Face-lifting Israel

The Washington Times is reporting that:

Israel's international image is hurting, and the country's top officials have turned to the wisdom of Madison Avenue in a bid to "re-brand" their product.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with public relations executives, branding specialists and diplomats in September in Tel Aviv to brainstorm about improving the country's image by using the marketing insights first developed to sell peanut butter and Pontiacs.

Israeli officials complain that the international press gives the country a warlike image by focusing on its military might and the string of conflicts with its Arab neighbors. Mrs. Livni told the Tel Aviv gathering that she would like to project a more inviting image of the Jewish state.

A warlike image? Excuse me but, isn't this is the REAL image of Israel?

[Ben Heine © Cartoons]

"When the word 'Israel' is said outside its borders, we want it to invoke not fighting or soldiers, but a place that is desirable to visit and invest in, a place that preserves democratic ideals while struggling to exist," she said, according to a Reuters news agency report. A staffer with the London-based global ad firm Saatchi and Saatchi is already working with the Israelis free of charge on the re-branding effort.

Democracy? Oh yeah, she means "democracy of the terrorists"... check out Liberman history and the recent war crimes by Olmert and his gang!

David Saranga, consul for media and public affairs at the Israeli Consulate in New York, said the public relations effort is still at an early stage. Mrs. Livni recently put the image initiative on the government's agenda and will soon develop a budget for the program, he said.

Get ready fellow American taxpayers. Your money is going to be used to re-brand war criminals and apartheid state as angels living in the lands of honey and milk. Check out this for proof!

Mrs. Livni is also forming a coalition within the government that would join with the private sector in defining the essence of the country, Mr. Saranga said.

A report released last month shows the scale of the re-branding job. Author Simon Anholt said his surveys show that Israel's image abroad is so bad that any re-branding campaign would be "pointless."

I won't buy in this. This man is after more money, that's all. Money can buy you anything and this business man is just bargaining to get a bigger share of the taxpayers money.

Israel's negative image results from a variety of factors, from its history of armed conflict to the widespread sympathy in the Middle East and Europe for the Palestinians to simple bias against Jews.

And that's just the right thing, unless they believe that all humans (but Zionists) are in fact inhumane without feelings and brain!

"The politics of a country can affect every aspect of a person's perception about that country," Mr. Anholt said. To permanently change the country's image, Israel has to "be prepared to change its behavior" in the areas of international peace and security.

hmmm... this man is kidding, isn't he? Israel can't change its behavior, simply because she lives on the fears of its people. If the Middle East conflict is over, they can't robber Americans and the world anymore!!!

Mr. Anholt, an independent researcher from Britain and adviser to governments on branding, has developed the Anholt Nation Brands Index -- an analytical ranking of the world's nations as brands. The survey recently polled 25,903 online consumers from 36 countries in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Israel finished dead last in the survey, behind Estonia, Indonesia and Turkey.

I'm not surprised, are you?

Looking at it from other perspective, Mr. Anholt is out of business if Israel scored good in the survey, won't he?... as if that needs a survey!

Among the factors considered in a nation's "brand" are the quality of the country's government, its culture, its people, its business and investment climate, and its desirability as a tourist destination.

"A nation's brand is a deep-seated perception that does not change a great deal," Mr. Anholt said. "There is no evidence that re-branding campaigns change people's minds."

Say that again... again... again... ag... "repeating a lie makes it a fact." This guy needs to go back to marketing school.

Guy Toledano, head of the Branding Israel Committee at the Israeli Advertising Association in Tel Aviv, said he was "not surprised" by the survey's grim findings. But he rejected Mr. Anholt's suggestion that marketing and public relations can't improve Israel's image.

"This is a long-term effort that goes much deeper than an advertising campaign," Mr. Toledano said. "... I am worried about this as a citizen. I can never give up or consider this a lost cause."

See... believers that money can change ANYTHING!

Mr. Anholt said this strategy has little hope of success because the only thing people associate with Israel are its conflicts. "The most useful thing Israel can do with the results is stop wasting taxpayer money in a re-branding campaign," he said.

Although preliminary research on Israel's global image has been under way for more than four years, "not one penny had been spent on branding so far," Mr. Saranga said.

Arsenal no? What was all the hundreds of millions paid for then? Footballs and uniforms for the fan club?

The research showed that Americans saw Israel only in terms of its military and its religion. The perceptions were even worse in Europe and other regions.

"Israel is not perceived as a fun place where people live," Mr. Saranga said.

Now that's good news. Finally, the real image of Israel is getting to the world (even if at small scale). I'm happy to hear this. It just gives me a motivation in doing more of what I'm doing.