“Marketing the War in Iraq ”

MARKETING TIPS

by Ken Mitchell

14 April 2003

The outcome of the brief war in Iraq had its casualties including the truth.   Marketing a war is identical to marketing a product in so much as perception is reality – and you create perception with a good marketing strategy. 

As with the 1990 war, the marketing put the WOW factor back into the war and made it a media “must see”.   Journalists were “embedded” with troops which means in exchange for their access to instant front line reporting of events they are subject to some degree of control leading to a form of controlled perception by viewers around the world.

The old marketing saying “tell them what you are about to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them” is the basis for building expectations and creating perceptions.   Being delivered a live vision TV based Wow factor show with high ratings confirms the perceptions, the post battle by battle discussions repeating what you showed them – in advertising repetition is very important to have the message sink in and consolidate the desired perception.

But marketing a war is also very different to marketing a product as we have Trade Practices legislation to protect us from lies, half lies and deceptions including misinformation and disinformation.  In a modern warfare these otherwise illegal means are essential tools for propaganda and are part of an integrated communications strategy.  Who can forget the beyond belief whoppers– see through lies are seen as just lies, but well planned strategic lies shorten the war (the enemy believes they have lost and surrender) and “sells” to the voters and rest of the world a nice version of what is happening and what it was all about.  

By the way was it about oil or democracy or justice or WMD or terrorism or something else - it is easy to be sold a war and forget what it was about in the same way as you remember a beer commercial but forget the brand of beer.

Ken Mitchell is the CEO of Australian Marketing & Research Services and can be contacted on 62576677w, or ken@AMRSonline.com.au