As a brand, the Army has suffered from its association with the conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan, with anti-war sentiment affecting its popularity as a career. Faced with the challenge of attracting a young audience, a big offline idea – an attempt by an Army team to scale Mount Everest – was combined with the innovative use of new digital channels and traditional broadcast media to create a unique integrated campaign. Demonstrating the ultimate in adventurous training (and the planning, teamwork and preparation at which soldiers excel) this was the Army’s first non-military campaign. But more importantly it was live.

The campaign kicked-off before the climb with National press, posters, publishing and PR raising interest in the expedition. Once underway, the soldiers shot live video footage, which was beamed back to the UK, for use in TV and Radio commercials as well as mobile phone downloads and more than 100 video podcasts. Sky news also reported on the team’s progress. All of this activity led to a dedicated website – Armyoneverest.mod.uk. Users could access climbers’ blogs, video diaries, and stills from the climb, while Google Earth provided a step-by-step view of the summit attempt.