Navy Housing Survey with RDN — Navy Housing Survey with RDN

RDN has spent more than 25 years as a trusted research partner to U.S. Navy Housing, producing analyses that help CNIC decide where to invest, what to improve, and what to sunset. Their annual Navy Housing survey is a critical piece of that work, but only if sailors actually complete it. Getting materials in front of an active-duty audience across barracks, dining facilities, and family housing communities is one thing. Getting those materials to stop someone mid-stride and earn a response is another. Previous creative hadn't landed, and with the stakes tied directly to housing decisions for service members and their families, landing mattered.

We developed a full campaign suite: posters, videos, radio voiceovers, and a logo sting animation designed for the specific environments where sailors encounter information: common areas, dining halls, and community spaces across both unaccompanied and family housing. Before a single asset was produced, we worked closely with RDN team members who carried deep institutional knowledge of the Navy Housing program, learning what had driven participation in past survey seasons and what had fallen short. We were also fortunate to have a Navy veteran on our team, who provided direction and feedback through the lens of both a designer and a former sailor. That perspective kept the conceptual approach grounded in the realities of the target audience, something that can easily be lost in civilian-contracted creative work. He understood exactly where these materials would live, how sailors move through those spaces, and what it takes to earn attention in otherwise busy communal environments.

With the Navy's official brand guide as our foundation, every creative decision was built to feel native to the brand while still standing out. The result was a campaign that felt immediately familiar to its audience while being distinct enough to cut through. The 2024-2025 campaign delivered the program's highest survey response rate in 15 years. RDN elected to partner with our team for the following season, and the engagement continues.