Israel Matzav: How to market Israel

How to market Israel

London-based marketing expert Jonathan Gabbay is ridiculing the hasbara (public diplomacy) website set up by the government, and says that we have to explain Israel's positions and not try to smooth things over by talking about Bar Rephaeli and tourism.

For Gabay, this is "too fluffy." Rather, such a campaign should work according to his basic branding model, for which he draws the interior of an egg. The values - the white - draw their strength from its core idea, the yolk. Masbirim, Gabay contests, focuses too much on Israel's values - such as tourism, culture and science. "What is Israel about? It's not just about Bar Refaeli, as beautiful as she is," he said. "Without the central bit, all this stuff is fluff and doesn't mean anything."

Gabay proposes Israel to be more straightforward about the one issue people connect with the brand Israel - the conflict with the Palestinians. Instead of merely reacting to accusations of oppression or war crimes, Jerusalem should actively and confidently - but not arrogantly - explain why it's acting the way it does, Gabay suggests. "Treat people intelligently and they will respond. Treat people as if you're selling soap powder and people won't believe you. That's the bottom line."

As you all can guess, I'm with Gabbay on this.

Israel Matzav: How to market Israel