Exchange and Military Senior Enlisted Production Wins International Awards

An Exchange video, featuring senior enlisted leaders from each military branch, has garnered awards in five categories in the International Awards Associate’s (IAA) 2023 LIT Commercial Awards: Season 1.

The spot, which aired on the Armed Forces Network, CBS Sports Network and ESPN throughout the fall football season, features Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne Bass and Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force Roger Towberman tossing a football to one another while reminding service members that their Exchange benefit is always there for them, with 100% of earnings going back to support the military community. The spot also aired during the Army-Air Force and the Army-Navy games on CBS.

The spot won the following categories:

• Marketing/Advertising Campaigns – Video Marketing Campaign (LIT Platinum Statuette)
• Marketing/Advertising Campaigns – Digital Marketing Campaign (LIT Platinum Statuette)
• Marketing/Advertising Campaigns – Branding Strategy Campaign (LIT Gold Statuette)
• Marketing/Advertising Campaigns – Communication Campaign (LIT Gold Statuette)
• Marketing/Advertising Campaigns – Digital Advertising Campaign (LIT Gold Statuette)

“The Exchange is incredibly honored this production was selected from hundreds of submissions for these awards,” said Tim Miller, the Exchange’s multimedia production branch manager. “It is a privilege to work with the incredible and creative team members in Corporate Communication, Digital Media Networks and Public Affairs who worked so hard to bring this production to life.”

The ad’s script was a collaborative effort between Digital Media Networks Producers Amy Mitchell and Frank Rincon, with a key contribution from the Exchange’s Senior Enlisted Advisor, Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Osby.

“We bounced around a bunch of ideas, and Chief came up with the idea of having the senior enlisted leaders tossing a football to each other while each delivering a different line of the script,” Mitchell said. “I wrote an initial draft, but I knew it needed some lightness and levity, so Frank added the humor.”

Each leader’s segment was shot separately. Rincon and Digital Media Specialist Toney Coleman first shot Bass’ part at the Fort Belvoir PX. Additional support was provided by Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing Sandi Lute and her team, including Senior Creative Director Johnny Olson.

“That was pretty exciting,” Rincon said of the shoot. “We were very respectful of CMSAF Bass’ time. We were told ahead of time that we only had her for a specific timeframe, so our crew knew where everyone needed to be to maximize our time with her. I definitely couldn’t have done it without Toney, Johnny and Sandi’s help.”

With Bass’ part complete, Mitchell and Coleman traveled to Washington, D.C., to film Grinston and Towberman’s segments at the Pentagon Military Clothing store—a shoot arranged with the help of Store Manager Karen Anderson, who also helped the video crew get through security.

“Toney had to go through some pretty high-level security to get his equipment into the Pentagon,” Mitchell said. “It was a different level of work than we normally do. It was a pretty exciting and historical place to be and a place where we serve our military’s most senior leaders.”

Final editing was completed by Mitchell and Video Editor Brenda Vaughan, with four spots—one highlighting each senior enlisted leader and then one with all three in one ad—produced for the campaign in total.

“It’s really been fun working on these spots,” said Vaughan, who also created the graphics for the ad and performed color correction and timing adjustments for the ads. “We’ve only been doing them the last few years, and each year they’re getting better and better. Hopefully we’re engaging our customers, getting them excited and reminding them that their Exchange benefit is always here for them to use.”

The LIT Commercial Awards, awarded twice yearly, recognizes exceptional audiovisual content, including videos and television productions, with an aim toward celebrating the talents and contributions of on-camera performers and production personnel alike. Submissions for Season 1 of the awards were received from 25 countries including the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, United Arab Emirates and others.

“These ads are really important,” Rincon said. “Being shown on network TV, they’re a key part of letting the public know of our existence and the benefits we provide our customers. Any type of promotion we receive on a national level is important.”