Boot Camp Monday, August 31, 2009 The U.S. Army is going immersive and interactive with a new Army Experience Center—a pilot program environment created by Ignited to change the way the Army is perceived and drum up interest in military service. Located in a 14,500-square-foot facility at the Franklin Mills Mall 20 miles outside of Philadelphia, the Army chose the spot because of a recruitment deficit in the area. Five recruitment centers in the greater Philly area were shut down and replaced with the new, interactive Experience Center. “We wanted to tell their story in a unique and engaging way—like an Apple store for the Army,“ says Bryan Duffy, managing director at Ignited. The premise of the center is to give the general public an understanding of the Army and Army life in a transparent, casual, and relaxed setting compared to traditional recruitment environments. The open footprint features lots of glass and separates activities into specific zones. Visitors check in at a registration counter up front and receive a card with tracking numbers to help recruiters and Ignited learn more about what elements in the center are most popular. As far as interactives, the center features four double-sided kiosks, three full-sized simulators, 60 LAN-connected Xbox consoles, and a Tactical Info Center with PCs loaded with the latest in popular military games. A lounge area at the center features couches, monitors running TV and Army promos, and a pull-down screen. The three state-of-the-art simulators take potential recruits on a seven to eight-minute experience aboard a Humvee, an Apache helicopter, or a Black Hawk helicopter. Educational elements such as a command and operations center add to the immersion by allowing visitors to control a simulated remote weapons system, command troops on the ground, and perform logistics and telecommunications functions. “There is a Career Navigator Center which allows visitors to explore details related to Army jobs, such as pay. The interactions are free of charge, but to use the simulators, visitors must answer a few questions beforehand for data collection. Only those that opt in are contacted via email or phone,“ Duffy says. The career navigator kiosks allow visitors to find out about Army career paths, and the Global Base Locator takes visitors to bases all over the world as they navigate on a touch screen set up similar to Google Earth, with specific info on bases. The Army Experience Center is currently the only facility of its kind—the Army is treating it as a test program and may expand the pilot. “It’s about informing visitors about Army careers, training, and educational opportunities. It’s revolutionizing the way the Army is going about recruiting, and going about it in an open-ended, cool, and relevant way,“ Duffy says.
Main Office: 10 Norden Place Norwalk, CT 06855 Tel. (203) 854-6730 Fax (203) 854-6735 © 2010 Red 7 Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us