JackYan.com
Jack and Aston Martin V8 Vantage Monaco street signs
Jack Yan: the Persuader blog
  Click here to go to home pageWhat I stand forMy stuffWhat others have recently saidMeet some of the coolest folks I knowDrop me a line Visit my workplace
> My stuff > The Persuader Blog


11.8.06

Al-Qaeda: as a brand, brought down to size 

With the latest airline blown by and undercover agents, there is a lot of talk once again about , the movement, and whether the latest suspects have any connection to . I keep saying: if you study al-Qaeda as a virtual brand—something I have plenty of expertise in, considering I have started all my organizations virtually—then it is easier to bring it down to size. And yes, all al-Qaeda-style attacks can be linked back to the core terror group, just as they would with a franchise or a worldwide virtual team—which is what these cells actually form. The al-Qaeda “head office” has its press releases, and even .
   Brought down to size, as I wrote back in 2004 and again earlier this year, we have less to fear from these cowards. Besides, all great movements spread contentment and love, not fear. Thus, like a brand that promotes fear and doubt, al-Qaeda is headed to powerlessness.

Del.icio.us tags: brand branding al-Qaeda terrorism terror plot war on terror
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Comments:
Well, Jack, I can appreciate the optimism behind your relating al-Qaeda to brands. But it could also be argued that the group is a pretty unique challenger brand, executing a marketing plan unlike anything in any category.

When a brand elicits negative responses, consumers can effectively eliminate it by ignoring and/or refusing to buy it. Or if a brand proves dangerous, governmental agencies will move in and remove it from the marketplace. With the al-Qaeda brand, consumers dare not ignore it. And governmental agencies are being thwarted because the dangerous brand operates very aggressively, attacking versus submitting. This brand refuses to be regulated by any standards.

Other fear-based brands like Nazis, skinheads, the IRA and the KKK may be on the downside of their lifespan bell curves, but it hardly makes them any less dangerous.

History has seen plenty of brands promoting fear and doubt that have lasted longer than, say, a typical American automotive brand.

That’s the scary part in this case study.  
Thank you, Highjive, for your insight. You are absolutely right about these brands’ longevity and danger. I do feel that the structure of the organization is similar to many virtual companies though, and once we apply that analysis, it may be easier to disrupt it. It is the brand that draws these folks together; once damaged, either through propaganda or other means, it will be harder for al-Qaeda et al to recruit.
   The fact that political groups that endorse terrorism have been so effective against the west and Israel is something we can’t ignore—because these messages can go both ways.  
Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

 

 

Note

Entries from 2006 to the end of 2009 were done on the Blogger service. As of January 1, 2010, this blog has shifted to a Wordpress installation, with the latest posts here.
   With Blogger ceasing to support FTP publishing on May 1, I have decided to turn these older pages in to an archive, so you will no longer be able to enter comments. However, you can comment on entries posted after January 1, 2010.


Quick links

Surf to the online edition of Lucire
  • More ramblings at the Lucire Insider blog
  • The Medinge Group
  • Jack Yan for Mayor
  • My Facebook page
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • My Vkontakte page
  • Book me for public speaking
  • Contact JY&A Consulting on business projects
  • Check out fonts from JY&A Fonts
  • Add feeds




    Add feed to Bloglines

    Individual JY&A and Medinge Group blogs

  • Lucire: Insider
  • Summer Rayne Oakes
  • The Medinge Group press room
  • Detective Marketing
  • Amanda van Kuppevelt
  • Delineate Brandhouse
  • Paolo Vanossi
  • Nigel Dunn
  • Pameladevi Govinda
  • Endless Road
  • Avidiva news
  • Johnnie Moore’s Weblog
  • Steal This Brand Too
  • The Beyond Branding Blog
  • Ton’s Interdependent Thoughts
  • Partum Intelligendo
  • Right Side up
  • Headshift
  • Goiaba Brazilian Music
  • Jack Yan on Tumblr (brief addenda)

  • +

    Previous posts

  • ‘New Zealand Made’ means New Zealand-made: how har...
  • The cyclo travels west
  • Arguing on Good Morning
  • Blogger outage today
  • Coke was it
  • Back on the circuit
  • Mitsubishi goes from style leader to product-pushe...
  • Happy Danes are here again
  • Ford may sell Jaguar, with Land Rover as sweetener...
  • Finding Smart money by not Dodging Colt


  • Donate

    If you wish to help with my hosting costs, please feel free to donate.