Israeli Defense Contractors Social Media Presence
Israeli manufactures of tactical gear have traditionally focused on institutional sales to armed forces and law enforcement. However, the post 9/11 tactical market has significantly changed due to increased demand, e-commerce and social media. Today, direct to consumer sales are a vast and largely untapped opportunity for Israeli manufactures, including sales to civilians (e.g. hunters, recreational shooters, competitors, airsoft players) as well as military and law enforcement personnel that procure their own gear to complement issued equipment.
Due to the global interest in IDF, the Israeli Special Forces and the tactical gear they use, Israeli companies are well positioned to benefit from direct to consumer sales. The fascination with Israeli gear is well illustrated by Agilite, which while being a relatively small Israeli company, enjoys a social media following comparable to that of Crye Precision, a global leader in tactical gear.
To drive direct to consumer sales, companies require a strong web and social media presence. Online presence is also important for generating awareness and engagement with other key stakeholders ranging from nvestors and partners to potential employees.
In this guide, isayeret takes a look at the social media presence of prominent Israeli manufactures of tactical gear, as well as at that of a global leader for benchmark - Crye Precision.
All information is as of May 2020.
Textile Gear
Agilite
Agilite manufacturers tactical textile gear. The company's well designed products, strong focus on direct to consumer sales, and excellent online presence led to prominence in the Israeli tactical gear market.
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Website - primary site in English and an Israel-specific site in Hebrew. Both sites are modern, up-to-date, and feature e-commerce stores.
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Facebook - primary page in English with 16K followers, and an Israel-specific page in Hebrew with 10K followers.
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Instagram - single page in with 44K followers.
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Twitter - single page with 400 followers.
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YouTube - single page with 2K followers.
Marom Dolphin
Marom Dolphin is the primary provider of vests and plate carriers to the IDF. The company's products are available to consumers through its online store, local dealers and its physical factory store in Israel.
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Website - single site, which is informative, but was last updated in 2016 and is missing some of the company's latest products. There is a separate online store, which is modern and up to date.
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Facebook - primary page with 18K followers, featuring posts in both English and Hebrew.
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Instagram - single page with 2,500 followers.
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Twitter - N/A.
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YouTube - single page with 300 followers.
Camouflage Solutions
FibroTex
FibroTex is the primary provider of camouflage gear to the IDF. The company doesn't sell to consumers due to the nature of its military/LE only products.
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Website - primary site and a U.S.-specific site. Both sites are informative, but were last updated in 2015 and 2017 respectively, and don't have e-commerce stores.
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Facebook - N/A.
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Instagram - N/A.
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Twitter - N/A.
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YouTube - N/A.
Unmanned Ground Vehicles
Roboteam
Roboteam is the primary provider of UGV to the IDF. The company's well designed products and excellent online presence led to its prominence in the UGV industry. The company doesn't sell to consumers due to the nature of its military/LE only products.
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Website - single site, which is modern and up-to-date. There is no e-commerce store.
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Facebook - single page with 90K followers.
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Instagram - single page with 900 followers.
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Twitter - single page with 2K followers.
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YouTube - single page with no followers and is not linked from the company's website.
Communications
Source of Sound
A subsidiary of the U.S.-based Silynx, Source of Sound (SOS) is the primary provider of tactical communication gear to the IDF. The company doesn't sell to consumers due to the nature of its military/LE only products.
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Website - single site, which is informative but with a dated design. It is unclear when it was last updated.
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Facebook - single page with 200 followers, which was last updated in 2016.
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Instagram - single page with 285 followers.
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Twitter - N/A.
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YouTube - single page with no followers, which was last updated in 2011 and is not linked from the company's website.
Optics
Meprolight
Meprolight manufacturers advanced optics, and is the primary provider of weapon sights to the IDF. The company doesn't sell directly to consumers, however its products are available to consumers via local dealers, such as Mako in the U.S.
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Website - primary site, which is modern and up-to-date but has no e-commerce store, and U.S.-specific site, which is maintained by Mako and features an e-commerce store.
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Facebook - primary page with 4K followers, which was last updated in 2012 and a U.S.-specific page, which is maintained by Mako, with 50K followers.
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Instagram - single page with 15K followers.
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Twitter - U.S.-specific page, which is maintained by Mako, with 300 followers, and was last updated in June 2017.
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YouTube - single page with 600 followers.
Weapons
IWI
Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) manufacturers small arms, and is one of the primary providers of small arms to the IDF.
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Website - primary site and a U.S.-specific site. Both sites are modern and up-to-date. The primary site doesn't have an e-commerce store, but the U.S.-specific site features an e-commerce store for parts and accessories.
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Facebook - primary page with 14K followers, and a U.S.-specific page with 36K followers.
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Instagram - primary page with 35K followers, and a U.S.-specific page with 25K followers.
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Twitter - U.S.-specific page has 5K followers.
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YouTube - primary page with 18K followers, and a U.S.-specific page with 2K followers.
Other
Zikitec
Zikitec manufacturers sniping related gear. Some of its gear is distributed in partnership with larger Israeli companies such as FAB and Marom Dolphin. The company doesn't sell directly to consumers, however, its products are available to consumers via local dealers.
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Website - single site, which is modern and informative, but hasn't been updated since 2017. There is no e-commerce store.
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Facebook - N/A.
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Instagram - single page with 80 followers, which is not linked from the company's website.
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Twitter - N/A.
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YouTube - N/A.
ACS
ACS manufacturers innovative pouches used for the safe carry and fast deployment of explosive and flash grenades. The company sell to both institutions and directly to consumers.
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Website - single site, which is modern, up-to-date, and features an e-commerce store for the company's products.
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Facebook - single page with 7K followers.
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Instagram - single page with 70 followers.
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Twitter - N/A.
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YouTube - single page with 40 followers.
Crye Precision
Crye Precision manufacturers tactical gear, and is considered to be a global leader, known for its MultiCam camouflage pattern, combat uniforms and vests, which are used by militaries and law enforcement worldwide. The company sell to both institutions and directly to consumers.
