Who Are You Talking To?

What business can learn from the

anti-disengagement campaign's failure.

by Dov Gordon

 As marketers, our first job is to understand how our target markets must perceive us in order to want to buy our product or join our cause. Afterwards we can craft a meaningful message. If we emphasize the features and benefits that most appeal to us - but are unimportant to our market we’re doomed.

The anti-disengagement movement made exactly this mistake, providing a case study for any marketer.

Yehudi lo m'garesh Yehudi" ("Jews don't expel Jews") was their most sweeping battle cry, but to the majority of Israelis this slogan was empty and meaningless, if not offensive.

There were three broad categories of opinions about disengagement:

1.       Those who adamantly opposed the disengagement.

2.       Those who supported disengagement but whose opinions could still be swayed.

3.       The staunch supporters.

Ninety percent of the anti-disengagement marketing effort should have focused on the people in the second category. The questions that should have been asked were "Who are they?” and “What moves them?"

A recent survey showed that 70% of disengagement supporters would change their minds if they were convinced that leaving Gaza will boost terror. These are the people in the second category, and they care about security and economic prosperity. They very much want to believe that Sharon’s move will ameliorate the situation, but they have their doubts.

The anti-disengagement movement should have worked day and night to convince this second category that the disengagement will bring fresh terror even closer to their homes. They should have portrayed the resulting economic picture as bleak indeed and liable to hit new lows. Month after month they should have repeated the same mantra supported by statistics, precedents, maps, and experts.

Occasionally we did see such banners, but these were few and far between. Most of the marketing ranged from the airy-fairy ("We have love and it will win.") to appeals for pity ("How can you uproot these nice people and sweet children from their homes?") to talk about the immorality of rewarding terrorists. And of course, "Yehudi…" These messages are akin to a salesperson in a furniture store talking up the virtues of a stunning leather couch when the customer wants a recliner.

“Say unto others as you would want others to say unto you” is a huge marketing mistake.

It wasn't until early June, a mere ten weeks before the deadline, that the Likud "rebels" launched a formal campaign with the slogan "Disengagement will bring terror. We must reconsider." Too little, too late.

A failure like this often points to an even weaker link at the core of an organization. A comprehensive analysis would fill a book, so here is a key insight that applies to any organization.

There are four steps to developing and executing a strategic marketing campaign:

1.       Our company or movement must establish common values and articulate our mission.

2.       We then form a single vision based on our shared values.

3.       With the vision in mind, we ask: a. Whose support do we need in order to reach our goals? b. How do these people need to perceive us in order to want to buy our product or join our cause? (Strategy.)

4.       Finally, we choose and execute tactical steps that were carefully designed to show each segment how our vision will serve their interests.

On the surface it seemed that the various factions opposing withdrawal shared a common goal - to stop it. But this was an illusion.

We see past the facade when we notice how the factions could not agree on an acceptable price to pay to stop Sharon.

Is it legitimate to block roads? Is it legitimate to pressure soldiers to refuse to carry out government decisions? Is it okay to draw parallels with the Holocaust? Some said yes. Others said absolutely not. To some the goal was to ensure Israel’s long term security and strength, while to others the goal was to stay in Gaza.

No anti-disengagement leader was strong enough to unify the factions around one goal, yet they rushed ahead helter-skelter to the final, tactical stage.

When a group can't agree on basic values to unite them, each faction becomes preoccupied with preserving its unique voice, and there’s little hope of influencing outsiders.

Only when organized around a single goal can an organization turn its attention to understanding and influencing its target market.

Dov Gordon is President of The Gordon Group, an executive coaching and strategy consulting firm. He also facilitates the Executive Round-Table, a peer group for CEO's of mid-sized companies.  

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Copyright 2005 © by Dov Gordon.  All rights reserved.