Wingman, warrior, airman: branding the U.S. Air Force

Abstract

Since the U.S. Air Force's inception in 1946, even after 60 years of air superiority and dominance, the Air Force struggles to find a recognizable image and identity among the five services, to include the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The AF dominates air, space and cyberspace, yet its "brand" has never reached audiences as well as the Marine Corps or Army. As an AF public affairs officer, the purpose of this thesis is to examine the messages portrayed in the marketing campaign "Above All" and determine if the central AF themes were showcased, then propose a slogan and test it through qualitative analysis via semi-structured interviews and survey. This is intended as an exploratory study to better understand how to brand the AF. Results will show the Air Force first has to develop its organizational identity and stick with an integrated marketing campaign for the long-term.