When the ship was sinking the captain of HMS Birkenhead (1852) said, women and children first. This actually became a code known as the Birkenhead Drill. What a statement! This one statement made at a critical moment keeps in remembrance the many men that lost their lives that day. This is how powerful a simple statement can become. Statements have come to mean even more now as it is part of the marketing strategies. Like the Birkenhead Drill, the statement takes the past and gives direction for the future.
Branding was about ownership and can be traced back to 4000 years ago. The word Brandr was Norse and it meant to burn. Literally, cattle and sadly later on slaves, were burnt with a mark to show that there is an owner and to show who the owner is. Around the 1800s I can see a clear distinction from this belongs to me so leave it to this was made by me so buy it. After WWII branding became more emotional. Sometimes it is referred to as the mission-based branding. Branding incorporates the brand positioning statement.
From the 1950s to 1960s the marketing of products was based on understanding the target. Quality had been for a long time the emphasis but when there were many competing products, a brand and how it tells the customer its story started to develop. How the brand positioning statement links back to the brand itself can be clearly seen in branding a nation. But it gives an indication of the development of the marketing field that goes beyond tourism. In a previous blog I looked at how Palestine is branded but a critical factor was missing and ended up with this Palestine and Israel - A Case Study in Marketing and Propaganda. Now I want to delve into how Israel presents itself as a brand as follows:
- the brand positioning statement
- branding strategy
- ownership
THE BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT
Some market heads believe that the brand is the contract between the consumer and the company. Customers buy into the product/ service based on the reputation of the company and hold them to the promise of the product or service. The quality of the product is a test to the integrity of the company making it and nowadays even to the retailers. Due to the relationship of the buyer to the company there is a promise that the product or service will add value. That promise is the brand.
In marketing there is a foundation of trust and genuine care for the customer. Which should be embedded within the brand. It works the same in politics. Politicians engage in personality branding which is very popular today. They have to canvas for elections to win the trust of the people by showing genuine care.
Personality branding goes backwards in that it establishes the reputation and identity of the individual before it says buy it because I made it. A brand personality is someone representing the brand that already has a reputation. In branding a nation it is similar to the corporate sector using a brand personality strategy except it is not ANY political figure that represents the brand of the nation.
It has to be the highest office which has to now follow the lead of the brand. At the point of becoming a Prime Minister the brand personality is no longer the personality brand. At least it is not supposed to, from a marketing perspective. In reality it is not quite so as many PMs still behave like they are campaigning. In my opinion this person must be elected to truly represent the nation as a brand. Therefore it should be a Prime Minister. I wrote about this in another blog, Branding A Face.
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| Manny Pacquiao |
Unfortunately in the political arena we get caught up with the personality brand and forget that the vote is for someone who fits the national brand. An icon can also be used to represent the nation but there must be mass support for this and usually such public figures enter into politics e.g. Manny Pacquiao to the Philippines. This is different to America facing off with a Russian in a boxing ring.
Generally, for a nation the political figures and the people represent the brand of the country. They identify with the country and the country identifies with them. This is called national identity. However, due to globalisation and digitisation this is not as distinctive as it once was. What the people do and say are part of the packaging. Yet, with soft colonisation on the screens we are fast moving towards a global village.
The company brand is seen in a logo. For the nation it is in the emblems. The brand strategy is used to reach customers or tell the story of the company. They will do this using a brand positioning statement which is the most important of the brand mix. The statements used by the political figure are then held accountable to the people, the relationship with the international community and to the brand. To demonstrate the importance of the statement in positioning the brand I will explain the symbolism of the emblems and how it relates as a positioning statement for Israel.
The emblems as a statement
The brand position statement is the most important of all the tools of marketing as it makes the brand stand out. It tells the story of the brand. It must tie to the past but give direction for the future, in a relatable and ethical way. It works like this; the vision is the main goal or objective, the mission is what to do to get there, and the core values tells us how to get there.
This guides the future plans of the company and gives direction to the company strategies e.g. operations, product development, and marketing strategy. For a nation the brand positioning statement is fixed in the coat of arms, the national anthem and the national flag while the public personage is changeable. I say this with caution as faces will change, but the identity is supposed to remain within the people throughout time.
Israel's coat of arms is rich in symbolism and direction. It is very simple in comparison to others out there. It connects to the past and situates it clearly in the hearts and mind of the citizenry. The centre piece is the candelabrum dating as far back as 100 BCE. The menorah as it is commonly known as, was also found soon after that period, in Jericho and Jerusalem. But only this one for this period had seven branches.
The land is tied to the people and the religion of the people. The menorah is a religious symbol to remind the people and the world of the history of the land and the people. For years the Jewish people resisted Rome. They were butchered and made to pay heavy taxes.
One revolt was because of Rome's insistence that the practise of circumcision be discontinued. In 135 AD Emperor Hadrian put down a rebellion in Jerusalem. Hadrian wanted them to be like the Syrians who assimilated Rome's beliefs into theirs.
