Israel Matzav

Marketing Operation Pillar of Defense

Marketing guru Rebecca Rachmany explains why the 'Palestinians' are doing a much better job than Israel at marketing the current war (Hat Tip: Mrs. Carl).

First of all, let me say that the Palestinians are doing it right. Their long-term strategy and branding are completely aligned. Their tactics are not bad, either. This is the Palestinian branding:

• We are victims.
• The Israelis (Jews/Zionists) are the oppressors.
• Our long-term goal is to eliminate Israel.

I haven’t ever seen any other long-term goal, such as making life great for the Palestinian people. Those 3 points are very clear, consistent statements. The Palestinians are doing a great job not only in maintaining a consistent campaign, but also in maintaining the situation where they continue to be victims.

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Any management consultant would understand that Israel is doing it all wrong. Rather than setting out a clear strategy and message, Israel is in a reactive position. From a marketing perspective, this is a disaster, which is why you see very confused messages coming out from the country. The left-wing group in Israel is doing a better job of sending a clear message, but they also are in a reactive position.

Following are some of the messages Israel is trying to convey.

• We are victims.
• We are a healthy, economically-independent democracy.
• We want peace.
• We have a superior military.
• We will do whatever it takes to defend ourselves.
• We will treat our enemies in a humane manner.
• The Palestinians started this whole mess.
• We are willing to accept at Palestinian state.
• We will only negotiate under certain conditions.
• We are reasonable and they are crazy.

As you can see, many of these messages are in direct conflict with one another. They create a difficult decision-making process, confusion both internally and externally, and an ineffective policy. So what should Israel do? Glad you asked. That’s tomorrow’s blog. The third one will be a more practical approach.

Part of Israel's problem is that we are divided on our goal. It's not just that our goals are contradictory, it's that the list above is one in which nearly every Israeli would disagree with at least one or two (or more) of the items listed. We've never had a dialogue in which one side has persuaded the other. Instead, at least for the last 30 years, one side has gone about imposing its will on the other depending who is in power. We have a political class that is largely untouchable that believes that like Orwell's Big Brother, it knows what is best for us. And we have a political system that has destroyed the ordinary checks and balances that keep governments in other democracies from imposing their will on the people. Each side comes to power and makes radical changes in policy to undo what the other side imposed on it during the previous government. We need a marriage therapist for ourselves before we can even think about dealing with the 'Palestinians'!

Differing goals are part of the nature of democracy, but one of the reasons many Israelis have radically differing goals is because the one thing that could have been a unifying factor was the one thing the government of Israel never promoted: Jewish education. As a result, our experiences are very different, and each of us tends to watch out for himself or her tribe.

I heard that David Ben Gurion was asked shortly after the state was established why he let the religious Jews have their own schools. His response: "In another generation, no one will want them anyway, and they will close of their own volition." He could not have been more wrong.

Make sure you follow the links and read the comments. The other two posts from Rebecca are up already. It should be obvious from this blog that I don't agree with the silent treatment or with not posting pictures of Hamas' atrocities. We cannot let Hamas or the Arab/Muslim world control the narrative. But there are a lot of other thought-provoking assertions in those posts.

And by the way, my Twitter follows have been jumping this week as well.

Labels: Brand Israel, Operation Pillar of Defense

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:16 AM