YISRAEL MEDAD: P.R., “BRANDING’ AND MARKETING A PALARAB STATE
http://myrightword.blogspot.com/2011/10/palestinian-black-arts-brand.html
Word is out they are going to try brand “Palestine” as this firm, Qorvis, has signed a contract and registered as a Foreign Agent for piurposes of working with the Palestinian Authority (or is it Fatah, or the PLO?):-
“One of Washington’s best-known lobbying and public relations firms has been upended in the wake of the turmoil in the Middle East due in part to its representation of some of the region’s autocratic governments…
“One of the methods used by Qorvis and other firms is online reputation management — through its Geo-Political Solutions (GPS) division, the firm uses ‘”black arts” by creating fake blogs and websites that link back to positive content, “to make sure that no one online comes across the bad stuff,” says the former insider. Other techniques include the use of social media, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.”
Update:- see LBD here on Qorvis which was also raided by the FBI for setting up a dummy organization to hammer Israel – the Alliance of Peace and Justice in the Middle East.
Already in July we had this story:
…a nation-brand is already in the making. Over the past few months, a group of influential Palestinian business leaders has been quietly working to set up a special body charged with creating a Palestinian nation-brand and promoting it around the world.
If everything goes to plan, the first campaigns will be launched later this year. The initial markets targeted are the US and, perhaps more surprisingly, Israel.
“There is a lack of knowledge and understanding about how we operate and behave, and what we believe in,” says Samir Hulileh, the chief executive of Padico, a Ramallah-based conglomerate and the biggest Palestinian company by market value. “Outside Palestine, people either see us as a primitive community and a third world country, full of gangsters and terrorists. Or they don’t have an impression at all.” [hmmmm]
Padico is…in the final stages of setting up a new Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy charged with overseeing the campaign, and intend to hire an international marketing company in the coming months…
And now, these details:
…three-month, $90K contract with Qorvis involves PR, advertising, direct mail, social media as well as lobbying to opinion makers and policymakers.
From the paper work filed with the Department of Justice:
“The business community of Palestine is undertaking a branding campaign for Palestine. The goals of the campaign are to foster a better understanding of Palestine and its people and promote international trade and tourism.
Many people around the world do not have a clear understanding or picture of Palestine…The campaign is funded by the business community through the Palestinian American Chamber of Commerce. The campaign is being managed by Palestine’s top public relations and advertising firm, Ellam Tam.
Ellam Tam has been at work already since last August:
PR Newswire, a global provider of electronic distribution, targeting, measurement and broadcast services for business news, and Ellam Tam, Palestine’s First Strategic Communications Company, signed an agreement by which Ellam Tam will be able to represent PR Newswire services in the Palestinian Market. The agreement will come into effect starting July 1st 2010, providing the private sector in Palestine with a gateway to publish its news globally and with selected leading industry news channels.
“This agreement allows the Palestinian business community to benefit from the spread of services that PR Newswire provides in the area of electronic distribution and measurement services. Our company services thousands of corporate and government entities around the globe. We believe that our provision of PR Newswire services in Palestine is a tremendous opportunity for local enterprises, international businesses and aid agencies that are operating in Palestine to benefit from the many advantages of a professional global electronic media distribution network with an extensive network of regional and global news media,” said Lisa Ashworth, CEO PR Newswire Europe. “Our services will assist different business sectors in Palestine in efficiently targeting the appropriate media outlets across the globe – be it in Industry, ICT, Tourism, Trade, Real Estate, Banking, Finance, Telecommunications and NGOs.”
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