Real-world brand investments

Doug leads the real-world brand work: relationships with veterans organizations, bases, and event organizers, and the high-profile interviews this budget supports.

A second person to work with Doug on events, partnerships, and interviews, so this program is not a one-person shop.

All travel for this budget is in this line: 12 trips a year each for Doug and the director, $2,000 per trip, for 24 trips (flight, hotel, and ground), plus $15,000 that had been sitting in the AUSA, VFW, and Military Influencer Conference by Military.com lines ($5,000 each).

A hired crew to film exclusive interviews Doug and the director set up, so those interviews can run on Military.com and social. $20,000 is the estimate, covering the crew, edit, and crew travel.

Founding media partner of a new consumer military convention, $40,000 per city. This puts the Military.com name on a large show in two base markets, not just a booth in the hall.

militarycon.com

A 20×20 booth at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting, the main gathering of Army leadership and defense companies. The published booth is $24,800, plus about $20,000 for booth build. Travel sits in the travel line, not in this one.

AUSA 2027 dates AUSA 2027 deposit sheet

A sponsorship of the 2027 Army-Navy Game, the 128th playing, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on December 4. USAA is the presenting sponsor. Official partnership rates are not published, so $50,000 is a planning estimate and needs a quote from Army and Navy athletics. This puts the brand at one of the most watched military events in the country; the 2025 game averaged 7.84 million viewers on CBS.

armynavygame.com Corporate sponsorship opportunities

Media partner at MCON, a veteran-founded conference in Las Vegas. This puts the brand in front of attendees and military creators at that show.

mcon.live

Supporting sponsorship of the 2027 Military World Games, an international military sporting event in Charlotte with DoD involvement. $40,000 is a supporting-tier estimate; the anchor sponsor paid $1 million.

mwg27.com

Supporting sponsor of the Health Fair at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention. This is a large gathering of older, benefits-focused veterans, and it builds on Doug's existing VFW relationship. The published supporting sponsor rate is $25,000. Travel sits in the travel line, not in this one.

VFW convention corporate engagement

Sponsorship at MOAA's TotalForce+ conference, which brings together officers, DoD and VA leaders, and advertisers such as USAA. The event is February 1–3, so this one needs a yes or no soon.

TotalForce+ FAQs

Track sponsor of the Transition & Hiring program at the Military Influencer Conference by Military.com. This puts the brand in the room with military influencers and service members who are leaving the military. The published 2026 track sponsor rate was $20,000. Travel sits in the travel line, not in this one.

militaryinfluencer.com

Named sponsor of the New York City Veterans Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, the largest Veterans Day parade in the country.

uwvc.org/parade

An expo booth at the Army Ten-Miler. Every in-person runner walks through the expo to pick up their race packet, so this is a high-visibility presence with a heavily military audience.

Army Ten-Miler expo exhibitor

Race-day presence at the Navy Ten-Miler, a smaller event than the Army Ten-Miler and a way to show up in the San Diego market.

Our existing grant program for veteran- and spouse-led projects, and the only giving line in this budget for now. Funded at $116,000 for the year so we can make fewer, larger grants. It puts Military.com behind community work in a way a booth cannot, and each grant gives us a veteran story to tell. Already running.

A monthly webinar we host with Michael Quinn for service members who are leaving the military, about 400 attendees a session, at $1,000 a month. Transitioning members are a core audience for the brand.

This buys time on the TV screens inside Exchange stores — the grocery and retail stores on military bases — so service members and families see Military.com where they already shop. We'd run it as a test in two or three locations. The $24,000 is a placeholder from a 2018 rate card ($3,200 a week for 12 weeks, plus creative) and needs an updated quote.

A reusable booth and QR landing pages we take to events, so people can get answers on benefits and transition under the Military.com name instead of a one-off pop-up each time. $20,000 is the estimate for the booth, graphics, cases, tablets, and landing pages, plus a reprint during the year.

We host a Military.com happy hour at Military Con, AUSA, and MCON, $10,000 each, so we have a room of our own with attendees, advertisers, and partners, not just a booth in the hall.

Military.com t-shirts, hats, and pins sent to influential people and handed to them after we meet in person, so the brand goes with them after the meeting. $25,000 is an estimate for a run plus shipping, not mass booth giveaways.