As Director of Creative Services at USAA, I lead an in-house team of talented designers focused on crafting impactful brand stories for USAA. The larger team spearheaded the "Beyond Thanks" campaign, a national initiative to honor our veterans.
How do you honor veterans in a meaningful way? Research revealed that nearly 70% of younger veterans feel uncomfortable when told, “Thank you for your service,” often perceiving it as superficial. Furthermore, younger veterans prefer connecting through digital platforms, while older veterans lean toward in-person connections. This generational and emotional divide underscored the need for a campaign that transcends mere words of gratitude and fosters genuine connection while addressing critical issues like mental wellness, veteran loneliness, and suicide prevention.
The "Beyond Thanks" integrated campaign included Out-of-Home (OOH) creative across airports, USAA headquarters, and USAA ATM screens, driving audiences to a custom digital hub, USAA.com/VeteransDay.
The beating heart of this campaign spotlighted authentic stories of veterans rediscovering themselves, such as Lisa Crutch’s journey to reclaim her identity through the Wounded Warrior Project and Jon D.’s renewed sense of purpose via the gaming community StackUp. Anchored by a National Moment of Veteran Connection on Veterans Day at 11 a.m., the campaign invited all Americans to take simple actions like sending a text, grabbing coffee, or volunteering.
The USAA.com/VeteransDay website served as the central hub for the "Beyond Thanks" campaign, inviting visitors to go beyond simple gratitude and take meaningful actions to honor veterans. The site featured resources for connecting with veterans, including tips for starting conversations, volunteering opportunities, and donation options to support veteran-focused initiatives like Face the Fight, backed by the knowledge that thanks to efforts from people like you, we’ve made real progress in our fight against veteran suicide.
Outperformed USAA's 2022 benchmark and has surpassed any previous Veterans Day campaign.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout out the entire Veterans Day team. It takes a village of strategists, writers, videographers, editors, motion designers, graphic designers, and countless others to bring a campaign of this size and reach to life.
