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Can This Reputation Be Saved?

Hamas

With last month's stunning results in the Palestinian election, Hamas has started on a major PR push to improve its reputation. Can it succeed? After years of commitment to the eradication of its neighbor Israel, and countless headlines detailing just how many people were killed or injured from its suicide bombers, Hamas is now trying to convince the world that it deserves its respect, support, and, most importantly, funding.

We wish them luck, but we think that it will be many years before the reputation of Hamas can repaired. And we believe this because we all know that PR doesn't work. Or rather, "spin doctoring your way out of a crisis" doesn't work. Years of measuring PR effectiveness have taught us that the only thing that works to change a reputation is action – many small or large deeds that add up to an image or a reputation.

That's not to say that Hamas hasn't been taking action for years. To be fair, some of their actions have been positive, like providing health care and aid to the poor. But the overwhelmingly majority has been violent.

We also know that you need reach and frequency to create or change an impression. While every major news outlet has covered suicide bombers, generating millions of opportunities to see Hamas' violent actions, the few stories that have run about Hamas' good deeds tend to appear on late night BBC and are heard by a handful of insomniacs and workaholics like myself.

So, can Hamas change its image from terrorist to legitimate government? Yes, but it will take many years. -KDP

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