I’m Sorry, But That’s Not Marketing
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Egyptian Gumbo is back, and I’ve decided to let my husband have a little taste of my online gumbo recipe – a little sas, a little attitude, much needed information, and a lot of fun. So welcome Belal as the newest writer for EgyptianGumbo.com.
Last week, we read an article on MuslimMatters together which got us tossing and turning at night. “Surely we cant just let it go, can we?” We’ve debated with this question for a while, and the result is, yup — this blog post. We couldn’t let it go. So MuslimMatters, this one is for you:
This is specifically in response to part three of the Islamic marketing series, which is written by ibnabeeomar.
We’re sorry for having to do this, but there are some major mistakes in the article.
Let’s start with the basic understand that public relations and branding are two completely different facets of marketing.
The article states,
Marketing is also closely tied to branding – or the perception that people have of your organization
For example, if you run an organization closely tied to youth activities, people’s perception of you will always be of being youth focused. Even if you later try to brand yourself as something tailored for adults, it is hard to shed that reputation.
Just like Nike may brand itself one way, but people invariably associate its “brand” with sweatshop abuse.
The reason this is important to keep in mind is because I strongly believe certain types of marketing practices can brand an Islamic organization one way or another (most often in a negative fashion).
Branding has to do with the image in the minds of the people that has been built over a period of time supplemented with symbolism, colors, and emotions. Its a one-way communication from the company to the masses.
PR has to do with managing the communication between the company and its publics, therefore it’s two-way communication.
Let’s give the example of a company’s “image.” More specifically, lets look at cars since that’s the example you used in your article.
You posted these four videos —
Two of the videos were straight branding and the other two were straight sales — no PR or branding involved.
If we’re talking branding with the Infinity and BMW commercial, the branding is PURE, FAST, SPORTY, and THRILL.
Notice the white background in both videos. Notice the focus on speed and sharp turns.
How do we turn that into PR?
Lets say one of the cars has a transmission problem and people are questioning the quality of these expensive cars. A PR rep might hold a press conference assuring customers the vehicle is safe. Also, PR reps could recommend the company extend its warranty on the transmission — sort of like what Acura did with the CL and TL models from 2001-2003.
Another PR stunt would be to get reviewers from car magazines to test drive and give their thoughts on the different facets and benefits of what this car has to offer in comparison to the others in its class.
By the way, Nike didn’t have a “branding issue” with the sweat shops. They had a PR issue. No one questioned the quality of Nike shoes. They questioned ethics which is a PR issue. If Nike hadn’t taken care of the issue, over an extended period of time it would eventually turn into a branding issue.
To an extent, branding and PR are closely related, but we cannot mix the two and say they are the same.
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Strategy vs. Tactics
Throughout the article the word “strategy” was used in place of the term “tactic.”
Every single Islamic program nowadays is doing the best it can to showcase itself as the best program on the planet, being as flashy as possible, and utilizing whatever strategies are at its disposal to convince people to attend.
Sometimes out of our zeal to get people to attend programs and benefit from them, we sometimes use strategies that can degrade the noble thing that we are calling to.
You followed the last statement with what Seth Godin is describing as specific tactics.
What’s the difference you might ask?
STRATEGY itself isn’t an action plan or a formula. Strategy is simply the evolution of a core idea within a company that is operating within changing circumstances.
An effective strategy comes with understanding several things:
- What advantages your company has on the ground?
- What ways you can suprise the industry?
- What are the different approaches one can take to attack an industry?
- Who are the people that one can team with to assist in that attack?
- What moral forces will come into play?
- How you’ll bear focus on a single point within the industry itself?
An effective strategy has to do with having an understanding of who you are and who/what the centers of power and influence are within a given industry and knowing that those are the power centers one has to attack.
Another way you can define strategy is the understanding of:
- What is the overall impact that your organizations long range goals will have.
- What is the ultimate accomplishment and ultimate position – the perception in the minds of people – you want your organization to have in the market
TACTICS are the specific actions you take to fulfill your organization’s strategic objectives and support the position that is being targeted and knowing that those specific efforts are fulfilling the strategic objectives of the organization individually and together.
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As you can tell, that section on strategy was clearly written by Belal alone and I was unsuccessful in Gumbofying it. I gave up. He talks too technical. So to that I say, “Batatis.”
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Ibnabeeomar had good and valid points in his article and by no means is this undermining his general thoughts. We agreed and disagreed with him on some issues but we decided not to comment on the main theme of the article but rather the nitty gritty things that may not seem so big or important to most people.
We felt it is important for most individuals to understand the nitty gritty details because whether you are a volunteer or and admin planning events with MSAs you are responsible for marketing just as much as the marketing director.
These things are essential to execution and success after the tawfeeq of Allah ‘az wa jal.
This article is a joint effort of Belal Khan and Shirien Elamawy.
Strategy vs. Tactics
Throughout the article the word “strategy” was used in place of the term “tactic.”
Sometimes out of our zeal to get people to attend programs and benefit from them, we sometimes use strategies that can degrade the noble thing that we are calling to.
You followed the last statement with what Seth Godin is describing as specific tactics.
What’s the difference you might ask?
STRATEGY itself isn’t an action plan or a formula. Strategy is simply the evolution of a core idea within a company that is operating within changing circumstances.
An effective strategy comes with understanding several things:
- What advantages your company has on the ground?
- What ways you can suprise the industry?
- What are the different approaches one can take to attack an industry?
- Who are the people that one can team with to assist in that attack?
- What moral forces will come into play?
- How you’ll bear focus on a single point within the industry itself?
An effective strategy has to do with having an understanding of who you are and who/what the centers of power and influence are within a given industry and knowing that those are the power centers one has to attack.
Another way you can define strategy is the understanding of:
- What is the overall impact that your organizations long range goals will have.
- What is the ultimate accomplishment and ultimate position – the perception in the minds of people – you want your organization to have in the market
TACTICS are the specific actions you take to fulfill your organization’s strategic objectives and support the position that is being targeted and knowing that those specific efforts are fulfillillng the strategic objectives of the organization individually and together.
– –
As you can tell, that section on strategy was clearly written by Belal alone and I was unsuccessful in Gumbofying it. I gave up. He talks too technical. So to that I say, “Batatis.”
– –
Br. Ibnabeeomar had good and valid points in his article and by no means is this undermining his general thoughts. We agreed and disagreed with him on some issues but we decided not to comment on the main theme of the article but rather the nitty gritty things that may not seem so big or important to most people. We felt it is important for most individuals to understand the nitty gritty details because whether you are a volunteer or and admin planning events with MSAs you are responsible for marketing just as much as the marketing director. These things are essential to execution and success after the tawfeeq of Allah ‘az wa jal.
This article is a joint effort of Belal Khan and Shirien Elamawy.
