KSK is one of the most frequently used Google search terms in connection with “Bundeswehr”, the Federal Armed Forces, and the new series gave the target audience maximum insights into the KSK. This elite Special Forces unit is top secret. The soldiers wear masks to protect their families. So how do you tell authentic stories about people who can’t reveal their identities?

By integrating the target audience in the series. A civilian – adventurer Robert Marc Lehman – accompanied the KSK to a jungle camp in Belize and to one of Europe’s largest-scale special forces exercises. He attempted to assimilate himself into the KSK team as a bridge between the elite unit and the audience.

Objectives: to reach an audience well outside the community and encouraged people engage intensively with the Armed Forces.

KSK is one of the most frequently used Google search terms in connection with “Bundeswehr”, the Federal Armed Forces. But: the people that work for the KSK can’t reveal their identities. The soldiers wear masks to protect their families. The challenge was, how to tell authentic stories about these people who can’t reveal their identities?

The idea: We used a civilian as a link to the target audience in the series. Robert Marc Lehmann accompanied the KSK Special Forces Commando to its secret jungle training camps in Belize and to one of Europe’s largest-scale special forces exercises. He established a relationship with the KSK members and related their experiences and hardships as KSK soldiers.

All the experiences he shared via various channels with the target audience during their days: from morning KSK boot camp with Alexa, to YouTube entertainment, evening podcasts and regular WhatsApp updates.

The new KSK series provides more young people, male & female between 17 and 35, with insights into the Federal Armed Forces as an employer. It is designed to engage with a wider audience outside the large FAF community via new brand channels such as WhatsApp, Podcast and an Alexa Skill, as well as YouTube during their daily lives: from KSK bootcamp with Alexa in the morning, to YouTube entertainment, evening podcasts and regular WhatsApp updates. Robert Marc Lehmann kept the target audience up to date for six whole weeks with around 190 WhatsApp messages.

The new KSK series provides more young people, male & female between 17 and 35, with insights into the Federal Armed Forces as an employer. It is designed to engage with a wider audience outside the large FAF community via new brand channels such as WhatsApp, Podcast and an Alexa Skill, as well as YouTube during their daily lives: from KSK bootcamp with Alexa in the morning, to YouTube entertainment, evening podcasts and regular WhatsApp updates. Robert Marc Lehmann kept the target audience up to date for six whole weeks with around 190 WhatsApp messages, a compact docutainment series on YouTube, interactive video stories on Instagram - all optimally connected up into a consistent ecosystem.

The campaign ran for a total of 41 days. It was promoted on various online and offline channels in week 45 (5-11.Nov.18) – during our teaser phase. The aim was to draw our target audience’s attention to the new series via the social media (FB/Insta, Snapchat, YouTube), online & OOH, and to generate subscriptions to the new series channel, WhatsApp.

In this phase special topical trailers targeted outdoor enthusiasts and technology fans to establish the KSK as a relevant topic outside the regular armed forces community.

On 8 Nov. the series album was launched on Spotify and the podcast went on air. The first of a total of 22 YouTube episodes went out on 12. Nov., kicking off the "series phase" with promotions on 5 online and offline channels (social media, OOH, ambient & radio) - also promoting the "KSK Boot Camp” Alexa skill. The campaign ended the 20.dez.

The series reached an audience well outside the core community and encouraged people engage intensively with the German Armed Forces. Excellent YouTube watch time results were achieved. In addition to almost 400K YouTube subscriptions, KSK generated 40K subscriptions to the new focus channels.

40 million minutes of watch time on YouTube

95% like/dislike ratio

30,000 WhatsApp users

1,800 hours of Podcast playtime

2,500 Alexa skill users