Latest news with #Tal
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Future Of Loyalty Is Emotional. Not Transactional.
We live in a time of paradox: more customer data than ever, yet less attention, less retention, and more churn. Loyalty programs are widespread—but often feel empty. If your rewards don't spark joy, they're just discounts with lipstick. In a recent conversation with Tal Keshet, VP of Snappy, we explored what it takes to turn loyalty into emotional brand love, and transactions into trust. His message? Loyalty isn't about programs. It's about people. And people remember how you made them feel—not the coupon you emailed last Tuesday. People tend to have bigger emotional connections to experiences than things. 'An emotional connection gives a unique advantage—when it's done right,' says Keshet. 'We are inundated with so much information throughout a day but if you received something even years ago that made you feel special, that's something you hold on to, sometimes forever.' Jason Zim, VP Mobile Product Management at Circana, 'Behavioral economics is a key driver to consumer participation. We created a tiered reward structure that allows users to earn more when they produce more. Further we show the user how they are progressing while they are in the application.' Traditional loyalty programs have been largely transactional. They reward frequency, but not affinity. As Tal put it: 'Cash is easy. But that's a miss. Traditional loyalty focuses on static offers, generic messaging, and transactional behaviors.' Instead, Tal champions what he calls 'experience-led loyalty'—where customers are not just rewarded but recognized. In fact, the recognition matters as much as the reward. This shift echoes research I conducted while at Barkley regarding Gen Z and Millennials—who now represent the majority of purchasing power. They are loyalty skeptics. But they're deeply loyal to brands that share their values, understand their needs, and reflect their identities. As Tal emphasized, brands must evolve from points to personalization, from offers to occasions that feel bespoke. Emotion drives behavior. Behavioral science shows that feelings of gratitude, recognition, and surprise build stronger memory structures than rational incentives. 'If I can make a customer feel like they are that most important customer—and do that over and over again—they'll amplify. They'll share the brand, they'll write the review, they'll become an advocate,' says Tal. This reflects a growing truth: emotional connection is a business asset. According to Forrester's Dipanjan Chatterjee, 'Loyalty is not a program. It's an outcome.' The brands who win long-term are those who make customers feel like more than a transaction. And it starts with rethinking how your brand shows up across every moment. In my own research and consulting, I've found that the best brands ask better questions. Here are several drawn from my frameworks and Tal's insights that every executive team should reflect on: Tal's approach—at Snappy and in his strategy work—is simple but profound: the brands that win make people feel special. This is especially powerful in an era where competition is a click away. As I've said before and written about in my book 'Marketing To Gen Z,' Empathy + Insight = Brand Love. But it's not just love—it's loyalty that lasts. Circana's Zim elaborated, 'We try to gamify the experience so there's intrinsic fun in addition to a reward.' The best loyalty strategies are born not in the marketing department, but in the boardroom. It takes alignment across product, customer service, brand, and analytics to truly elevate experience from functional to emotional. If you're a leader reading this, ask yourself: Are we offering rewards—or creating relationships? The answer may determine whether your brand is in the competitive set or dominating it.
Axios
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
2 Israeli Embassy staff killed near Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., officials say
Two Israeli Embassy staff were fatally shot at close range while attending a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., on Wednesday night, the embassy's spokesperson in Washington Tal Naim Cohen told Axios. The big picture: Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, in a post to X called the shooting "a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism" and said he's "confident that the U.S. authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act." Cohen said Israeli officials had "full faith in law enforcement authorities on both the local and federal levels to apprehend the shooter and protect Israel's representatives and Jewish communities throughout the United States." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X her department was "actively investigating and working to get more information to share" on the "senseless" killings. Zoom in: The FBI's D.C. office said on X its agents responded to the shooting with local police and determined that there was "no ongoing threat to public safety." Representatives for the Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment late Wednesday, but confirmed on X that a shooting investigation in the vicinity of the museum was under way. Zoom out: The museum was hosting the annual Young Diplomats Reception, an event that "brings together Jewish young professionals ... and the D.C. diplomatic community for an evening dedicated to fostering unity and celebrating Jewish heritage," per a post from the American Jewish Committee.
