-Caveat Lector-
http://www.buyitordie.com/us-military-needs-image-makeover-in-iraq-study-12350.html
US military needs ?image makeover? in Iraq: study
IC Publications
Agence France Presse
21 July 2007
The US military could take a hint from the advertising world when it
comes to building a better image in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to
a study for the Pentagon released this week.
?Just as people think ?safety? when they think of Volvo automobiles,
the US military needs to establish a strong brand identity that is
consistently communicated through all US force actions and messages,?
said the study by the independent RAND Corporation.
Instead of sending a positive message, the ?show of force? brand that
has been touted by the US military in its operations has had a
negative effect on local populations, undermining potential support,
it said.
?The central feature of consumer marketing is: know your target
audience so you can satisfy their needs,? said RAND associate
behavioral scientist Todd Helmus, a lead author of the report.
?The US armed forces need to know who the civilian populations of Iraq
and Afghanistan are, apply that knowledge through day-to-day
operations, and monitor how those civilian populations perceive US
operations ? Then the military can adjust operations to get more
civilian support.?
The research study analyzes marketing techniques including branding,
customer satisfaction, and ?harnessing the power of ?influencers.?? It
found that the same techniques could be applied to ?help shape Afghan
and Iraqi perceptions of American forces.?
It also based its findings on dozens of interviews with marketing
professionals as well as active and retired military personnel.
However, Helmus stressed that while image may be everything in the
advertising world, making progress in a war zone would require the
right kind of concrete action.
?It?s not just a matter of putting the right spin? on US military
actions, because words alone won?t win public support,? he said.
?Instead, US forces need to take the right actions if they want to get
the local support that?s crucial to America?s counterinsurgency
efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.?
Among the study?s recommendations for the armed forces were ?manage
civilian expectations by not making promises they can?t keep,? and
?monitor civilian satisfaction through town hall meetings.?
It also recommended ?social marketing? to encourage civilians to
cooperate with coalition forces.
?The US military needs to identify and emphasize the benefits of doing
so in a way that motivates the population. For example, providing tips
on insurgents can improve civilians? safety, if safety is a motivating
benefit.?
Some of the United States? missteps were also detailed in the report.
?Certain things do not translate well,? the study said. ?Danger lies
behind assumptions of similarity.?
For instance, one psychological operations pamphlet bearing an image
of a pair of eyes and a message that US forces would ?find you and
bring you to justice? was air-dropped to intimidate Iraqi insurgents
but reached civilians in the area as well, giving ?everyone who picked
it up the ?evil eye.??
In another example, ?as coalition helicopters fly over urban areas,
the gunners, whose feet hang from the aircraft, have inadvertently
offended thousands of Iraqis who gaze above,? because in Arab culture
it is offensive to show the sole of one?s foot to another person.
The study also noted a Department of Defense study that highlighted
how the use of words can be interpreted differently across cultures.
?When American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to
Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving
hypocrisy,? it said.
?Moreover, saying that ?freedom is the future of the Middle East? is
seen as patronizing, suggesting that Arabs are like the enslaved
peoples of the old Communist World ? but Muslims do not feel this way:
they feel oppressed, but not enslaved.?
*
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