The document discusses Israel's efforts to rebrand its tourism industry over the past decade through multiple campaigns. It analyzes Israel's current branding approaches and inconsistencies across platforms. Key recommendations include: 1. Consolidating digital platforms under one unified brand presence to reduce confusion. 2. Focusing the branding on three locations - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the Dead Sea - to better represent Israel's offerings. 3. Redesigning the logo to be more distinctive, memorable and versatile across devices through intentional color choices and a simplified design.

1. branding guidelines

2. 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 & overview
campaign 1
Findings
In 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 Associations
One 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 & Innovation
Since 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 & Branding
In 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 needed
The 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.

3. branding & messaging
Branding Approach
According 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 Promise
Israel: 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
Messaging
Key Messages
jerusalem
be inspired.
be moved.
tel aviv
be energized.
be excited.
the dead sea
be recharged.
just be.
all
audiences
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
baby
boomers

4. branding 3
Digital & Social Branding
After 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 Audit
Currently 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.com
israel.travel
@IsraelTourism
fb.com/goisrael
youtube.com/israeltourism
pinterest.com/israeltourism
flickr.com/israelphotogallery
Official US Platforms
thinkisrael.com
uk.thinkisrael.com
fb.com/VisitIsrael
youtube.com/channel/UC2k-
0HZ8qw2KyzxCTGHx0s-A
Official UK Platforms
israel.com
@wwwIsraelDotCom
fb.com/israeldotcom
instagram.com/israeldotcom
pinterest.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 & Tone
Israeli 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 @IsraelTravel
fb.com/israeltravel
youtube.com/israeltravel
pinterest.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.

5. logo analysis
Current Logo Overview
Israel 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 Memorability
While 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 usage
Israel 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 Website
uk.thinkisrael.com
Israel’s UK Tourism Facebook Page
Visit Israel or facebook.com/visitisrael
Israel’s UK YouTube Page
youtube.com/channel/
UC2k0HZ8qw2KyzxCTGHx0s-A
Logo from Israel’s US Tourism site goisrael.com
Israel’s US Tourism Website
israel.travel
Israel’s US Tourism Website
goisrael.com
Israel’s US Facebook Page
facebook.com/goisrael
logo 4

6. Mexico’s Tourism Logo
The 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 Logo
Another 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 Design
While 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

7. Recommendations
A 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.
Typeface
The 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 Design
The 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.
Colors
The 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.
logo 6