate

degree in the field of marketing (usually an MBA from a rigorous program), behavioral economics,

decision sciences, or have substantial professional experience in the field of marketing, usually

through a prior career.

(3) Creative and unconstrained: Officers are not constrained by conventional ways of thinking; they

are able to develop novel solutions in times of ambiguity.

(4) Pattern of excellence: Exceptionally talented officers with many career options available to

them. They have excelled as company-grade officers and demonstrated superb professional and

academic performance.

(5) Lead diverse teams: Effective leaders able to leverage the unique skills of officers with talents as

wide-ranging as creative arts to data analytics, and can synergistically integrate civilian teammates

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and the contributions of skilled contractors to solve ambiguous challenges.

Figure 3: FA58 officer characteristics

b. Unique knowledge and skills of an Enterprise Marketing and Behavioral Economics officer.

FA58 officers integrate their experience of military service and knowledge of marketing to aid

Army senior leaders and the enlisted & officer accessions enterprise in effectively communicating

the value proposition of Army service. They serve as creative visionaries, content innovators,

marketing strategists, and marketing data analysts to ensure synchronization of the Army’s brand

across many echelons. Marketing officers will typically serve in specialized assignments based on

their unique skillsets. These skillsets focus on four roles of the Army Marketing: brand management

and strategic marketing, content creation, content delivery, and marketing analytics. Depending on a

marketing officer’s skill sets, they will serve in assignments including:

(1) Marketing project team member or manager. Officers will work on a variety of projects at the

strategic, operational, and tactical levels by managing the Army’s marketing strategy and

advertising campaign plans. This occurs at the national and regional levels.

(2) Marketing strategist. Officers assigned to these positions ensure regional integration of the

Army’s national marketing strategy based on unique local and regional considerations.

(3) Marketing content manager. Officers assigned to these positions develop effective marketing

content with the Army’s advertising agency. Their projects are based on rigorous market research

and grounded in the Army’s marketing strategy. They work closely with creative professionals in

developing marketing content that is relevant to regional and local markets by ensuring it resonates

with future Soldiers and their influencers.

(4) Marketing content delivery manager. Officers assigned to these positions will develop and

implement content delivery plans including digital marketing techniques, emerging marketing

techniques, and traditional marketing delivery techniques within the context of local markets.

(5) Marketing analytics manager. Officers assigned to these positions will collect relevant

marketing data based on a unique understanding of marketing and business analytical metrics. They

analyze the effectiveness of local marketing campaigns and assist local and senior commanders and

Army Enterprise Marketing in determining the return on marketing investments locally and

nationally.

c. Selection of FA58 officers. The Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis (OEMA – FA58

Proponent) is responsible for the selection of FA58 officers using a talent-based competitive

selection process. An officer’s prior experience in a basic branch or functional area provides

important perspective on what it means to serve as a Soldier. Applicants to FA58 demonstrate their

ability to combine this perspective with other talents (knowledge, skills, and behaviors) related to

the roles of Army Marketing. FA58 assesses applicants using a rigorous case study exercise,

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creative resume exercise, interviews, and other aspects to ensure applicants are thoroughly

evaluated for the talents and potential fit within Army Marketing. While having a graduate degree

in a related field is valued, FA58 evaluates officers for their ability to apply the knowledge gained

through schooling, which is much more important than a degree by itself. Additionally, FA58

selects officers who have different talents related to the four roles of the marketing cycle which

include talents as diverse as creative arts to data science. This ensures a diverse community of

officers who are able to operate in cross functional teams and solve complex marketing challenges.

d. Training/qualification of a FA58 officer. FA58 officers are expected to maintain a level of

technical expertise in the fields of marketing, behavioral economics, and the decision sciences. This

expertise is gained through both education and experience.

(1) Qualification for designation as a FA58. Due to the technical and creative nature of FA58, not

all Army officers are qualified or well-suited to become a FA58 officer. Officers should meet the

education or experience requirements of FA58 to be selected or demonstrate the academic ability

and desire to meet education requirements, usually through Advanced Civil Schooling and

attendance at a rigorous, in-residence graduate program. It is desired that officers have a relevant

graduate degree in the field of marketing (usually an MBA from a rigorous program), behavioral

economics, decision sciences, or have substantial professional experience in the field of marketing,

usually through a prior career. Most FA58 officers earn their graduate degree through Army

Advanced Civil Schooling (ACS) or similar programs that allow an officer to earn a graduate

degree while serving as a full-time student in residence. If officers do not possess a relevant

graduate degree or experience, they must demonstrate the academic potential to gain admittance to a

top-tier MBA program (or similar) through ACS, which is normally the first step before continuing

onto FA58 assignments.

