El-Al, Hogla, Golden Lines, Barak, Cellcom, Pele-phone and Tara are just a few of the long list of major advertisers entering the religious sector. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have gained political clout, leading to a redefinition of the religious market.
Advertisers has set themselves a goal to penetrate this market. Anyone who once discounted the sector as low-income is now trying to gain a foothold. But the ones who understood early on the buying power of the religious market, and defined it as such, were supermarkets. Three years ago, Super-Sol bought Brachat Rachel, and Blue Square Properties (C-Op) bought Shefa Mehadrin, both grocery chains catering to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector.
The transition from grocery stores to supermarkets changed the haredi shopping environment. At the same time, on the technological front, innovations in the food industry have enabled the development of advanced raw materials - all Kosher. The result: shelves filled with more high quality products than before.
An Independent Economic Unit
Many see the haredi sector as an independent economic unit, comprising some 100,000 households, representing at least 10% of Israel’s total population. In the case of many consumer items, the haredi sector represents over 30% of buyers. The haredi sector has different buying habits than the general Israeli public, their lifestyle is different, they are not exposed to the mainstream communications media, only to privately-owned, internal media.
The buying power of the average haredi is estimated at NIS 45,000 per year, and NIS 3.3 billion for the entire sector, per year. The biggest potential market is food, which represents 45% of household expenses, as compared with 30% for the secular sector; diapers - 18%; cleaning products - 10%, as compared with 2% in the secular market; clothes and footwear - 8%; entertainment and leisure (mainly books) - 10%; and miscellaneous products such as cosmetics (including soap, hand cream and shampoo) and ceremonial objects, such as candlesticks, mezzuzot etc.
The haredi market is undergoing a series of upheavals, including changes in consumer patterns, leisure-time culture, communications and entertainment. A study conducted by research institute Mutagim for advertising agency Bolton found, for example, that one-third of haredi households had a personal computer.
The tender to set up a cable television station geared to the haredi population is currently on offer. The station would mean a real revolution; at present haredim do not own TVs, with the exception of a very small minority. The big question is whether their rabbis would approve the channel, which would be funded, of course, by advertising. The effect on the haredi advertising market would be vast.
The Advertising and Communication Boom
The changes ongoing in haredi consumer patterns, and the future TV channel raised the interest of haredi advertising agencies and quick-thinking entrepreneurs. There are now 15 advertising agencies within the sector, geared towards the ultra-Orthodox sector.
These include Bolton, owned by Rachel Bolton; Gal, owned by Benny Gal; Meimand; Ksharim, owned by Dudi Zilbershlag; Foxman Enterprises, owned by Avner Foxman; Chen; Frenkel, owned by Arie Frenkel, and others.
The development of the haredi media created a simultaneous rise in professionalism, more sophisticated campaigns and advertising budgets. For example, Tnuva invests $ 800,000 in advertising to the sector, out of a total $18 million advertising budget.
Ten years ago, there was one newspaper for the haredi sector: "Hamodia", sponsored by the Agudat Israel faction. Since then, a second paper was founded, "Yated Ne’eman", of the United Torah Judaism faction, plus a spate of unaffiliated weeklies belonging to private entrepreneurs. Two other weeklies, one affiliated with the Belz following, the other with Habad, have been established, and over the past two years, two women’s magazines.
The haredi population satisfies its radio needs through about a dozen pirate stations.
No Fun, Just Function
Advertisers who have researched the matter say haredi shy away from the advertising gimmicks seen in the general secular market. They look for the practical. Advertising is geared towards product content, not emotional stimulation. The concept of fun, so central to the atmosphere advertisers often try to create, is irrelevant to the haredi population.
Instead of trying to get across the message that drinking a certain beverage gives pleasure, the message will be "Relax from Torah Study". Pictures of women are forbidden, and the general practice is not to put people in ads, although there have been some changes lately, as in the recent Cellcom campaign.
Endorsements are not considered a great honor in the haredi world, to say the least. Public opinion shapers, like rabbis, preachers and heads of institutions of learning, all of whom have top-flight influence in the community, do not enter the advertising arena.
Emphasizing Results
Haredi ad agencies get briefs from advertisers, the same as secular ones. But the resulting campaigns for one given product are entirely unrelated. For example, Kesher-Barel’s campaign for Tnuva cottage cheese featured the familiar red-roofed motif, while Benny Gal’s campaign for the haredi sector showed a picture of plate, half-filled with cottage cheese, and half with other food, with the slogan "If you eat cottage cheese, you’ve eaten half the meal". Gal: "The haredi audience isn’t interested in roofs when they buy cottage cheese. They want to know that cottage cheese is half a meal. Presenting the resulting outcome is our strategy".
"Whoever thinks the haredi customer is just on the lookout for bargains doesn’t know what they’re talking about", Gal says. "They are looking for results. They don’t want brand names, and when they decide a given brand gives them real results, they are willing to pay for it, even a great deal more".
The international phone call companies, now at the height of market penetration, made sure to allocate advertising money to the haredi sector. Research shows the ultra-Orthodox are heavy users of international phone call services, particularly to the US.
A debate is raging among haredi advertisers as to approach. One school of thought says advertising should be "Judaized", presenting products in relation to tradition and haredi imagery, such as a rabbi, candlesticks or head-covering.
Then there are those who believe the opposite, saying the haredi population has raised its expectations, and wants to be treated with respect, feeling their intelligence is being insulted.
Bolton recently launched a campaign for Rich’s non-dairy creamer, marketed by Vita, with the slogan: "Rich. Permissible After Meat". Unsigned posters subsequently appeared in haredi neighborhood walls with the words: "Thank you, Vita. We never asked you for any favors. We happily fulfill the religious practice of separating milk from meat".
Sale or Liquidation?
To plan strategy properly, to understand how people think, it turns out, you have to be part of the haredi world. Bolton: "When a company comes out with a discount sale, they run a risk in the haredi sector, as they think that company may have gone bankrupt. You have to know how to present the offer. If you do it straight, rumors will start flying".
Hassidic sects are closed social networks with the synagogue as their core. The community infrastructure is used to pass on information, or rumors, by word of mouth, which works to the advertisers’ advantage. Wissotzky Tea and Vita, through Bolton, organized gatherings for women; gossip [in the days following the event] increased demand for their products.
New Consumer Habits
Underneath the surface, the marketing infrastructure is operated by media and communications consultants, like Schreiber Image Systems. Yonatan Schreiber brings in key figures to endorse products, such as Coca Cola, a former client.
Schreiber relates that when an event involving a famous personality is due to take place, such as a wedding, he makes sure his clients provide their services - soft drinks, for instance. The next day, the newspaper photo will show the dignitary seated next to the bottle of soda, as in the case of Coca Cola, which featured prominently at the wedding of the Rabbi of Wishnitz’s son.
Schreiber also penetrates advertising subliminally in recordings made by haredi comedian and impressionist Ephraim Schreiber (no relation). Between jokes, the entertainer puts in asides like; "Have you tasted Osem dumplings?" or "So, have you been to Braun’s Hats lately"?
Almost every haredi household has a freezer, and new electronic appliances mean households can buy frozen foods for that freezer, for example. Nonetheless, despite the evident trends, there are still sectors that have not yet penetrated the ultra-Orthodox market. Auto dealerships, for instance, and insurance companies, still haven’t taken notice.