Re-Branding Israel: Priority or Pointless? [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
"When the word 'Israel [3]' 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," said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, during a September meeting with "public relations executives, branding specialists and diplomats" in Tel Aviv. Livni "recently put the image initiative on the government's agenda and will soon develop a budget for the program," according to the Israeli Consulate in New York's media and public affairs consul. "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." British researcher and branding expert Simon Anholt [4] "said his surveys show that Israel's image abroad is so bad that any re-branding campaign would be 'pointless,'" unless Israel is "'prepared to change its behavior' in the areas of international peace and security." He added, "The most useful thing Israel can do ... is stop wasting taxpayer money in a re-branding campaign."