(2) Initial training/education. Initial training for FA58 officers begins with an integration

curriculum, run by the proponent, which covers marketing strategy and analytics. The course

features visits from distinguished guests including experienced marketing professionals and major

corporate executives. The course must be completed within one year of designation as an FA58

officer. Exceptions to this timeline may be approved by the FA58 Program Director depending on

each officer’s individual situation. Additionally, selected FA58 officers will often spend their first

one to two years studying the operational underpinnings of the field of marketing, marketing

research, and business. If stationed at West Point as a faculty member (a common route for officers

attending ACS) when selected for FA58, the officer may have the opportunity to begin conducting

marketing research and working on projects with the Marketing Research Cell in OEMA. The

officer’s ability to do this will be determined by existing professional obligations within their

assignment as a West Point faculty member and may not be possible for every officer. Other

selected FA58 officers will usually proceed to the Army Enterprise Marketing Office (AEMO) in

Chicago where they may begin to work closely with regional academic institutions and marketing

agencies, deepening their understanding of the marketing field. If officers do not possess a graduate

degree in marketing when selected, the FA58 Proponent Office (OEMA) will determine if-and-

when it makes sense for the officer to take two years away to attend ACS. This will depend on the

desires of the officer, the officer’s prior experience with marketing, and the needs of FA58. Usually,

officers not possessing a graduate degree will be sent to ACS before reporting to their first

assignment as a Marketing Officer unless they possess significant prior professional experience in

marketing.

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(3) Mid-grade military education. Successful completion of ILE/JPME I level producing course

(usually Distance Learning Common Core or Satellite ILE and an Individual Qualification Course

(IQC) in lieu of AOC, or successful completion of Resident, Satellite, or Distance Learning ILE

with AOC portion).

(4) Advanced education. FA58 officers are offered the opportunity to pursue additional training,

executive education courses, and practitioner certifications directly related to the field of marketing.

These courses will typically be offered by leading civilian educational institutions either in

residence or online and will give officers an in-depth understanding of relevant marketing roles.

These courses, conferences, and certification opportunities also allow an officer to pursue

specialization and expertise within the field of marketing and behavioral economics. Some officers

may be selected for Training with Industry or marketing-related fellowships, depending on

availability.

(a) Officers selected to attend graduate school for a PhD in a marketing-related field will serve a

utilization tour determined by the FA58 proponent office.

(b) Senior Service Staff College. A centralized Army selection board will afford a select number of

lieutenant colonels and colonels the opportunity to attend SSC.

3. Officer development

a. Officer development model. The officer development model is focused more on the quality and

range of experience, rather than the specific gates or assignments required to progress. FA58 does

not have a typical path to be successful and encourages officers to match their talents with available

jobs that are very diverse. This is new for many officers, who are used to an established career flow

that requires them to serve in specific jobs at specified times in their career under a generalist

model. The FA58 career path is designed to support both generalists and specialists, which means

not every officer will follow a specific pathway, such as serving as an executive officer, operations

officer, and commander, as is common in many career fields. FA58 emphasizes officers

demonstrating their talents and qualifications for jobs at the next rank rather than a singular focus

on past performance. In many cases, successful FA58 officers may only serve in one or two jobs

while at a certain rank; therefore, all FA58 billets are considered Key Developmental as are

commands and other nominative leadership roles outside the functional area.

Figure 4: an example of successive assignments within FA58

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b. Lieutenant development. FA58 does not have any lieutenants.

c. Captain/junior major development. FA58 has about 10% of its billets allocated for Captains;

these are considered developmental roles at either West Point or the Army Enterprise Marketing

Office. The FA58 career path does not support captains serving in operational roles outside of this.

Officers are usually selected for FA58 as captains or majors between their 8

and 12

year of

service, though this may vary as the needs of Army Marketing evolve. Before making the transition

to FA58, officers will be experienced and successful in their basic branch, having completed the

Captains’ Career Course and have a strong performance record making them competitive for

promotion to major. FA58 is also available for officers joining the Army through the lateral entry

(direct commissioning) program.

