CONTENT DEVELOPMENT & PLACEMENT

Client: DRS Technologies

DRS Technologies: Leading supplier of integrated products, services, and support to military forces, intelligence agencies, and prime contractors worldwide. The client won a significant ($46.2 million) initial delivery contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to produce Thermal Binocular System Tactical Range Thermal Imagers.

Challenge:

At the time, this newly available technology represented a significant advancement in the military’s ability to observe, detect, and identify targets. This new tech allowed users to conduct surveillance. What’s more, the device assisted soldiers in engaging targets under all lighting conditions and in the presence of battlefield obscurants, such as smoke, fog, and sandstorms. The device, a portable binocular, hand-held, battery-operated system, was prototyped and fielded in the mid 00’s. After successfully piloting the device in select forward-deployed Marine Corps combat units, DRS relied on DJH’s content marketing capabilities. The DJH team had to build awareness for the technology and concept, attract press coverage, and nurture active influencers in the military and civilian communities.

Approach:

DRS Technologies retained DJH services to write and place technical, non-marketing-oriented, and informative editorials about the Thermal Imagers. DJH queried, proposed, and created articles that were accepted for publication in Marines Mag, (The Official Magazine of the United States Marine Corps), The Marine Corps Gazette, (the professional journal for U. S. Marines since 1916), Leatherneck Magazine, (Marine Corps Association Publication), and Ground Warrior Magazine.

Result:

After initial pilot of the technology and publication of the articles in the aforementioned outlets, the Marine Corps ultimately distributed the TRTI night vision systems widely among the forces, ultimately awarding DRS the total cumulative value of the contract, completed in September 2010, equaling $660 million.