We recently ran a campaign for a Jewish “Unity Event.”
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah of Detroit undertook this mission and approached me to get the word out. This was one of those times when a customer comes to us and asks to be “everywhere”.
We took a hands-on approach to the campaign, creating material from content to direction, and making sure that the right ads were purchased and scheduled for the right time.
We blanketed the campaign across the Jewish world, promoting an extremely impressive lineup of individuals, including Rav Shmuel Kaminetsky. The message was, it doesn’t matter if you’re Jewish, not-Jewish, left-leaning or right, we all can and must be united.
The pinnacle of the campaign was a surprise, only announced as breaking news an hour before the event went live: video messages from both Donald Trump and Joe Biden. It was an exhilarating moment when they actually managed to obtain those messages and broadcast them live as part of the event.
The event was a massive success and viewers world wide watched and enjoyed, and walked away uplifted with a feeling of pride for their country and Jewish education.
One lesson the organizers did particularly well was to use the element of scarcity. The event was streamed live to half a million viewers – and then taken offline. If you weren’t one of the 500,000 people who were lucky enough to watch it, well, you’re out of luck.
This counter-intuitive approach added an air of exclusivity to the broadcast and made the demand for the replay that much stronger. The organizers recently launched a one-off replay of the event which also saw tremendous demand.
In this current climate, a campaign of unity with messages from both Trump and Biden was remarkably well-received and shows the power of aligning your offering with your audience and taking the time to plan a successful campaign.
Chayale Kaufman is the CEO of the Jewish Content Network and has helped to plan thousands of the biggest advertising and marketing campaigns for companies and organizations in the Jewish world. Contact the Jewish Content Network to plan your next ad campaign.
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4 Responses
I actually thought you did an amazing job at marketing that event. However; I am still just trying to wrap my head around that campaign. What in heavens name did all that unity business have to do with a Yeshiva dinner?!! Almost had nothing to do with a Jewish event, let alone a Yeshiva event. But as far as marketing goes- yes, it was brilliantly crafted, every step of the way- the surprise just an hour before the event, the replay, all of it. I guess they were just trying to reach as many people who probably still have no clue what a Yeshiva in Detroit is!
UncleMo, c’mon! Yeshivas have to be creative to raise funds these days, and if you have no “presence” you can’t raise funds. Detroit is not a wealthy community and the Yeshiva dinner was probably an essential annual event that helped them stay afloat. In the Covid-19 era when you can’t have dinners, you need to take an original approach and they did it. They put themselves on the map. Kol hakavod!
And, although I didn’t see it, if the theme and program promoted unity, that’s a very important contribution to Klal Yisrael. “ויהי בישורון מלך בהתאסף ראשי עם יחד שבטי ישראל”
We want Hashem’s shechina back in our midst? Let’s put aside political differences. Let’s internalize that we’re all in the same boat and our very survival depends on our unity. Our point of unity is Hashem and His Torah. Everything else doesn’t matter.
without being tagged “sponsored content” this ad turns into clickbait
“Unity” is like “change”: Everybody wants it, as long as you don’t explain what you mean by the term.