(1) Education. Most selected FA58 officers will have successfully completed ACS with an MBA,

Business/Marketing Analytics degree, or other related graduate degree in the fields of marketing,

behavioral economics, or decision sciences. If officers do not possess a graduate degree in

marketing, the proponent office (OEMA) will determine when it makes sense for the officer to take

two years away to attend ACS. This will depend on the desires of the officer, the officer’s prior

experience with marketing, and the needs of FA58. Usually, officers not possessing a graduate

degree will be sent to ACS before reporting to their first assignment as a Marketing Officer unless

they possess significant prior professional experience in marketing.

(2) Assignments. Marketing officers are often selected while completing an ACS utilization tour.

Officers will usually complete their full tour before conducting a permanent change of station (PCS)

in support of FA58. Some officers selected for FA58, while still serving their utilization tour, may

have the opportunity to work on marketing projects or research before reporting to their first

assignment as a Marketing Officer (ex: officers selected while on the faculty at USMA may have

the opportunity to work on research or marketing at USMA, or officers selected within an

accessions organization may have the opportunity to begin work on a marketing-related project with

that organization). These opportunities are dependent on the officer’s existing professional

obligations.

(3) Developmental and broadening assignments. Since FA58 officers are usually selected as senior

captains or junior majors, the combination of their basic branch assignments with their initial

marketing officer assignment (defined above) provides a sufficiently broad experience from which

they can build on throughout their career in Army Marketing.

(4) Self-development. FA58 officers should take every opportunity to broaden their knowledge of

all aspects of marketing through courses, professional readings, and research into marketing related

topics.

(5) Desired experience. Following an FA58 officer’s ACS utilization tour and selection as a FA58,

they should have:

(a) reflected on their advanced academic education and its application to Army Marketing

(b) grown in their expertise of the business, sales, and marketing ecosystem through instruction of

cadets or interaction with distinguished guests and business industry professionals.

creation and delivery, and marketing analytics.

(d) contributed to the research and development of Army Marketing through research, self-study,

and in many cases, integrated work with various academic and operational programs.

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c. Major development.

(1) Education. Successful completion of ILE/JPME I level producing course (usually Distance

Learning Common Core or Satellite ILE and an Individual Qualification Course (IQC) in lieu of

AOC, or successful completion of Resident, Satellite, or Distance Learning ILE with AOC portion)

prior to being eligible for selection to lieutenant colonel (this does not preclude temporarily

assuming this rank while serving in a brevet status).

(a) Once the FA58 IQC is implemented, FA58 officers may satisfy the ILE IQC education

requirement by completing an in-residence graduate degree related to the fields of marketing

(MBA, DBA, MS in Marketing or Data Analytics, or similar) or behavioral economics (usually an

MS or PhD) and successfully complete the FA58 integration course. Officers seeking to satisfy their

ILE IQC education requirement must submit their graduate transcript to the proponent chief for

approval. Approval is contingent upon the officer’s completion of a degree directly related to

marketing, behavioral economics, or data analytics, and the degree being earned in residence.

(b) FA58 majors will begin pursuing educational requirements to become experts in the various

roles of Army Marketing, usually consisting of executive-level education courses or marketing

practitioner education courses, professional certifications, and industry training courses as

determined by the FA58 proponent office.

administration, analytics, or behavioral economics at a leading civilian education institution through

the ACS program.

(2) Key developmental assignments. Most FA58 officers will serve their first field assignment with

AEMO where they will apply their knowledge and skills with a project team. Some officers may

serve their first assignment at an AEMO regional office providing marketing support to accessions

units within the region. All FA58 assignments are considered Key Developmental (KD)

assignments.

(3) Developmental and broadening assignments. Following an FA58 officer’s initial assignment,

marketing officers will usually do their next tour of duty at an AEMO regional office providing

marketing support to accessions units, where they will help direct, integrate, and synchronize the

Army’s marketing strategy and message. Additional opportunities exist for FA58 majors to move to

USAREC, USACC, or TRADOC headquarters where they will serve as the marketing officers for

those commands. Finally, FA58 has a Training with Industry program that places a few select FA58

officers with corporate suite-level executives at leading corporations to learn from marketing

leaders first-hand.

(4) The following are considered typical assignments for marketing majors:

(a) Marketing associate / project associate or team leader at AEMO or an accessions headquarters

(b) Regional marketing associate at an AEMO regional office

(5) Self-development. FA58 majors must continue to actively pursue self-development

opportunities to fully master all aspects of marketing and Army strategic guidance to inform the

future innovation of Army Marketing Strategy. FA58 majors should consider publication in

academic and professional journals, as it will encourage these officers to critically develop their

thoughts for a wide and discriminating audience.

