branding guidelines

Israel rebrands as a modern, high-tech, and innovative

country with rich cultural and religious heritage.

Israel promotes beachgoers and Tel Aviv nightlife, rather

than holy sites.

The Foreign Ministry unveils a completely customizable

logo for the country, “ISRAEL Land of Creation”

The Israel Government Tourist Office rebrands Israel

“the land of creation” and lauches goisrael.com.

The Israel Ministry of Tourism launches a new website

israel.travel targeting Jewish travelers.

Jerusalem looks to brand itself separately from Israel in order to become a major

tourist attraction.

2004

2007

2013

2014

2015

timeline

2016

campaign analysis & overviewcampaign 1

FindingsIn our research, we found that Israel has rebranded itself at least five times since 2014, and is looking to rebrand yet again in 2016. With a country that has such an ancient history and heritage, houses three main religions in its most well-known city, and a diversity of things to do for any traveler, its understandable that it would be hard to focus on just one thing to brand Israel as.

However, multiple campaigns with different agencies, partners and objectives have created a confusing and inconsistent brand presence digitally as well as in the minds of audiences.

Current Brand AssociationsOne significant advantage Israel has over competing countries is the instantaneous association of Israel as “The Holy Land.” With just three words, the history, culture, heritage, and religion of Israel is easily understood by nearly any tourist regardless of their familiarity with or level of knowledge of Israeli tourism. However, Israel is also associated with extremely rapid growth, innovation, and technological manufacturing in the case of Tel Aviv, with wellness and spas in the case of the Dead Sea, and with conflict and danger in the case of the Gaza Strip and Palestine.

Shift of Focus to Fun, Creativity & InnovationSince 2004, Israel has taken a different approach to branding the whole country, choosing to focus on nightlife, beaches and warm weather, or high-tech innovation over the historical and religious heritage it is known for.

DIY Logos & BrandingIn 2013, updated its logo, making it completely customizable and DIY to promote the innovation and creativity of the country and to generate buzz on social media. However, an inconsistent branding strategy and an inconsistent logo makes it more difficult for a tourist to understand what Israel can offer to them.

Why a rebrand is neededThe number of rebranding campaigns and efforts that Israel has launched to revamp and promote tourism have created an inconsistent and confusing tourism brand. Continually changing messaging, focuses, and multiple versions of the same site makes it difficult to connect tourists with the information they need or may be interested in and multiple unofficial and unverified social media accounts make it difficult for Israel to connect in authentic and meaningful two-way conversations.

In order to launch a successful rebrand of Israeli tourism that will ultimately inform, inspire, and drive potential tourists to visit the country, Israel must first decide what it wants to be, what it’s going to promote itself as, and execute that consistently, especially on online and digital platforms.

While it is possible to promote all these aspects of Israel, it may prove to be difficult for Israel to promote new brand associations on top of current brand associations with the country. In order to change the conversation around Israel and tourism, a more focused branding approach and new messaging will be needed to increase visitors to the country.

branding & messagingBranding ApproachAccording to the 2015 ITB World Travel Report, city trips are one of the main drivers of travel market growth over the past year, increasing by 82% to reach nearly a quarter of all holidays taken this past year. We believe that decision of Jerusalem to brand itself separately from Israel will best capitalize on this trend and generate more positive conversations about Israeli tourism. We recommend not only branding Jerusalem separately from Israel, but focusing on three locations that we believe best encompass what Israel is best known for: Jerusalem’s historical and religious sites, the Dead Sea’s wellness and spa offerings as well as Tel Aviv’s modernity, creativity, and innovation.

Brand PromiseIsrael: A place to renew your spirit.

(Adapted from Travel Weekly’s “The Holy Land’s eye is on the future”)

While Israeli tourism’s current slogan, “Land of Creation,” cleverly references not only Israel’s innovation and startup culture but also its history, culture, and religious origins, we do not believe the dual meaning fully resonates with potential tourists who are only familiar with Israel’s reputation as “The Holy Land.” In order to better promote the breadth of Israel’s tourism offerings for every traveler, we suggest “a place to renew your spirit,” which references not only the spirit and religion offered by Jerusalem but also the excitement and inspiration offered by Tel Aviv as well as the relaxation and renewal offered by the Dead Sea.

