at ease magazine
The At Ease Magazine serves as the primary advertising channel for all activities associated with the 48 Force Support Squadron on RAF Lakenheath. This publication is the foundation for monthly marketing plans regarding the facilities representing the squadron. While the book is mainly a medium to deliver advertisements for trips, dining, classes, events, and various other products and services, my vision for this humble magazine was greater than a basic book of ads.
With the help of my team, I remade the At Ease into a valuable asset meant to create real connection between the facilities and the community they served. We transformed this publication from a disconnected book of ads that had no real appeal other than the basic services they offered, to a book that showed how the squadron is connected and provides support and valuable resources for military members as well as spouses and dependents. The At Ease became something that people anticipated each month. Our shelves began emptying and we had to increase our monthly order by 25%. With special features like the employee spotlight, monthly features, and even word searches and picture finds, we drove up interest and ensured our facilities' ads were getting even more exposure through this added value.
the employee spotlight
breaking it down
The first special feature the team added to the At Ease line-up was the Employee Spotlight. This feature went hand-in-hand with our major marketing campaign, The FSS Dollar. The goal was to highlight the way buying products and services through the squadron was a great way to support military dependents and their employment while their spouses served abroad. I personally designed the layout for this feature each month and ensured the design matched the overarching theme for each magazine. This feature generated more interest in the magazine by adding a personal element and a face to each issue. Members shared the publication with friends and family showing off the highlighted employee and ensuring more eyes were on our magazine each month.
the center spread
recognizing special heritage months
The next step in the revamp of the At Ease Magazine was to include special features that not only served to connect with our audience but also drive interest and increase readership. We wanted to make sure our squadron reflected attitudes of inclusivity and represented a safe space for all, so we spent an entire year dedicating our monthly center spreads to special heritage months. From black history to pride, we celebrated diversity and inclusion by highlighting historical figures from the military who represented important change in tolerance and attitudes related to the ever-growing range of cultures and communities making up the United States Air Force.
These special features were also shared on our socials as a weekly spotlight featuring a member of our local community. These articles and posts helped boost interest in the magazine and increased shares and engagement on our socials.
marketing in print
our mission...
The At Ease is a collaborative and complicated publication that represents 18 facilities offering morale and recreation programming for the Airmen and families working and living at RAF Lakenheath. Each month, my team would coordinate with these facilities to create effective advertising promoting their activities to our audience. I would assign spreads to my team members, and together we would create visually impactful, colorful, eye-catching spreads that engaged our readers and ensured our audience was informed about what the Force Support Squadron was offering. Each month had a theme to which we all adhered to maintain a consistent appearance throughout the magazine.
consistency is key
at ease style guide
With 18 managers and a team of 5 designers contributing, we struggled to keep the magazine and the pages looking like a cohesive magazine rather than a disjointed book of ads. To accomplish this goal, I developed a style-guide for all the designers to follow. This style guide helps ensure a consistent look and provide guidelines for choosing imagery, logo usage, appropriate topics, typefaces, formatting, and even legal considerations for advertising with the US Government.