Holystic Marketing off target?

by The Hammer

Unless the latest war cry for our oil palm industry is a domestic uplifting exercise for the faithful, I find it difficult to fathom how our new tagline will appeal to current markets.

Throwing aside the need for continuity, the slogan has been changed from Love MY Palm Oil to Palm Oil is God’s Gift.

The Malaysia Palm Oil industry provides for more than half a million jobs and we are the world’s second-largest producer after Indonesia.

Tinkering with our market positioning is a matter of global consequence for our image, and certainly not an exercise in prophecy.  

God has undoubtedly blessed us with many gifts, and that goes beyond Palm Oil….

The 5-month old Terengganu-born (so am I) Minister, YB Ustaz Dato’ Dr. Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali, is from a party that has invoked God’s name for heavenly reasons so I can understand the need to stay on theme.

But he obviously needs to align the messaging with our target audience which is mainly international, unless I missed the memo.

Keeping in step, Primary Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister Willie Mongin has echoed his boss’ wish to promote palm oil as God’s Gift in international markets.

If I read both Ministers’ collective wisdom accurately, can we deduce that the ‘anti-palm oil lobby’ can now be perceived as the “Devil” in this context. For rejecting God’s Gift.

In which case, this could be a masterstroke of sorts.

Also in that light, the new devil in disguise could be the Kraft Heinz Company with its negative campaign on palm oil, making “palm oil-free” claims on its products.

Since China and India are our primary markets, someone needs reminding that India has over 33 million Hindu gods and China has the world’s greatest irreligious population where no amount of God-bait headlines will work.

…the new devil in disguise could be the Kraft Heinz Company with its negative campaign on palm oil, making “palm oil-free” claims on its products…

While Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices remain volatile, analysts say our growth should focus on the strength of China and India’s inventory replenishment.

Malaysia is expected to export palm oil and palm-based products worth RM65 – RM70 billion this year compared to RM63.73 billion in 2019.

Note to Advertisers: Last week,, political party PAS urged all states to introduce Jawi script on billboards and road signs in efforts to uphold the nation’s history. As a matter of record, Pahang made it mandatory to use Jawi on road signs since January 1 and failure to do so could lead to fines of up to RM250 per offence.

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