Peace-Keeping Efforts

Unilever’s detergent launch belies the uneasy atmosphere in Israel.

In a country such as Israel, where current interactions are shaped by thousand-year-old conflicts, the past always has an impact on the present. But sometimes, even a simple promotion can provide a few moments of unity in a nation split by dissension.

It’s a well-known fact that Israelis are avid consumers, a fact made evident by the country’s rapid transformation into a cosmopolitan, consumerist society whose major cities don’t look or feel much different from those in the U.S. (OK, maybe a little).

In particular, Israelis love events, especially big ones. Perhaps it’s because almost three quarters of the Israeli population is under the age of 30, and therefore still has plenty of desire for fun. Or maybe it has something to do with the country’s beautiful climate and consumers’ strong desire to be outside.

Remember, for instance, the Dance & Levi’s promotion in 1997, which brought together tens of thousands of young consumers for an all-night dance party in the Negev Desert. (Promarket handled.) Or the Mey Eden-sponsored relay races of 1996, which had hundreds of restaurant personnel showing off their waiter skills by running around the streets of Tel-Aviv toting trays of a new bottled-water brand. (That was also handled by Promarket). More recently, the Love Parade brought together dozens of bands and brands, as well as thousands of Israeli teens, for an afternoon of eating, drinking, singing, and dancing down the main streets of Tel-Aviv.

It’s a competitive market and, despite the country’s relatively small population (with a total of 5.5 million, it’s smaller than Belgium, Tasmania, and even New Jersey), there are dozens of promotion agencies creating very big ideas for a wide array of national and global brands.

Consider the significance, then, of Unilever’s recent alliance with Yalla, a seven-month-old Tel-Aviv promotion agency charged with launching Surf, the global CPG maker’s latest brand of laundry detergent. Perhaps bigger than the roll out itself was the news that the launch event would take place not in Israeli territory, but in Ramalla, a rural area located in the country’s Palestinian territory. (The company hired a local Arab agency to work with Yalla.)

Unilever invited 800 large and small retailers from throughout Ramalla to attend a gala event at the territory’s only hotel. The mysterious nature of the invitations intrigued the recipients so much that every one of them showed up. Attendees were treated to an afternoon of fun, games, and food. Unilever’s Palestinian general manager, Farid El-Faleh, and its Israeli ceo, Rey Bremnard, introduced the new product while a giant banner unfurled down the outside walls of the hotel. The marketer’s goal was to create awareness for the brand while encouraging retailers to stock their shelves.

The party began with a huge display of fireworks that resulted in a visit from the local Palestinian police, who needed confirmation that the blasts were not coming from terrorist activity. (While Unilever’s two executives were touting the merits of clean clothes, Yasser Arafat and an Israeli peace minister were just down the street trying to hammer out a peace treaty.)

Unilever mixed business with pleasure to get its message out. Executives introduced details of a promotion that encouraged retailers to stock Surf for a chance to win exotic travel packages to Turkey, London, and Prague. The more boxes they stocked, the better their chances became. Product brochures and collateral materials hyped the product, the promotion, and the prizes.

To make the event even more interesting, Unilever invited all 800 retailers to jump into the hotel’s pool to be the first to retrieve a Surf box sitting at the bottom. The winner received two plane tickets to an exotic destination. A dinner banquet, followed by product displays, more fireworks, and an exit sampling hand-out rounded out the day’s events.

As is often typical with Israeli promotions, the effort was a great success. The brand is gaining momentum with both the trade and consumers, as is evident by the number of Surf boxes on shelves these days.

If only the political unrest could end.