Today was the first day that we were able to sleep in since we arrived in Israel. So, it is safe to say that I was more than satisfied when I woke up well rested at 10:30am for class.  However, due to the shortened lecture for that day we were not busing over to IDC for school. Instead, Professor Holekamp held an optional lecture on marketing, which took place at the beach.  We all met at the Leonardo Basel Hotel at 11:00am, and walked across the street together for class. We found a nice shady spot under a beach canopy, and Prof. Holekamp began his discussion.

The marketing tool he taught us involved a 6-step rating process that would determine the difficulty a company would have in convincing someone to use their product, which would normally require the consumer to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. The example we discussed was the Better Place electric cars, a company that while filled with promise, went bankrupt shortly after its debut in the Israeli Market.  While the company’s vision of replacing gas-powered cars seemed virtuous and promising, they had a lot of difficulty convincing consumers to switch away from traditional automobiles.

A conclusion we drew was that although most, if not all people are in favor of helping the environment, a surprisingly low percentage of those people will actually spend money and step out of their comfort zone to purchase environmentally friendly products.  The lecture was very interesting and thought-provoking, and having class with the Mediterranean Sea in the background made it even better. Professor Holekamp is only spending the week with us in Tel Aviv, but he has made a very lasting impact on our learning and the program as a whole.

Danny Goldsmith is a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a member of the first class in Olin’s Israel Summer Business Academy.