The army of USA available millions dollars to sponsor a wide range of tournaments with high-profile Call of Duty players (streamers) and Twitch events over the last year to reach Gen-Z audiences.
In particular, the goal was to reach out to women, blacks and Hispanics, according to internal Army documents that Motherboard published.
The documents provide much greater insight into the Army's goals and intentions behind its planned partnerships with Call of Duty and other massive entertainment franchises.
“Audience: Gen-Z Prospects (A18-24),” reads one section of the documents. “Focus on reaching Black and Hispanic women.”
Motherboard was able to obtain the documents through its Freedom Act informations (FOIA from the Freedom of Information Act).
A table included in the documents lists the funds the Army planned to spend on various platforms, events and streamers.
At the top, there's Twitch and the HBCU [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] Showdown.
The previous seasons of this esports league had players to compete in Madden and NBA games.
The Army planned to spend $1 million to sponsor the event. The documents show that the US military considers gaming, and Call of Duty in particular, to be a very useful recruiting tool.