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| Relief of the Menorah on the Arch of Titus |
His vexation with the Jews for not accepting his religion led to:
- replacing the name of the land to Syria-Palestine
- burning the Temple of Jerusalem
- taking the menorah from the Temple and having it paraded in the streets of Rome
- renaming Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina
- replacing synagogues with Roman temples
- banning the teaching of the Torah
- killing any Jews who looked at the fallen capital Jerusalem
- selling all Jewish prisoners into slavery
- exiling the others (this is the fourth exile)
At the base of the menorah are the motifs of the twelve tribes of Israel. Hadrian was strategic in his effort to wipe out the memory of the bond between Jews and their land. He understood the significance of this and proceeded to replace the name of Judea in maps and documents with Syria-Palestine or Palestina. This is known as Hadrian's Curse. It is still very relevant for today as it has caused misunderstandings to say the least.
The coat of arms commemorates the beginning of the end of the fourth exile. The Jews return to Israel in the 20th century and the world finally recognises the nation in 1948. The holocaust that was supported by people who admired Hadrian caused the world to return the land to the people of Israel. The right to existence and to be tied to the land is stated simply with the word Israel.
There was a drastic turning point in Israel's history that is marked by this coat of arms. It is supported by the yearning of the people for peace as represented by the olive branches around it. The tribes of Israel were scattered into exile. They did not know peace as crusade after crusade were launched to murder them. The desire for that peace is seen in the olive branches on the borders of the coat of arms.
The national anthem of Israel reflects both the beliefs of the Jewish people and a longing for peace in the hope of the exile ending. It is called the Hatikvah meaning The Hope in Hebrew. First it was written as a poem in the 1880's by Naftali Herz Imber, a Galician Jew. It declares the land of Zion and Jerusalem. Remember Hadrian killed them for even looking in the direction of the capital, Jerusalem. In comparison, other national anthems are quite aggressive and this contrasts with Israel's desire for peace. Here are a few examples :
Algeria:
We swear by the lightning that destroys, By the streams of generous blood being shed
When we spoke, none listened to us, So we have taken the noise of gunpowder as our rhythm,
And the sound of machine guns as our melody
Italy:
We are ready to die:
The blood of Italy and the Polish blood it drank
Turkish:
For only then, shall my fatigued tombstone, if there is one, prostrate a thousand
times in ecstasy,
and tears of fiery blood shall flow out of my every wound, and my lifeless body
shall gush out from
the earth like an eternal spirit.
France:
The bloody flag is raised, the bloody flag is raised.
Do you hear in the countryside, the roar of these savage soldiers, they come right
into our arms,
to cut the throats of your sons!"
May a tainted blood irrigate our furrows!
Vietnam:
The path to glory passes over the bodies of our foes
Mexico:
War, war without quarter to any who dare
to tarnish the coats of arms of the country!
War, war! Let the national banners be soaked in waves of blood
China:
Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!
With our flesh and blood, let us build a new Great Wall
USA:
...bombs bursting in air
UK:
...scatter her enemies, and make them fall
Can you imagine meeting anyone of them (except Russian) on a football field and
they sing
this before playing? There are some serious issues going on.To be honest Russia's
is quite docile.
Here it is in English:
Gimn Rossiiskoi Federatsii
(National Anthem of Russian Federation)
Latin Transliteration
Verse 1:
Russia is our sacred state,
Russia is our beloved land.
The powerful strength and the great glory
Are your properties for all the time.
Chorus:
Long live our Fatherland, land of the free,
The eternal union of brothers nations,
Given by ancestors the people's wisdom!
Long live our land! We are proud of you!
Verse 2:
From the southern seas to the polar lands
Spread are our forests and fields.
You are unique in the world, one of a kind -
This native land protected by God!
Verse 3:
Wide expanse for dreams and for living
Are opened for us by the coming years
Our loyalty to the Fatherland gives us strength.
So it was, so it is, and so it always will be!
This flag, adopted in 1897 at the Zionist Congress, had become accepted by Jewish communities throughout the world as an emblem of Zionism. Adopting it was natural as on the day of the signing of the recognition they had no flag and many Jews used it to celebrate. It was designed by David Wolffsohn. The blue stripes are the same as the tallit or prayer shawl. It is a symbol of worship. The colours are of purity reminding them of the commandments of Moses to be kept. But the six-pointed star of David is not unique to Israel.
It is a strong identity that is punctuated with history: return, restore, defend, continue, worship. It is still relevant and is it articulated meaningfully not just looked at as a tradition. As journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner said:
Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago. You did the soil and you find pottery from David times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000 year old scrolls written in a script remarkably like the one that today advertises ice cream at the corner candy store. (Krauthammer, 1998)
THE BRAND STRATEGY
The importance of the emblems in branding the nation should be clearly seen in the the people and the Prime Minister. It will be in the speech, actions, policies, education, songs, commitments in spending etc. The emblems provide strong textual and visual messaging that can hold up to any comparison. If the brand is strong there will a specific identity being revealed. The positioning of the nation would be deliberate and easily located in our cognitive memory.
A good brand positioning statement tells the story of the brand and this brand would be easy to elevate in marketing. Brand positioning for a nation is carried through in voice, tone, visual design and representation on social media. This is where I think the brand is weak. Since war is spilled over onto our screens it would appear that Israel has not been able to carry its brand in the social media spaces effectively. You can read up on this in Israel and Palestine On Screens.
