This book analyses the marketing techniques that terrorist organisations employ to encourage people to adopt their ideology and become devoted supporters.
The book’s central thesis is that due to the development of digital technologies and social media, terrorist groups are employing innovative marketing techniques and advertising strategies to foster an emotional connection with their audiences, particularly those in younger demographics. By conducting thematic and narrative analyses of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propagandist magazines, as well as looking at the group’s online communities, the book demonstrates that terrorist groups behave as commercial brands by establishing an emotional connection with their potential recruits. Specifically, groups and their potential supporters follow the logic of emotional choice. The book emphasizes that while ISIS became the first group that discovered and benefited from the power of marketing, it did not have a supernatural power and thus it is possible to find a response to it, which is particularly important now. The book eventually poses a question about whether terrorism has become the product of marketing in the same way as any mainstream consumer product is, and asks what can we do to battle the appeal of marketing-savvy terrorist groups.
This book will be of interest to students of terrorism studies, radicalisation, and propaganda, communication , and security studies.
Author(s): Anna Kruglova
Series: Political Violence
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 192
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Glossary
Introduction: Terrorism, Propaganda, and Branding: The (In)Visible Connection
Notes
1 Emotional Choice: How to Make You “Buy”: What You Didn’t Plan To
Self and Social Symbolism
Narrative Advertising
Self-illusion, Excitement, and Formation of the Emotional Connection With the Brand
The Model of Emotional Choice: The Case of Extremist/Terrorist Organisations
The Aftermath of Emotional Choice: Dealing With Consumer’s Guilt
Notes
2 Heroes, Princesses, and True Believers: The Images ISIS “Sells”
Notes
3 Narrative Advertising: Selling Caliphate Through Stories
Story .. 1: Awakening and Finding the Path to Khilafah
Story .. 2: Finding Mujahid’s Glory
Story .. 3: Finding Female Destiny
Story . 4: Remaining and Expanding
Notes
4 Falling in Love With the Caliphate: Self-Illusion and Immersion Into the Imaginary World
The Images of a True Believer (Good Muslim), Stranger, Martyr
Superman
Superwoman
Notes
5 Getting Lost in the Fantasy: “Jihadi Culture”, Excitement, and Bonding
Topics
Terminology
Pictures
Jokes
Elements of “Cool” in the Pro-ISIS Community
Notes
6 Feeling No Regret: Guilt-Coping Mechanisms in ISIS’s Propaganda
Notes
Conclusion: Breaking the Terrorist Brand
Notes
Bibliography
Index