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Federal Media & Marketing Study 2019
In its 11th year, the Federal Media & Marketing Study continues to empower marketers to hone and perfect their strategic marketing campaigns with valuable and reliable data directly from their federal customers. The survey provides key information about the federal audience’s media usage across print, broadcast, social and digital sources. Combining this data with demographics including: job function, location, purchase area and more, marketers have the ability to slice and dice the data and map each to specific media habits, allowing them to target specific audiences.
The survey represents the views of thousands of federal workers in a variety of positions. Whether you are interested in a broad awareness campaign, or a more focused agency-based marketing effort, data from the study can provide you key insights about the media and marketing habits of this tough-to-reach federal market audience.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Job Function and Purchase Responsibility – More than 25 different job functions and areas of purchase, by product and service
- Media Usage – 60+ publications, 100+ websites and mobile sites; 10+ social sites; differences inside vs. outside the Beltway
- Trusted Content -To what extent do decision makers trust news and information from different media sources?
- Time Spent Accessing Content – How much time do government employees spend accessing content online, watching TV, listening to the radio and reading e-newsletters?
NEW IN 2019
- Beyond Business: Expanded Demographics & Personal Decisions – Marketing to federal employees, means marketing to them as people. What does that look like? What are their personal priorities? Challenges, hopes and dreams? How can this help shape your messaging to them as an individual in addition to their profession?
- Media Habits of Federal Employees: A Day in the Life – What media sources are federal employees accessing during different parts of their day?
- Diving Deeper into Webinar & Event Attendance – Will the time of day impact whether they attend? How likely are they to attend and how likely are they to attend in the evening or on weekends?
- Additional Marketing Tactics – Mobile applications, outdoor advertising and sponsorship: should contractors explore these ways of getting in front of federal audiences?
Delivering on Mission? Effects of the 2019 Federal Government Shutdown
Results from the 2019 Partial Federal Shutdown PulsePoll™
The longest recorded partial federal shutdown to-date is having a major impact on both federal employees and the contractors who serve them. From concerns over funding and ability to meet project goals and timelines to the impact on future recruitment and retainment of a strong workforce, it is no surprise three-quarters of respondents are more concerned with this shutdown than those of the past. Market Connections conducted a PulsePoll™ to gauge how the 2018-2019 shutdown is, or will be affecting the work of federal employees and the contractors who work beside them day-to-day.
Federal Government Contractor Study 2018
Best BD and Marketing Practices of Winning Contractors
In partnership with Merritt Group and Professional Services Council, this national study of federal government contractors focuses on top challenges and best practices of marketing and business development professionals. The study addresses the most effective activities, tools and strategies to remain competitive; the organization, reporting structure and collaboration of BD and marketing departments within an organization; and how contractors are targeting and responding to RFPs with a focus on those contractors with higher win rates. The online survey of 200 federal government contractors was fielded in May 2018.
OBJECTIVES:
- Identify best practices of winning government contractors
- Identify challenges of marketing and business development professionals
- Determine actions to remain competitive in the current federal government market
- Measure effectiveness of marketing materials, activities and tools
- Quantify changes in budgets and activities
Taking Advantage of the Defense IT Budget Influx: Priorities and Timelines
Results from 2018 Defense Budget PulsePoll™
In February, the Bi-Partisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA) passed, lifting caps on spending and paved the way for significant increases in discretionary spending across defense and civilian agencies. With the passing of BBA 2018, the defense discretionary funding cap was increased by $80 billion in FY2018 and $85 billion in FY 2019, allowing for current on-hold projects to move forward and for the development of new opportunities in key focus areas. A recent PulsePoll™ from Market Connections reveals where defense agency technology leaders feel funds will be prioritized, and how soon they expect these funds will make an impact.
Insights in Recruitment and Retention in a Highly Competitive Market:
Results from Government Recruitment Study
A majority of public sector and government contractor HR and recruiting professionals are struggling to recruit and retain top talent. A recent survey by Market Connections and Monster Government Solutions uncovered that roughly half of HR professionals and hiring managers find a shortage of qualified candidates a top challenge. Meanwhile only one quarter are satisfied with their organization’s retention practices and only one-third are satisfied with hiring management technology.
What other barriers and challenges in recruiting and retaining talent were identified? What resources, tools and messaging are organizations using to attract and keep them?
This study sheds light on the ongoing challenges with government and government contractor hiring and retention and will help your organization develop and improve the right strategies and best practices to recruit and retain the best candidates.
Keeping Our Nation Secure
The Status of Federal Agencies Security Postures
The recent Presidential Executive Order Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure states “known but unmitigated vulnerabilities are among the highest cybersecurity risks faced by executive departments and agencies.” It calls for increased focus on securing IT and data, including protecting IT and data from unauthorized access and cyber threats; being aware of potential threats; being able to detect security events; and being able to respond and recover. However, cybersecurity risk management has been a long-term priority for federal agencies, even before the White House issued this Executive Order. The question is, in an age of increased cybersecurity threats and federal mandates, how have agency security postures changed over the last year? Unisys commissioned government research firm Market Connections to find out.
Federal Events Study 2017
In 2017, Market Connections conducted a federal events study to gain a better understanding of how and why federal IT decision-makers are attending live events. For years, the Federal Media & Marketing Study has tracked the rise and fall of attendance levels at live events and webinars without explanation. This prompted Market Connections to develop a deeper study specifically focused on live event preferences. The objective was to gain a better understanding about why and how federal IT professionals made their decision on whether or not to attend events. Factors included in the study were event format, size, location, length and content.
The Enterprise Cloud Balancing Act
Emerging Trends in the U.S. Federal Government
Almost seven years ago, the White House issued its 25-point Implementation Plan to reform federal IT that mandated federal agencies “evaluate safe, secure, cloud computing options before making any new IT investments.” The U.S. federal government seems poised to enter a new era of cloud computing after the last seven years of trial and error yielded important lessons learned and repeatable best practices. What about cloud is working or not working? Are federal agencies fully realizing the promised cost savings? How pervasive is cloud adoption? What workloads are agencies putting into the cloud? Nutanix commissioned Market Connections to survey a representative audience of federal IT managers and leaders to find the answers to these questions.
Hyperconverged Infrastructure:
An Effective and Efficient Path to Federal IT Modernization
The cost of maintaining and refreshing legacy hardware-centric infrastructure is responsible for soaking up a majority of IT budgets. Federal agencies can often do little more than maintain the status quo on Administration priorities such as cybersecurity, data center consolidation and cloud computing. While IT managers are fully aware that legacy systems are expensive, brittle, inefficient, time consuming to maintain and an obstacle to successfully addressing Administration priorities, many are unsure or unaware of the options. A solution to these challenges may be transitioning from legacy architectures to Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI).
To help IT managers grappling with the challenges of modernizing their network and wondering if HCI makes sense for their agency, Nutanix commissioned Market Connections to determine the degree to which federal IT managers are using HCI and the impact using (or not using) it has on the pressing needs and challenges agencies face.
Federal Government Contractor Study 2016
This national study of federal government contractors focuses on top challenges and best practices of contractors with higher win rates, including the most effective marketing and business development activities, strategies to remain competitive and expected changes in budgets, staffing and new business strategies. Market Connections and Salesforce partnered to design the online survey of 200 federal government contractors, fielded in May 2016.
OBJECTIVES:
- Identify best practices of winning government contractors
- Identify challenges of marketing and business development professionals
- Determine actions to remain competitive in the current federal government market
- Measure effectiveness of marketing materials, activities and tools
- Quantify changes in personnel, budgets, tools, teaming and communications among government contractors
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