SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY AND BRANDING: HOW THE MARINES CREATED A SUCCESSFUL SURGE THROUGH THEIR BRAND?

In very simple terms, the surge in Iraq was a branding campaign. The surge was successful because the U.S. Marines understood their brand and they knew how to communicate this brand successfully to the Iraqi people.

            To understand how surge worked, let’s use the analogy of going to the store and making a choice between two products. The choice of which product you purchase will come down to which product is branded the best. A brand is a combination of brand identity and brand culture.

The product that the Iraqi people wanted was the establishment of a government. They had a choice between a government based on choice, and one based on a narrow intepretation of Islam that the insurgency  espoused.

The identity of the Marines is they people of honor, who come to create peace. The culture of the Marines is that they protectt he weak.

The turning point in the surge was family being massacred at Haditha. There was a coverup.  Marines who were there used mechanisms withiin the Marine Corps to bring the evil doers to justice. Marines policed themselves.  Iraqis never saw this before during the Sadam era or the insurgency brand.

Through the actions of a private, a Marine officer was placed on trial for murdeur. The Iraqi people understood that the brand of the Marines was that they were men of honor. Thier brand culture was that they were in Iraq to protect the weak. The Iraqi people chose the Marine brand and rejected the insurgency brand.