What Corporate Marketers Can Learn About Brand Management From The US Government
On a recent trip to the Middle East, I was completely surprised by what I learned about America’s image on the Arab street. Contrary to what I had seen and read in the news, there was nothing wrong with how America is perceived in the Middle East. America’s brand, as it were, is clear and strong. That’s not to say that there isn’t confusion, frustration and sometimes anger towards the United States, there most certainly is. But so many of those negative feelings have nothing to do with Arabs’ perceptions or misperception of America’s brand. They are, in fact, firmly rooted in how America has managed Arab expectations, expectations set by America itself.
My trip took me to Oman. A moderate Arab state just below Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Slightly smaller than Kansas, the western friendly Sultanate of Oman is still a monarchy and has been ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said since 1970. My weeklong trip coincided with the holy month of Ramadan. Like much of the Middle East, it is law to follow the rules of Ramadan. This includes no eating or drinking during the day for the whole month, no matter how hot it gets. The rules do not apply to foreigners, but out of respect we did not eat or drink in public view during the day. Though I spent most of my time in the capital, Muscat, I did take a day trip out of the city to see more of the country. More importantly, I met with and talked to many people: Omanis, expatriates (there is a large Indian population in Oman), and Americans who are posted there with the military or State Department.
In the US, much fuss has been made of America’s image – its “brand”— in the Middle East. In October, 2001, the Bush administration appointed former CEO of advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson, Charlotte Beers, as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, essentially America’s global brand manager. Ms. Beers set out to “build” America’s brand in the Middle East with a $5 million advertising campaign to run on television in the Middle East and Asia. The “Shared Values Initiative” depicted Arab-Americans to demonstrate to the world’s Muslims that America is not anti-Islam. Governments, including Egypt and Jordan, refused to run the campaign on the grounds that is was American political propaganda and Ms. Beers resigned shortly after citing “health reasons.”
The global brand manager job has since been handed to Karen Hughes, George W. Bush’s former Director of Communications while he was Texas governor. Ms. Hughes has been traveling the Muslim world with her message of American tolerance and opportunity. Her efforts, as of yet, have seen little significant impact.
The Arab street, like most of the world, have a very clear image of what America represents. And with that clear image, they have certain expectations of the world’s wealthiest nation and last remaining superpower (facts they freely accept). They know that America is an open society filled with opportunity, some of them even fantasize about the American Dream. They also know that America operates with a high regard for the rule of law. All of these things are accurate depictions of America’s brand successfully communicated by years of American policy and Presidential speeches. Charlotte Beers and Karen Hughes have been trying to tell Muslims things they already know. What America’s brand mangers have failed to do is effectively bring those expectations to life.
The Messenger Matters As Much As the Message
Arabs mistrust anything the US government tells them. But this is not anti-American sentiment. Arabs, I learned, mistrust messages from all governments, including their own. When diplomats show up and give speeches about the opportunities in America and how America wants to help the Arab peoples, no matter how right and accurate the information, it will always be greeted with cynicism...the same cynicism with which they greet comments on reform from their own leaders. A story was relayed to me about a speech a US diplomat gave to a room of parents and students about opportunities available for education in the US. He ran through all the benefits of the program, but the parents remained reluctant to send their children abroad. By chance, a member of the audience, an Arab woman, stood up and explained how she had been to America and raved about her experience. Not until the parents heard this personal endorsement did they want to send their children to America.
It’s no different in business. Consumers are more likely to buy a Ford automobile based on a recommendation from a neighbor rather from Bill Ford, Ford’s CEO and multimillionaire great-grandson of Henry Ford (Bill Ford is currently featured in Ford’s latest ad campaign telling consumers what good quality cars Ford makes).
The Experience Matters. So Create Opportunities For Experiences
No number of ad campaigns or diplomatic speeches can change minds on the Arab Street as effectively as one personal recommendation from another Arab. I was surprised, then, to learn that there are few, if any, programs to bring average Arabs over to America to experience it for themselves. Some I talked to in Oman lamented the $5 million that Charlotte Beers spent on an advertising campaign that could have funded a exchange program instead. Curious if it would work, I asked others I met and learned that there was one such independent program done as an experiment. An Omani factory worker, an average Joe, was invited to visit America at no expense to him. The worker, as I was told, was not particularly fond of America, but he was open-minded. He was taken to rural America, to cities, to the East coast and West coast and upon his return, he raved to fellow factory workers of his American experience. He reported back that there were churches everywhere, proving that America was not the Godless society they thought it was. He also reported that he was not treated any differently because he was a Muslim. He was welcomed with open-arms wherever he went. Because of his real experience, this one man was influencing the opinions of an entire factory.
It became obvious from my experience that America’s brand managers need to find creative ways for the average Arab to experience America – whether they create more exchange programs or do things in the Middle East that bring to life the expectations Arabs have for America.
As for the lessons for corporate America, if the Arab Street is any indication, no matter how poorly your company is perceived and no matter what the misperceptions, no level of marketing spending can create the instant effect of one credible personal recommendation. The challenge for corporations is how to effectively and efficiently inspire those personal recommendations to happen.
