We fundamentally shifted the data strategy for the Army, from passive topline reporting, to dynamic analysis and optimization. The results from our analysis even changed long-standing beliefs with the Army Generals for example; we proved people think Army first, not Regular or Reserve, as the Army had always believed.

In addition to this we also setup a number of new data gathering programmes, from the web optimization workstreams to gaining agreement for an exit survey at Phase 1 training to measure effectiveness of our digital activity.

From this we have found in the first three months a tangible shift in behaviour;

• 72% of successful applicants said it had made them feel more confident about completing their phase 1 training

• 86% still use the app as they progress in their Army career

The app analytics have also shown;

• an organic star rating of 4.5 stars

• downloaded more than 135,000 times (growing more than 2,000 downloads p/w)

• 70,000 active users

• 90% returning users

The website has shown major improvements comparing the first 10 weeks post launch with the previous 10 weeks:

• 167% increase in returning users going to the register pages

• 61% conversion rate uplift overall to registration

• 31.8% (110k) more unique page views of the Join page

• 34.79% (57k) increase in visits to the Role Finder tool

• 17.79% (12k) more unique page views - whilst total number of pages went from over 100 to 13

Lastly, our brand tracking has shown uplift in 12 months from 37% to 53% of 14-24 year olds now agreeing that the Army is modern.

Our layering and interrogation of the data reveled some key insights, which not only enhanced, but also directed our creative outputs:

We saw a clear decline in the Army’s image as a modern down to 37% and obesity in students rising up to 18.9%. The combined effect was a drop in overall applications and of those who completed the application, 40% were failing the first basic fitness test. Looking at the site analytics and path analysis we saw of the 60m visits over 8 months, just 0.27% of applicants found the fitness content via PC and 0.48% via mobile.

The analytics also showed that despite a wealth of content, applicants were giving up after visiting just 4 pages, showing the site and content weren’t fit for purpose. A fact back up by our UX research and content audits.

Two other pieces of data gathered from our analysis showed:

1) The Average reading age of an applicant was just 11yrs old

2) 50% of people accessing the site were on mobile – on a non-mobile optimized site.

The data gave us clear direction to:

1) Design a simple and engaging application that re-framed the relationship between the Army and the applicant

2) Find a way to mentor the applicant through the journey to successfully joining the Army

Our solution had 2 key parts:

1) A vastly simplified site, navigation and application process. We cut over 100+ pages down to just 13. Everything rewritten to suit the 11 year old reading age

2) A mobile fitness app to support applicants on their journey to their first fitness test. This delivered against three important data points:

a. Tackled the 40% fitness failure

b. Addressed the 11 year old reading age on their primary device

c. Modernised the image of the Army