Brand Associations

branding 2

MessagingKey Messages

jerusalembe inspired.be moved.

tel avivbe energized.be excited.

the dead seabe recharged.

just be.

allaudiences

Israel is an exciting, innovative, and new place to explore and learn from.

Israel is the best of both worlds, traditional & modern, enduring & innovative.

Israel is a safe place to travel to.Israel has something for every traveler.Israel is an easy place to travel to and is easy to travel around due to its size. English is widely spoken and understood.

millennials

babyboomers

branding 3Digital & Social BrandingAfter several rebrands and changes in strategy, it is understandable that there may be platforms and websites from older campaigns that are out-of-date, or that are no longer accessible. And while it is also advantageous to create targeted campaigns for audiences in different countries, the benefit of targeted campaigns does not outweigh the cost of having a fragmented, inconsistent, and confusing brand online, especially with a brand that has changed several times over the past decade. Our findings and recommendations are below.

Current Digital Platform AuditCurrently Israel has separate digital platforms for US and UK-based audiences, however, in what appears to be a rebrand or refresh of both the UK and US-facing websites, each region now has two active websites and their own social media accounts.

While not all are active or updated, too many different platforms confuse consumers and make it extremely difficult for Israel to have a unified brand image and consistent messaging online. In our research, we found the following platforms for the US and UK in addition to what appeared to be an unaffiliated site israel.com and its social media accounts.

goisrael.comisrael.travel

@IsraelTourism

fb.com/goisraelyoutube.com/israeltourismpinterest.com/israeltourism

flickr.com/israelphotogallery

Official US Platforms

thinkisrael.comuk.thinkisrael.comfb.com/VisitIsraelyoutube.com/channel/UC2k-0HZ8qw2KyzxCTGHx0s-A

Official UK Platforms

israel.com

@wwwIsraelDotCom

fb.com/israeldotcominstagram.com/israeldotcompinterest.com/israeldotcom

Unaffiliated Platforms

Digital Platforms Consolidation & Recommended Usage We recommend that Israel consolidate so that it has one account for all audiences on each platform in order to effectively promote a consistent brand image and messaging across media. While we recommend that Israel use the same account name as the website name. As the most updated version of the US-facing Israel tourism website is israel.travel, we’ve used it in our example below.

Social Messaging & ToneIsraeli Tourism on social media IS• A helpful resource to potential & returning visitors;• A curation of owned & user-generated content;• A brand ambassador of its cities, sites and people;• Transparent, friendly, helpful and quick to respond.

Type of content shared• Articles on Israeli tourism, culture, or Israeli events;• Travel advisories or warnings in emergencies;• Israel-related content from blogs, sites & news;• Israel-related user-generated content;• Responses to questions about traveling to Israel;• Responses to all legitimate feedback from visitors.

israel.travel @IsraelTravelfb.com/israeltravel

youtube.com/israeltravelpinterest.com/israeltravel flickr.com/IsraelTravel

Israeli Tourism on social media IS NOT• A platform for the government, policies or officials;• A one-way, non-engaging communication platform;• A dumping ground for marketing & advertising;• Secretive, misleading, out of touch or dismissive.

Type of content NOT shared• Articles on government, politics or leadership;• Negative, inflammatory or offensive content using Israel-related keywords or hashtags;• Incorrect, misleading information;• Responses to non-tourism related questions;• Responses to fake feedback from trolls or flamers.

logo analysisCurrent Logo OverviewIsrael currently uses a multicolored logo for the country’s name in a custom typeface. The typeface combines elements of Arabic, Hebrew and English writing.

According to Israel Government Tourist Office’s PR and communication director Jerry Adler, the logo is “a dynamic logo with one visual language that can be adopted by all government offices. The logo is part of an ongoing effort…to change people around the world’s view of the country and its people.”

The theme of the redesign of the logo was to focus on Israel’s creative energy, suggesting modernity and innovation and focusing on the country’s people--the faces of the country.

Current Logo Usage Lack of Distinctiveness and MemorabilityWhile the current logo is easy to read, it lacks contrast, distinguishing features and intentional use of color, which makes it difficult to create a lasting impression and a consistent brand.

