Mass Communication, Advertising and Marketing Research at the Strategic and Operational Levels of War

Publisher Marketing: U. S. Army leaders acknowledge the importance of the Human Domain, and it is therefore in the Army's best interest to retain the capabilities and knowledge built over the past 12 years. Failure to maintain these capabilities will inevitably mean redeveloping them during the next conflict at the cost of national treasure, e.g. American lives and dollars. Historically, the Army's improvements in process and technique draw directly from lessons learned in conflict. However, there is value in looking at empirical research drawn from fields with relevant parallels to practices used by influence operators. Within academia, there exists a vast amount of research on techniques and procedures influence operators can utilize. This study sought to identify how Army influence operators can benefit from outside institutions, and not rely solely on our experiences to further our capabilities. Therefore, this paper looked at what mass communication, advertising, and marketing research influence operators can adapt and implement at the strategic and operational levels of war. As a result, this study identified four reinforcing takeaways from the academic literature and two distinct recommendations for implementation, an additional step in the doctrinal process and training for our influence operators in communication strategy design that better supports the military campaign.