Arab News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Holocaust survivor says reliving nightmare with grandson's Gaza captivity
'The government says the war must go on, that we have no choice — but that's not true,' said KupersteinKuperstein himself narrowly escaped death in 1941, when his mother fled the Nazi advance in the Soviet Union and hid him in TashkentHOLON, Israel: For Holocaust survivor Michael Kuperstein, the harrowing wait for news of his grandson — held hostage by Hamas in Gaza — feels like he is reliving a nightmare.'It's a second Holocaust,' said the 84-year-old, describing an anguish that has reopened old wounds he thought had long since his frail health, the octogenarian is determined to take part on Thursday in the annual March of the Living at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in southern his heart, he holds tightly to the hope of one day seeing his grandson, Bar Kuperstein, alive again.'The government says the war must go on, that we have no choice — but that's not true,' said Kuperstein, his anger clearly visible as talks for the release of hostages remain their attack on Israel, Hamas militants abducted 251 people and took them back to Gaza. Of those, 58 are still being held there, including 34 the Israeli military says are himself narrowly escaped death in 1941, when his mother fled the Nazi advance in the Soviet Union and hid him in Tashkent — then part of the USSR, now Uzbekistan — just months after his 1972, he immigrated to Israel with his wife Faina and their two tragedy has continued to shadow the son, Tal Kuperstein, a volunteer paramedic, suffered severe injuries in an accident years ago while rushing to save a four-year-old incident left him disabled, unable to speak or 17, Tal's eldest son, Bar, moved in with his grandparents to make space at home for Tal's live-in in his father's footsteps, Bar also became a paramedic and once even saved his grandfather's life after a heart attack, performing emergency aid and swiftly calling an two months later, at the age of 21, he was abducted from the Nova music festival near the Gaza border during the Hamas attack on October 7, massacre at the festival left more than 370 people was seen in a video taken shortly after his abduction — bound hand and foot, with a rope around his then the family received no updates until February, when freed hostages who had been held with Bar in Gaza tunnels confirmed he was still at the festival told AFP that Bar had been treating the wounded when he was seized by on April 5, Hamas's armed wing released a video showing Bar alongside another hostage — the first images of him alive.'Bar looks extremely thin. He has his grandfather's eyes. He's the only one who inherited them,' said Faina Kuperstein, his grandmother.'He looked so much like him when he was younger. But now, his eyes have lost their light. He looks terribly pale.'I barely recognize his face anymore,' she said, choking back tears.'He never left the house without kissing me goodbye. I miss him so much.'All the hostages should have been released by now, said Michael Kuperstein.'But we're still waiting. Nothing changes except for more fallen soldiers. Why?' he turned 23 at the start of his speech disability, his father, Tal, longs to talk to immense effort, Tal recently managed to say a few words — a moment of pride that fills the family with hope he'll one day be able to speak to his son visits Bar's room every day. It remains neat and each meal, the family keeps a chair empty for him, with his photo placed on the yearns to tell him, 'Your father is speaking now.''He'll soon walk again. You dreamed of this moment — and look, it's happening. You must stay strong so that you can return to us.'
The Guardian
09-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
A lifesaving midwife in Afghanistan: Noriko Hayashi's best photograph
My home country, Japan, is one of the safest places in the world to give birth: it has one of the very lowest mortality rates in Asia. A few years ago I had the opportunity to work on a story about midwives in Japan, and I became very interested in their role. In November 2023 I travelled to Badakhshan province in the northeast of Afghanistan, the country with the highest maternal mortality rate in Asia. I wanted to meet midwives there and see how they support women. The Badakhshan province is far from Kabul, with rugged terrain and poor transportation and medical infrastructure. In winter, heavy snowfall blocks roads for months. Women who are about to give birth are sometimes carried on donkeys escorted by family members or neighbours on multi-day trips to clinics. The literacy rate for women there is extremely low compared to other provinces – less than 10% – which is partly why there's a serious shortage of midwives. This combination of geographic, social and cultural factors means there are often delays responding to emergencies, and deaths from complications like excessive bleeding or infection, which might otherwise have been preventable. This picture was taken in a small village while I was following a mobile health team of six, organised by the United Nations Population Fund. The midwife, Anisa, was giving medical checkups to women who had recently delivered a baby at home. One of these mothers took us to another woman in the neighbourhood who was nine months pregnant but had never had a checkup. Anisa is listening to the baby's heartbeat with a stethoscope in the picture, and telling the woman: 'Your baby is growing well, and if you start having contractions, be sure to call me and I'll come right away.' Ten