Inconsistent usageIsrael uses several variations of its multicolored logo. While these variations are visually similar, they often use different typefaces and color arrangements.

Below are examples of Israel’s UK and US-facing digital platforms: its websites, Facebook pages, and its YouTube pages. Note that each of the logos are different and varied in the colors and/or fonts used inconsistently across platforms:

Israel’s UK Tourism Websiteuk.thinkisrael.com

Israel’s UK Tourism Facebook PageVisit Israel or facebook.com/visitisrael

Israel’s UK YouTube Pageyoutube.com/channel/

UC2k0HZ8qw2KyzxCTGHx0s-A

Logo from Israel’s US Tourism site goisrael.com

Israel’s US Tourism Websiteisrael.travel

Israel’s US Tourism Websitegoisrael.com

Israel’s US Facebook Pagefacebook.com/goisrael

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Mexico’s Tourism LogoThe imagery of multicolored Mexico tourism logo conveys the diversity of Mexico as a country and as a culture. The color and graphic design on each letter represents a different facet of that culture:•M: red conveys power; the design represents the Aztec culture;

•E: pink conveys respect; the design represents Spanish colonial heritage;

•X: orange conveys warmth; the design represents a fusion of cultures;

•I: purple conveys creativity; the design represents Mexican architecture;

•C: the color & design both represent nature, the flora & fauna of Mexico;

•O: the color & design both represent the ocean & beaches of Mexico.

Belize’s Tourism LogoAnother example of a logo that is uses a multitude of colors and graphic design to convey the country’s brand is the logo of Belize tourism. Each color is used to represent a different region of the country, and the cartoon toucan bird, the national bird of Belize, attracts quick attention and is memorable.

Each color in the logo is intentionally used to represent a different facet of the country of Belize, from the jungles to reefs and from the beaches and to the sun.

Below the logo are regional iconography symbols that represent Belize and its six main regions of Belize: • Western Belize• Southeast Coast• North Islands • Central Coast• The Belize Reef• Southern Belize• Northern Belize

Medico’s Tourism Logo & Branding Design

Graphic DesignWhile the multicolored logo aims to show the diversity of the people of Israel and the innovativeness of the country, without intentional color choices, the meaning of the logo is difficult to understand at first glance. Additionally, it is unclear what the shading on each letter is supposed to symbolize.

Below are some examples of intentional color choices and designs that can help convey a memorable impression of the country.

Belize’s Tourism Logo & Branding Design

Logo from Israel’s US Tourism site goisrael.com

logo 5

RecommendationsA logo needs to look good and be versatile across multiple media, from a 20-foot billboard to the upper right hand corner of an iPhone screen. A logo seen on a desktop or laptop isn’t seen the same way from a from smaller screen such as a tablet or cell phone: details are lost and multiple colors can be hard to distinguish.

TypefaceThe typeface currently combines elements of Arabic, Hebrew and English, but the angular design is hard to read on smaller displays or if it is resized. Many companies such as Google and Facebook have addressed this by opting for rounder, flatter, or slimmer logos that take social-mobile-viewing into consideration.

Graphic DesignThe shading of the multicolor logo does not take into account loss of detail, readability on smaller screens, or blurring that can occur during the resizing of the logo.

Israel’s logo should avoid using too many lines, or details such as shadows, as it distorts the look of the logo and make it hard to read.

ColorsThe color needs to reflect the spirit, energy and diversity of Israel while balancing a sense of its heritage with progressiveness. The usage of multicolor symbolizes the diversity that exists in Israeli seasons, cultures, and society. However, the selected colors should represent meaningful insights, and the order should never be altered in any circumstance.

Below is an example of a color palette. We would recommend the usage of three to four colors for Israel’s logo and branding materials:

From “Make your Logo Mobile-Friendly” by Jennifer Bunting

Taken from: “Colour Psychology: Why We Chose Our Brand Colors” by We Are Boutique

Logo Usage & Applications• Every platform must use the same logo;• Never change the color designations assigned to each component of the logo;• Do not use the logo elements in any other arrangement or stacking order;• Do not change the typeface of the logo;• Do not place the logo on a complex background;• Never customize the logo by adding or deleting component;• Do not skew, stretch, rotate, tilt, or compress the logo.

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