E2: Branding War Leaders: Israel's PM Netanyahu vs Palestine's Missing Leader

In the second episode of The Light Hour, I explore why we are more likely to support some brands, how branding actually works and why addictive brands create such a cult following.

Branding war leaders is not exactly science, but it is an art. The art of branding!

In this episode I also examine the connection between Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestine's missing leader, which is one of the reasons the world is more likely to side with Israel – they have a clear leader who's willing to show up with updates daily and do so in a consistent manner. Branding tells us that's more than enough to persuade us to trust him and his vision!

Let’s unpack the episode…

Brand Identity

The first question you must answer when it comes to building a brand is obvious, but necessary for your introduction:

“Who are you?”

The answer to this question will become the foundation of your brand identity and brand image. You will continuously refer it in your brand’s messaging across your presentation, campaigns and work online as well as offline.

One’s brand image might be different than their actual personality, so it’s important to be authentic with your claims and position yourself accordingly to your true values and beliefs. 

Brand Mission

The second question allows you to connect your identity to a product or vision and make your brand relevant in today’s market / society:

“What are you selling?”

Even though not every brand is selling in the traditional sense, there’s a process in which the audience needs to “buy into” the story in order to officially or unofficially join you in your mission.

This is where storytelling plays a key role. Unfortunately, this is also where some leaders focus on lying or “embellishing the truth” in order to maximise their chances of reaching the hearts of the audience (manipulation) and, of course, getting to their pockets in the case of financial goals & targets.

Brand Trust

As you might have figured it out already, brand trust can 100% be built with the help of creating a false brand image (wearing a social mask) and using false claims about your brand mission (unethical branding).

This strategy has been proven successful for many entrepreneurs and global leaders who don’t have a problem with being confronted for lying – they abandon the previous project and begin with the next one!

As the saying goes:

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Our world enables liars and manipulators, because they can be quite active and entertaining in public life. We are quick to excuse narcissists for not knowing better and give them plenty of chances to “redeem” themselves, but very few actually do.

Keep that in mind someone disappoints you with their brand. Unfortunately, more often than not people tend to prioritise profit over integrity in today’s economic climate and they have a range of reasons ready to use if they get caught in their schemes to get rich quickly!

Building Addictive Brands

But it takes a lot more than lying and manipulating people to create a truly addictive brand that attracts a cult-like following. You need to understand the psychology behind what excites people to the point of becoming dependent on getting their dopamine from it!

This is where science enters the conversation.

The most addictive brands today can often be found in the supermarket. They are the snacks and beverages packed with sugar and salt that give us instant gratification by boosting our dopamine levels. Unfortunately, they are also the reason for our dysregulated nervous system, our poor digestive system and our increasingly disturbed immune system.

Today’s food & beverage industry has turned a blind eye to the production of many unhealthy brands and we can speculate as to why that it is beyond the obvious answer – money – but it’s better to use our time and energy to get educated around how the body works and what type of nutrients it needs in order to function properly.

After all, the best way to beat addition is through awareness!

Good Branding, Bad Product

Some of the best brands today can absolutely take pride in having talented and created teams that are behind legendary designs, big ideas and clever marketing. But that’s about it!

If you examine the full list of ingredients and the actual list of side effects to most commercially produced products, you will get to the truth – and the truth will not only disappoint you, but it will also discourage you from consuming about 90% of the items that are offered in any supermarket.

Branding War Leaders

The best way to win a war is to project yourself as the clear winner from the beginning and let the mind games do half of the work on your behalf. Dark psychology has been a war tool since the Second World War, we know this much.

But what’s changed is that government leaders are increasingly relying on business principles and branding techniques to conquer new territories as they skilfully manipulate public perception and collect votes on campaigns that never quite give us the full picture.

Some might find that impressive, but the truth is humanity has suffered a tremendous loss as a result of all the lies, manipulation, propaganda and suppression of information. Now more than ever we need to find our way back to thinking for ourselves and using our free will to map out our own journey in life as we find our community in the global conversation and contribute to the Light agenda with the all the gifts, skills and knowledge at our disposal.

We’re here with a purpose, each of us, and now is the time to pursue alignment with that purpose as we unite our efforts to restore true peace and prosperity on Earth!

The Light Hour

The Light Hour is a podcast about exploring some of the most complex but essential topics in-depth, so that we can find the truth among the illusions and shine a Light towards the way to unity consciousness.

In the first episode, I explored the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine only to understand that it’s not as simple as the media presents it. There’s a much more complex and important agenda that’s attached to it and we must continue to seek for answers and demand transparency from the governments, so that we can align with the truth and move towards finding a way to work and co-create together, despite our differences.

What topic should I cover in the next episode?