ISRAEL-ELECTION/SOCIAL MEDIA Israeli politicians turn to social media to win voters

Record ID: 399294

  • Title: ISRAEL-ELECTION/SOCIAL MEDIA Israeli politicians turn to social media to win voters
  • Date: 15th March 2015
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (MARCH 11, 2015) (REUTERS) ISRAELI FLAGS WAVING JERUSALEM UNIVERSITY BUILDING STUDENTS SITTING ON LAWN (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) INBAL LEVY, STUDENT, SAYING: "I think that there is a change when it comes to the advertising of the parties, the campaigns. It's completely changed, let's say, from last term or the one before. Few days ago I even wrote a Facebook post abo
  • Embargoed: 30th March 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE4GHQUI6XVNFM1IM57FI9K0GC
  • Story Text: With less than two days left before Tuesday (March 17) parliamentary election in Israel political parties have been actively embracing all available media resources to reach for potential voters.
    The current campaign has seen a significant change in marketing and public relations technique comparing to the previous ones especially in making use of the opportunities offered by the social media.
    "Smart phones and broad-band access are ubiquitous today in Israel, everybody has one," said social media marketing expert Ari Gottesmann.
    "Everybody is in front of their digital screen twenty-four seven, meaning you can reach out to somebody you can't get in front of him at almost any point in time. And if you are not there with video and with content that's strong and that provokes an emotional response from people you are missing out," he added.
    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come up with one of the most popular campaign videos played out on social media sites.
    Widely known in Israel by nickname Bibi, Netanyahu poses as a baby-sitter knocking on the door of a young couple about to go for a night out.
    "You ordered a baby-sitter, you got a Bibi-sitter!" Netanyahu tells the couple who trust him with their child.
    "The content that they are using today in the elections is not talking about slogans as much as it used to. Its more cute, it's more funny, it's more emotional and it's more engaging with the average voter, and he sees it and he smiles. Getting people to smile, touching their hearts that's what's going to make them changing their minds," Ari Gottesmann explained.
    In an attempt to offset the effect of the popular video ad, Natanyahu's Likud main rival centre- left Zionist Union of Issac Hertzog and Zipi Livni produced a video mocking Netanyahu's appeal for trust: "Are you still trusting him to watch over your children? We're not! No-one trusts Bibi anymore!"
    The left-wing Meretz targeted disappointed electorate in its wedding crasher's video where the party leader Zehava Galon heads her party to a dull, sad wedding party and brings the spirit up, referring to the current state of the Israeli society.
    Election social media videos have become an instant success in a highly computer literate nation where over 70 percent of the population use internet on a daily basis, according to Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics data for 2012.
    "I think that there is a change when it comes to the advertising of the parties, the campaigns. It's completely changed, let's say, from last term or the one before. Few days ago I even wrote a Facebook post about it. I wrote that the election campaigns become so childish that the next prime minister can be voted by the amount of Likes he gets in Facebook," said a Jerusalem student Inbal Levi.
    "Those are just different ways to get people's attention, you know, to see, you know, to enhance the curiosity, they see "Bibi" in a kindergarten class, which is really, you don't see that that often, so you see a different side of the Likud, they're trying to gain more votes, you know what I mean, but a person like me I can't be affected because I have one path," said Ari Gurla who was planning to vote for a religious party and did not feel influenced by the internet videos.
    "I think that a good campaign can change voter's mind, I saw a really good campaign on Youtube, of Lapid (Yair Lapid, Leader of Yesh Atid party). Personally I wouldn't vote for him anyway, but I tried to think as someone who hasn't decided yet, and I think it might change someone's mind, it was a campaign that comes to heart," said another Jerusalem student Tzophia Bar Meir.
    The latest opinion polls predict the Zionist Union taking a lead in the election over Likud.
    With the race getting closer to the end all parties are targeting a significant number of undecided voters and social media has a major role to play in winning them over.
    "In 2013 election 15 percent of the population was up for grabs, this year that number has increased to over 21 percent, which means we have a lot more spare votes out there. Social media is the best way to digitally influence people in their homes in front of their computers or in front of their mobile phones," said Ari Gottesmann.
    No party has ever won a majority in Israel's 120-seat Knesset, and the party leader with the best chance of forming a majority coalition is tasked with leading the new government.
    Final polls published by Israel's Channel 10 and Channel 2 on Friday (March 13) evening respectively predicted the Zionist Union would win 24 and 26 seats against 20 and 22 for Netanyahu's Likud, echoing earlier surveys which all gave the opposition a clear lead.
    Polls in two of Israel's leading newspapers predicted the Zionist Union would secure 25 or 26 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, against 21 or 22 for Likud. All polls in the past three days have given the same margin of victory.
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