The US Navy has issued a request for proposal for a new advertising recruitment contract.   

The initial contract period is for one year and would start in January of 2027. If all extensions are executed, the contract would expire in July of 2032, according to the RFP.  

WPP’s VML is the current incumbent, having won the last contract in 2021 (when the agency was known as VMLY&R). It also won the previous contract in 2015.   

The total value of the current contract is estimated at $460 million.   

The remit includes creative, media, strategy, research, field marketing and more.   

The Navy RFP follows word in March that the US Army is in the early stages of picking an agency for its new recruitment contract. It has issued a request for information in advance of a formal competitive bidding process that could kick off in the spring of 2027 and take effect in 2028.   

The army values the current 10-year contract, won by DDB in 2018, at $4 billion. DDB was folded into TBWA as part of the reorganization related to Omnicom’s acquisition of Interpublic. 

The Navy RFP was reported on earlier this week by the Ratti Report, an industry newsletter focused on new business leads.