The emblems as part of the marketing strategy provides tactical and strategic keys that help the brand to stand out among competitors. This is significant as it shows how marketing strategy for a nation is not just about tourism. Within recent times there was a Palestine-Israeli conflict (May 2021). The brand of Israel was portrayed in two ways. If the brand was articulate and relevant then we should be able to trace it on the media spaces new and old.
OWNERSHIP
Ownership is how the brand is situated in the public mind. This is the difference between the personality brand and the brand personality. Personality branding occurs mainly in the social media spaces. As explained in a previous blog, marketing is founded on trust, integrity, personalisation and authenticity. This was the problem when I embarked on assessing Palestine's representation on screen. See Palestine and Israel - A Case Study in Marketing and Propaganda.
A good positioning statement would be well articulated and prove relevance in present day. I have found that with the brand of Israel. The emblems as a positioning statement are quite effective. However, the general world population is missing it.
The onslaught of false accusations levelled at Israel were illogical and preyed on people's emotions. But this occurred because Israel did not carry the war on the digital spaces except for news media. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends Israel's tactical operations in an interview. In this interview that PM was clear and specific. Very appropriate for the situation. He gave a measure of accountability.
The defence of Israel on the social media platforms was left to individuals and groups. It was difficult for many to relate to Israel. This was in part due to a lack of education on Israel in a manner that Generation Z would be able to accept. It allowed Hamas to get a head start. But it proves Israel as a defender. The social media attack led to the shaping of the news headlines. After all scandals sell and with widespread manipulation of the algorithms it was made to look authentic. There were phases in how it was done:
- spread that Jews were beating up on Palestinians, Israel was victimising worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Israel was setting the mosque on fire and dancing
- Israel is killing babies and families, Israel is Nazi
- Israel is disproportionate
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| American supporters rally for Israel |
Then the onscreen presentation led to rallies and demonstrations for both supporter groups. By this time Israelis were reactionary. This is where the citizens of the nation should be articulate in the country brand. There were rallies by pro-Hamas supporters but when the anti-semitism started it was difficult to respond without the threat of it leading to violence.
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| Israeli supporter in Canada |
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Austrian Chancellor in support of Israel's right to defend itself hoists the Israeli flag next to the Austrian |
From this I see that the ownership of the brand is there but as a strategy the public did not have the information it needed. Some country representatives posted on social media and made a display of support for Israel's right to defend itself. However, it is obvious that Hamas supporters had pre-knowledge of what would happen and how it should be sold to the world. They had inside information.
Consistency in the brand can be seen in the statements of two Prime Ministers who are about fifty years apart.
When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us. (Meir,1973)
Here is a compilation of statements made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, in 2014 after three Israeli teens were murdered by Hamas as reported by Buzzfeed:
- They were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by animals
- In the name of the whole of Israel, I ask to tell the dear families — to the mothers, the fathers, the grandmothers and the grandfathers, the brothers and sisters — our hearts are bleeding, the whole nation is crying with them.
- Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay
The value of the people to the nation is seen in the insistence of absorption and the returning of Jews in policy and action. Even during the war in May 2021, Israel brought in returnees from different parts of the world. Israel will be the largest gathering of the Jewish people. As you can see Nazi racism is not a policy in Israel and due to their own experience with pogroms and the Holocaust it is hardly likely to be there. Here we see that despite the travel restrictions in India due to the corona virus pandemic on May 30th, 2021, returnees arrived in Israel.
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| Members of the Bnei Menashe community from India |
Articulation and relevance can be seen in consistency and continuity. The desire for peace and therefore the defense of Israel and Israelis is a strong commitment. Authenticity is proven in Israel's brand. The positioning statement work in the emblems and therefore the country brand is fixed and identifiable. Israel has to work on how the world relates to it through education. Now that social media has been hijacked for warfare, nations have to now consider marketing as a tactical manoeuvre. I hope that this dive into branding a nation has shown the components of the type of strategy that is needed.
Sources:https://99designs.com/blog/design-history-movements/history-of-branding/
www.designtoday.info/brand-new-the-history-of-branding/
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/how-brands-were-born-a-brief-history-of-modern-marketing/246012/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/brand-positioning
https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/pages/golda%20meir.aspx
http://think-israel.org/ronen.hadriancurse.html
Charles Krauthhammer; "At Last, Zion: Israel and the Fate of the Jews". The Weekly Standard, www.freeman.org. May 11, 1998. 
www.britannica.com/story/what-was-hadrians-relationship-with-his-jewish-subjects Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography edited by Mary Syrkin (1973)
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sheerafrenkel/three-kidnapped-israeli-teens-are-found-dead
www.beholdisrael.org
A good brand positioning statement tells the story of the brand and this brand would be easy to elevate in marketing. Brand positioning for a nation is carried through in voice, tone, visual design and representation on social media. This is where I think the brand is weak. Since war is spilled over onto our screens it would appear that Israel has not been able to carry its brand in the social media spaces effectively. You can read up on this in Israel and Palestine On Screens.
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