days later, Anisa assisted the delivery at her home. After she finished a long day at work, I was in the same car with Anisa. She looked out the window at the narrow mountain road, and I saw a snowy peak in the distance, and said it must be so tough to travel from village to village every day, especially in winter. She replied that, even so, she would continue to do this work in an area where so many women have died – that being able to save a single life at birth is reward enough. I was really touched. Midwives like Anisa are saving pregnant women in many ways – not only helping them give birth but also acting as unofficial therapists. Afghan women are often isolated and disconnected from society, but with the midwives they can share personal problems they would never be able to otherwise, such as struggles with mothers-in-law, or their marriages. Women who have been pregnant for years – some have 10 children – ask their midwives to help persuade their husbands to use birth control. It's not easy, but they do succeed sometimes. The UN team is in charge of 13 villages that don't have any medical facilities. In conservative rural areas, it was customary for women to be accompanied by male relatives when travelling, even before the Taliban regained power in 2021. Since then, this rule is followed more stringently. This makes it difficult for women to travel to distant clinics. After the Taliban took over, many international donors that had supported Afghanistan's healthcare system withdrew, and hospitals and clinics have been forced to close amid concern that the maternal mortality rate will worsen. In December 2024, the Taliban banned the midwifery schools, having already banned women's wider education. While those who had already graduated could still work, women who had not completed their studies could not. Last month I found out that Anisa has not been able to work as a midwife since January. Since the withdrawal of international donors and US aid after Donald Trump's suspension order to cut US foreign aid for 90 days, the mobile health team can no longer function. Anisa and her husband, who was a vaccinator on the mobile team, are both jobless for now. Born: Kanagawa, Japan Self-taughtInfluences: 'My grandmother, who taught me the importance of being positive, and encouraged me to pursue what I am passionate about when I started photography'High point: 'Now. I have some long-term photographic projects which I truly love. I feel privileged to be able to challenge myself to create better work which I care about. And I feel grateful when I get feedback from people saying they were touched or empowered by my work'Low point: 'Having projects interrupted because of Covid'Top tip: 'Find a personal project that you really care about and never compromise your vision – it can be your strength and will ultimately support you as a photographer' Noriko Hayashi is the winner of the Japan professional award at the Sony World photography awards 2025. The accompanying exhibition is at Somerset House, London, from 17 April to 5 May
CBC
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Stubborn Knots by Ari Asho
Social Sharing Ari Asho has made the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Stubborn Knots. The winner of the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and their work will be published on CBC Books. The four remaining finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books. The shortlist will be announced on April 10 and the winner will be announced on April 17. If you're interested in other CBC Literary Prizes, the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize is currently accepting submissions. You can submit an original, unpublished poem or collection of poems from April 1-June 1. The 2026 CBC Short Story Prize will open in September and the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January. About Ari Asho Ari Asho is a writer in Montreal. They are currently working on a collection of short stories and a novella. Asho's story Compliments to Change the Way You Feel About Me was longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize in 2023. Entry in five-ish words "Love-sick weekend in the forest." The short story's source of inspiration "This story actually began as a Valentine's day gift for a long-ago partner. Re-visiting that original story nearly a decade later, what stood out was the contrast between a repetitive, obsessive attachment to a remote and unreachable love interest, and the tangible, grounded attachment to place, and nature and friendship. This iteration kept those themes, though I changed almost everything else." First lines Tomorrow is Valentine's day and tonight you're making bitter pumpkin soup and drinking lingonberry wine and Tal is reading tarot cards. You're all in a cabin in the forest for the weekend: you and Tal, Junie, Ann and Morgan. You choose to ask the deck about the man you're in love with, but the result isn't good. It's the King of Swords, reversed. The card foretells a lack of power, an unpredictability; a need to be wary of deep volatility; of aggression leading to cruelty, to outright chaos. "Can we do it again?" you ask, hoping for a different answer. This time, it's the Devil. Check out the rest of the longlist The longlist was selected from more than 2,300 entries. A team of 12 writers and editors from across Canada compiled the list. The jury selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the readers' longlisted selections. This year's jury is composed of Conor Kerr, Kudakwashe Rutendo and Michael Christie. The complete list is:
