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How to (re)position a country? A case study of the power of micro-marketing

Author

Listed:
  • Ido Aharoni

    (New York University)

  • Amir Grinstein

    (VU Amsterdam)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The concept of country branding – and its core guiding principle of positioning – triggers interest among politicians, policy-makers, businesses, and consumers. Increasing understanding of the most effective country positioning (or re-positioning) practices can be especially valuable for countries with long-lasting sub-optimal images. This article contributes to the country branding literature in multiple ways. Unlike prior research that often studies countries that suffer a reputational crisis following a one-time negative event, we focus on the study of a country with a prolonged negative image. Unlike most existing work that focuses on the study of communication tactics to improve a country’s reputation, we focus on a strategic, systematic, and long-term re-positioning process. Further, we propose an alternative country (re)positioning approach to traditional practices that are guided by two outdated principles, as many of them follow “an advocacy model,” which is at the heart of classic and public diplomacy, or apply a “broadcasting”-based communication approach. Specifically, the article introduces a country (re)positioning practice that is based on a marketing/“narrowcasting” approach, labeled “micro-marketing.” It then presents a case in point: the micro-marketing re-positioning of Israel – a strategic and systematic decade-long process that began in 2004. This case is of interest because Israel is a relatively young and very small country, which faces extreme geo-political challenges, and has been the subject of prolonged negative international media coverage. The article concludes with reporting positive changes in Israel’s brand/overall positioning performance and perception over time (2007–2015), as well as other country-level and niche-market-level indicators that demonstrate the effectiveness of the re-positioning approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Ido Aharoni & Amir Grinstein, 2017. "How to (re)position a country? A case study of the power of micro-marketing," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(4), pages 293-307, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:pbapdi:v:13:y:2017:i:4:d:10.1057_s41254-017-0055-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41254-017-0055-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sivadas, Eugene & Grewal, Rajdeep & Kellaris, James, 1998. "The Internet as a Micro Marketing Tool: Targeting Consumers through Preferences Revealed in Music Newsgroup Usage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 179-186, March.
    2. Ruxandra-Irina POPESCU & Razvan-Andrei CORBOS, 2011. "The Strategic Analysis of Singapore`s Brand and Rebrand Campaigns," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(2), pages 332-349, May.
    3. Graham Hankinson, 2015. "Rethinking the Place Branding Construct," Springer Books, in: Mihalis Kavaratzis & Gary Warnaby & Gregory J. Ashworth (ed.), Rethinking Place Branding, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 13-31, Springer.
    4. Eli Avraham & Eran Ketter, 2016. "Tourism Marketing for Developing Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-34215-7.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gabriela ZAI, 2018. "The Country Brand- An Objective That Is Difficult To Accomplish," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 12(1), pages 889-894, November.
    2. Tal Samuel-Azran & Betti Ilovici & Israel Zari & Orly Geduild, 2019. "Practicing citizen diplomacy 2.0: “The Hot Dudes and Hummus—Israel’s Yummiest” campaign for Israel’s branding," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(1), pages 38-49, March.
    3. Yoav Dubinsky, 2022. "Sport-tech diplomacy: exploring the intersections between the sport-tech ecosystem, innovation, and diplomacy in Israel," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(2), pages 169-180, June.

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