Ratem Chen (photo by Gilad Kvalarchik, Limor Nachmias, Flash 90/ Oren Ben Hakon)
The most prominent event in July was undoubtedly the 21st Maccabiah, which boasted glittering names that came to publicize the main sports event that was also honored by a visit from US President Joe Biden. The event this time was unusual in that it brought Israel’s best artists to perform at the event: Noa Kirel, Neta Barzilai, Eden Ben Zaken, and Kahanan Ben Ari and Static and Ben El and more.
How in 2022 is an old sports event like the Maccabiah still being marketed and what were the changes that took place this year? The one behind the scenes behind the successful event was Ratem Chen – director of the 21st Maccabiah’s marketing and events department, and ice’s marketing woman for the month of July.
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Mother of Toti (6-year-old Alex) and in a happy relationship with Lilach Omer (who is my partner in both personal and professional life). Lives in Jaffa. Professionally accompanying and advising commercial and independent companies in the field of marketing and strategy. I see myself as an activist to promote women to the front wherever I am involved. I come from the world of productions in which several good and significant incarnations led me to make a change and to discover myself as a marketing woman who revives and accompanies projects in every possible challenge.
What led you to the world of marketing?
For over 15 years I have been involved in project management and entrepreneurship in the entertainment, music and sports industry in Israel and around the world. I started managing artists, producing huge events in the fields of music and culture, and later when I became the CEO of the Zappa Enterprises and Productions Company, I fell in love with the marketing angle, which requires creativity all the time, both in the big picture and in every detail. The world of marketing for me is a place where you get to know, learn and conquer new audiences, His impact is great and it moves me very much.
Maccabiah 2022 – how do you even begin to market an event that may not be known by many, considered in their eyes as a marginal sports event, and in general very outdated?
Thanks to all these things, Maccabiah became in my view a challenge worth working on, an interesting playground, an opportunity was created to create a branding mindset change whose results can be tested at the end of the road in the field. This required mapping and building from the foundation of Maccabiah as a brand and as an international sports event in front of the Israeli audience, to create a different experiential infrastructure adapted to the local audience, unlike previous years, where the Jewish audience in the Diaspora was in focus.
From the very beginning it was clear to us that this time we wanted a presence at Israel’s tribal bonfire, thus the collaboration with Keshet and an impressive and large opening ceremony that was broadcast live was born. For the first time, we put the viewers at home as the main target audience and adapted the content of Maccabiah to it. We finished with a rating of 13.8%, an impressive achievement by all accounts.
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In terms of field events, complexes were built that were open to the general public nationwide. In fact, for the first time, we allowed the whole country to come take part and enjoy. Maccabiah Village on Foleg Beach Netanya operated for 8 days, an experiential complex that includes sporting and cultural content activities alongside watching the games. The “SportTech” event, an exhibition dedicated entirely to Israeli sports technologies and connected the Israeli audience, through the Maccabiah, to all the amazing developments happening here in Israel. The connections made this year in Maccabiah with new partners and leveraging the existing ones were also part of the vision I brought and in my opinion gave a significant marketing boost. 18 local authorities, 20 strategic partners from the Israeli economy, 5 public bodies, 12 government ministries, 4 media bodies, the connection of all of them together under the same message created strength and moved the needle in a significant way.
In addition, we initiated cooperation with various social associations, we put focus and resources for the promotion and exposure of female sports, we continued to strengthen and deepen the connection of Paralympic sports in Maccabiah in an integral way (today it is customary in large competitions such as the Olympics to still separate the categories).
So to summarize briefly, it is a marketing effort with many arms and branches that this year received a “new” life and I am glad that Maccabiah’s platform was broad and inclusive enough for me to create a change in all of them. There is no doubt that everything together was part of the great growth engine of the 21st Maccabiah.
The event was full of singers and stars, and huge budgets poured into the events. Is this the new generation of advertising?
Connecting music and sports is not a new invention, it is a necessary connection. What two areas that connect people all over the world. In the case of Maccabiah, I was very happy for the experience I brought with me from the world of music and the ability as a result to make a more informed and effective connection between the two worlds. Because in fact, this year Maccabiah invested the same amounts in the artists as every year.
What is unusual this time, I think, is the maximization and impact in each composition. For example, the song that Static and Ben-El created in honor of Maccabiah, the clip of which also featured a very respectable list of Israeli athletes, brought 1.9 million views and a lot of recognition to Maccabiah among Maccabiah’s younger and less “traditional” audiences, yet completely part of the target audience of the significant event. In their honor we also recruited influencers who made the events and story of Maccabiah accessible to the general public with the help of content. We opened Maccabiah’s TikTok and Instagram which worked non-stop, Maccabiah’s social media assets reaching 32K followers, within 3 months.
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Photo: Gilad Kvalarchik
What were the reactions you received at the end of the event?
We received a lot of responses, I think this time it was hard to miss the fact that Maccabiah is in Israel. The reaction that moved me the most was actually that of a participant from the Chilean team, who was his third Maccabiah, who told me at the end of the event that this was the first time he walked down the street in Israel and felt that they knew why he was here.
Joe Biden’s visit – were you prepared for it? How did it change the marketing or strategic aspect?
We were not prepared for this, but we prepared on the fly, when you have 30,000 participants in the stadium, what is one more… We had two weeks to make all the necessary adjustments, many meetings with the White House, I don’t think it changed the strategy, it did There was a chopper that helped us raise awareness to a higher place. If anything in terms of achievements, one of the biggest achievements it brought with it was the media recognition of Maccabiah at the international level. It’s getting up in the morning after the opening ceremony and reading an article in the New York Times that explains what Maccabiah is.
Photo: Gilad Kvalarchik
Is there a difference between Maccabiah’s marketing to the local Israeli audience and to the international Jewish audience?
A very big difference, in the Jewish community in the world Maccabiah has only grown stronger over the years, and as you can see, this year we broke a record number of participants from all over the world with over 10,000 athletes. The very existence of Maccabiah, the biggest main event of the Maccabi movement, is evidence of a very important Zionist enterprise, at the end of which about 5% of all international participants fall in love and immigrate to Israel.
In Israel, we knew that this was really not the story, Maccabiah in the Israeli mind was more identified with the concept of the “Jewish Olympics” and terms like Zionism and we wanted to put that aside and do justice to Maccabiah that would receive the recognition that it is a sporting event and a celebration for all the people of Israel. Maccabiah’s marketing to the local-Israeli audience this year included work from small to large to adapt to the target audience. The message we came out with was “Israel celebrates sports”, a concept conceived by the creative genius Eran Gefen, we made sure to produce activities relevant to the Israeli audience throughout the country in order to create accessibility and we strengthened this even more by making all the activities free and open to the general public.
I think the results were beyond imagination, the Israeli audience voted with their feet, for two weeks over 200,000 Israelis enjoyed events throughout the country at the same time and in addition to the audience at home who also enjoyed the opening event that was broadcast on Besket and produced incredible viewing figures.
What is a good and professional marketing manager in your opinion?
One that maintains authenticity, you can tell many stories but if there is no refined truth behind them, they explode very quickly. And one more thing, I think you are always the people around you, who work together with you for the success of the mission. A good marketing manager knows how to recruit amazing people around him.
What tip would you give to a marketing manager at the beginning of his career?
Do not indulge in a bubble, always stay with your finger on the pulse, feel the area and know truly and deeply what you are selling.