By COLlive reporter
It’s not every day that a leading advertising firm and a public opinion research company in Israel join forces with a Chassidic movement whose sole mission is to market the truth.
Shalmor-Avnon-Amichai and Machon Smith have both worked with Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel in the past year on the image of Chabad, Lubavitch and the Shluchim.
“Chabad was suffering from a lack of branding since each branch in Israel created his own logo,” said Zev Ravid, Vice President of Branding at Shalmor.
“In the process of the branding effort, we made sure that Chabad remains true to who they are, and it should not seem like they are dressing up in a new costume.”
For that, Ravid says, he has worked with a committee of Shluchim to create a single language, logo and slogan, translated as “Whole-heartedly to Everyone.”
Rabbi Sholom Glitzenstein, a Shliach in Tel Aviv who initiated the project, noted that some $443 billion was spent this past year by companies around the world on branding.
Ashkelon Shliach Rabbi Moshe Peles noted how Gimbels was an iconic American department store in the 70’s although they only had 53 branches.
He said that at a Farbrengen in 5749, California Head Shliach Rabbi Shlomo Cunin brought a donor to hand the Rebbe the keys to the first center called “Chabad House.”
Peles says the Rebbe asked, “to which Chabad House does this key belong to?”
The donor answered: “There is only one Chabad House.”
The Rebbe replied, “Don’t be so modest. There will be many of them and you should call them all with the same name, like Gimbels. When someone travels to another city he already knows which store to look for and what product they will have. The same will be with Chabad Houses that will spread around the country from the west to the east.”
Another development presented at the Kinus Hashluchim in Israel was a poll conducted by Rafi Smith among 800 Jewish residents in Israel – half consider themselves “secular” and the other “traditional.”
Asking what is the level of identification with religious groups in Israel, Chabad came in third after modern-orthodox and reform among “secular Jews” and second after modern-orthodox among “traditional Jews.”
20% of “secular Jews” and 38% of “traditional Jews” visited a Chabad House out of Israel in the last 5 years, comparing to 10% and 22% that visited a Chabad House in Israel.
For the full poll – click here
its the sign of the time, the babay boomers are graying, so is Lubavitch you they getting old….
Since when was Chabad a franchise?
This need for branding is because when you dont promote Moshiach 24/7 your message is not much different that Aish, Young Israel, etc. The Rebbe gave very clear public directives all we need to do is overcome our inhibitions and follow those directives.
I don’t know why they hired professionals who work on these things 24/7, they should have asked people that read COL and would have found out that they don’t need to do anything?
Did they forgot the BH in the logos for Merkos, Machne, Kehos and Tzivos hashem as well?
We use radio, telvision, internet, press releases, graphic designers, photographers, videographers, architects etc. why not use Branding? It makes sense, so why not use it in Chabad and help with our Shlichus. Chabad may not be a business, but why not think how we can use business skills to reach more yidin. Let’s not sound too naive.
may we see only increases in hatzlacha from this move
So derivative and generic. This logo has about as much character as box of Osem instant soup.
-mottel
Chabad is not a business that we need to sell something to the public who might go somewhere else. The name Chabad itself is the same all over the world. Whether you go to a Chabad house in the west or in the east, you know you are going to get the same thing….the Rebbe.
to #1
branding is NOT only to sell a product. It is also and in this case is being used to unite all the ‘products’ and present it as such.
For everyone to see that we lubavitchers/shluchim stand and represent ONE cause.
What makes you think they wasted “so much money”?
The blue logo was only for Chabad Youth projects (Tzeirei means Youth).
Branding
I guess you’re not in business
thy had a logo for so long and all the chabad houses in Israel used it the famous blue logo reads chabad and a red insert that said tzerai so why waste so much money to redo something that they already have????
You only need branding to sell your product. Ashreinu Ma ToV Chelkainu our “product” sells itself!