(6) Desired experience. FA58 majors should have mastered many aspects of the marketing field, be

strategically relevant, and be prepared to serve as a leader of a regional marketing office or various

director roles.

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e. Lieutenant colonel development.

(1) Education. Lieutenant colonels that have displayed high performance and potential and should

have completed a master’s degree in a field approved by the proponent before being selected for

colonel, or if joining through direct commission, have substantial prior professional experience in

marketing, behavioral economics, or the decision sciences. A select number of officers will have the

opportunity to pursue an advanced degree in a doctoral program approved by the proponent,

sponsored through ACS. Additionally, a select number of lieutenant colonels will have the

opportunity to attend SSC.

(2) Key developmental assignments. All FA58 lieutenant colonel billets are considered KD

positions.

(3) Developmental and broadening assignments. Officers selected for lieutenant colonel must seek

assignments within the Functional Area that directly contribute to, and develop, the Army

marketing profession. These positions may include leading regional marketing offices, battalion

command positions in USAREC or at Initial Entry Training units, or Professor of Military Science

positions in USACC. Finally, FA58 has a Training with Industry program that places a few select

FA58 officers with corporate suite-level executives at leading corporations to learn from marketing

leaders first-hand. FA58 lieutenant colonels are expected to serve in positions of increased

responsibility and leadership in support of the marketing enterprise. The following are considered

possible assignments for marketing lieutenant colonels:

(a) Regional marketing office director or marketing operations officer (each regional office has two

positions for lieutenant colonels)

(b) Marketing strategy or research director

(d) Marketing project manager

(e) FA58 proponent director

(f) USAREC or Initial Entry Training battalion commander

(g) USACC professor of military science

(4) Self-development. Marketing lieutenant colonels should attend industry conferences and

training courses related to their areas of focus and pursue professional development programs such

as continuing executive education sponsored by the FA58 proponent office.

(5) Desired experience. Marketing lieutenant colonels will serve at multiple echelons and types of

positions throughout their tenure. A lieutenant colonel will have had experience serving as a

program director or accessions commander with significant professional marketing experience,

managing a wide portfolio of marketing initiatives.

f. Colonel development.

(1) Education. FA58 colonels will usually have completed a master’s degree in a field approved by

the proponent before being selected for colonel, or have substantial prior professional experience in

marketing. A select number of colonels will have the opportunity to attend a resident SSC.

(2) Key developmental assignments. All FA58 colonel billets are considered KD positions.

(3) Developmental and broadening assignments. Officers selected for colonel must seek

assignments within the Functional Area that directly contribute to, and develop, the Army

Marketing profession. These positions could include command-level positions within the accessions

enterprise or at marketing-related offices such as the Office of the Secretary of Defense Personnel &

Readiness or as an advisor to a senior leader of another military component. Colonels contribute to

the Functional Area by serving in critical assignments to include the following:

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(a) Senior director of strategic marketing

(b) Senior director of marketing content

(d) Senior marketing advisor to Army Senior Leaders

(e) Chief of Staff, Army Marketing

(4) Self-development. Marketing colonels should attend industry conferences and training courses

related to their areas of focus and pursue professional development programs such as continuing

executive education sponsored by the FA58 proponent office.

(5) Desired experience. Marketing colonels are experts at managing a broad and diverse marketing

portfolio and capable of providing sage advice to Army senior leaders with regards to marketing,

sales, and the accessions ecosystem.

4. Warrant officer development

The FA58 does not have warrant officers.

5. Reserve component officers

a. General. The FA58 career field is not currently available in the U.S. Army Reserve or the U.S.

Army National Guard. All RC officers (TPU, IMA, and NGB) may fill a FA58 billet if

appropriately trained but are still managed in their basic branch. These officers fulfill similar roles

and missions as their Active Army counterparts; however, the range and scope of possible RC

assignments is somewhat more limited than those found within the Active Army.

b. Assignment opportunities. RC officers interested in serving in the AEMO Chicago or AEMO

regional offices should contact their career manager for information on future opportunities to serve

in FA58 billets across the Army Marketing enterprise.

c. Mobilization. Mobilization requirements may exist for officers filling FA58 billets.

d. Education opportunities. Officers selected by the RC to serve in marketing-related billets may

also be selected to attend the FA58 Marketing Officer Integration Course. This is a low-density

course and not every selected RC officer will be able to attend.