Showcasing the First Command and Leadership Story among Military Audiences

Showcasing the First Command and Leadership Story among Military Audiences

Overview

Nobody denies the importance of supporting our troops out in the field. Equally important, however, is providing assistance to military members and their families off the field—including coaching those who serve in their pursuit of financial security.

 

For First Command CEO Mark Steffe, making lifelong financial security possible for all military families has become a career-defining mission. To communicate that mission, First Command partnered with The Harbinger Group (THG) to cement Steffe as a leading voice in the military financial space and develop an earned media strategy capable of reaching a wide array of high-profile media outlets and military families.

The Challenge

Military families already contend with a great deal of uncertainty in their lives. Unfortunately, financial insecurity is another uncertainty many service members must contend with—a problem First Command has worked to solve by shaping positive financial behaviors through coaching with hundreds of thousands of client families. 

In order to reach a greater audience and further ensure financial literacy among their clients, First Command needed to develop a crystal-clear market message that provided impactful media insights while simultaneously resonating with its specific audience. 

Developing this message required a twofold strategy: First Command would need to elevate CEO Mark Steffe as a trusted authority in the financial military attitudes, behaviors and intentions marketplace while also creating tailored earned media opportunities that established the company as a go-to military financial resource. 

This strategy, developed by longtime First Command partner THG, has since secured Steffe as a prominent military financial leader, while also differentiating First Command from competitors in the earned media space.

Showcasing the First Command and Leadership Story among Military Audiences

At A Glance

Unlike other agencies, THG relies on a proven, research-driven media process, the Brand Activation Marketing Model (BAMM), to establish ownable, unique and relevant market positions for its partners. Through this process, THG created the following CEO thought leadership and earned media opportunities for First Command.

CEO Branding & Thought Leadership

While THG has worked with First Command for nearly two decades, Steffe recently transitioned to the role of CEO in 2020—two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic upended normal business operations everywhere. While many organizations sought to avoid disruption during uncertain times, Steffe and THG took a bold approach, developing an all-new CEO branding and thought leadership playbook to help Steffe serve as an authoritative figure in a turbulent market.  

The playbook included:

  • Conducting competitor research to help Steffe develop a differentiated military financial message
  • Elevating Steffe’s LinkedIn presence by creating and sharing timely, relevant and market-shaping content
  • Establishing Steffe as a member of the Forbes Financial Council to secure greater brand exposure through controlled content
  • Drafting material for Steffe to share with additional finance leaders to establish platform authority
  • Nominating Steffe for awards to increase First Command brand awareness
  • Developing earned media strategy and conducting outreach for Steffe
  • Holding monthly CEO brand meetings to assess results and determine next steps

A specific focus was placed on creating contributed content to be shared through the Forbes Finance Council, as well as other targeted media outlets—such as Military Federal News Network and Military Spouse Magazine—that directly connected Steffe to First Command’s unique, military family audience. 

Earned Media

For nearly two decades, THG has helped create interesting and relevant media angles to secure ongoing exposure of First Command in the media. In 2020, THG began identifying additional media positions to bring Steffe front and center and establish greater authority for First Command throughout the military financial attitudes and behaviors space. 

After conducting a thorough analysis of Steffe’s CEO brand, THG recommended a higher-profile, targeted media opportunity approach that has since been extended to the First Command executive leadership team (ELT)—four members of which have now been trained to serve as First Command Speakers Bureau spokespeople. 

In detail, recent earned media opportunities have included:

  • Facilitating intake sessions with First Command Speakers Bureau ELT members to determine earned media discussion topics and opportunities
  • Creating speaking and awards opportunities for Steffe and ELT members
  • Pitching results of a third-party monthly survey, the Financial Behaviors Index, to elevate First Command as a commanding voice in financial services and garner media attention through research and dissemination of emerging financial issues and trends
  • Developing inroads with military financial reporters
  • Authoring Op/Ed and bylined articles for distribution across targeted media outlets
Showcasing the First Command and Leadership Story among Military Audiences

Results

As a result of its dual CEO branding and earned media strategy, THG has helped First Command earn the following results: 

  • 2023 To-Date: Reached a combined outlet audience of over 753,000, increased CEO LinkedIn presence and secured earned media opportunities in Financial Planning Magazine, Federal News Network and more
  • 2022: Secured 38 pieces of coverage, earned 2.91 million views, reached a combined outlet audience of 608 million and secured earned media opportunities in Forbes, Wealth Creation Investing, Military Spouse Magazine and more
  • 2021: Secured 13 pieces of high-profile coverage, with an online viewership of 185 million, including feature podcast interviews and contributed content in Forbes, Chief Executive, Newsweek, Corporate Competitor and Dallas Business Journal
  • 2020: Developed intensive CEO communications strategy and roadmap; Reached nearly 25 million readers through 16 pieces of media coverage that included Military.com, Fort Worth Business Press and ThinkAdvisor
Showcasing the First Command and Leadership Story among Military Audiences

Success

With the help of THG, First Command is cementing CEO Mark Steffe as a leading voice in the military financial space while also developing an earned media strategy capable of reaching a wide array of high-profile outlets and military families.

From improving First Command’s CEO branding and social presence to garnering hundreds of earned media opportunities and millions of views, THG was able to not only increase First Command’s marketplace presence—it has strengthened the organization’s sacred mission of providing lifelong financial security for those who serve.