Great article. Yes, it is a delight to see nations manage their stories so well ... and then it is especially frustrating to compare those situations to Israel's, where the country makes every branding/reputational mistake possible, through both words and actions. Your two questions: 1) what do we want the world to experience as true about us, and 2) are we organized enough to spread that message far and wide so the world rediscovers who we really are ... are critical, and I'm sure you're focused on them at the RSL. What are your comments on the Israel video you included?
Thanks, Steve. The tourism video is aimed at those who already have a spiritual or other connection to Israel and in that respect, kudos to the Tourism MInistry for putting their best foot forward, not being distracted by the aggressive anti-Israel campaign, and promoting tourism to Israel even now, when you wouldn't think it's possible. In terms of whether I'm clear from it the uniqueness of Israel like I am about Dubai (or Tel Aviv), as I wrote, the jury's out. But it's not their job to necessarily do that - what Israel needs is a national branding initiative and directorate/authority that is cross-ministerial and defines what Israel's essence is and based on that, its core offering to the world is. Since we don't have that, each ministry - if they choose to invest in this - will define it through their own prism. And that's part of the problem - it should work the other way around. Define a nation's brand holistically, and then adapt to the need being served (in this case, tourism). Failing that holistic approach (which was what the Brand Israel project at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did in 2010, but unfortunately it never took off), each ministry is on its own. The fact that the Tourism Ministry is even bothering with it all is commendable.
Thanks, Frances. And no, it's the tourism branding effort which is specific to the audiences the Ministry has decided it wants to influence (they are judged by how many tourists they get to Israel). See my above response to Steve as well for my two cents about it.
Great article. Yes, it is a delight to see nations manage their stories so well ... and then it is especially frustrating to compare those situations to Israel's, where the country makes every branding/reputational mistake possible, through both words and actions. Your two questions: 1) what do we want the world to experience as true about us, and 2) are we organized enough to spread that message far and wide so the world rediscovers who we really are ... are critical, and I'm sure you're focused on them at the RSL. What are your comments on the Israel video you included?
Thanks, Steve. The tourism video is aimed at those who already have a spiritual or other connection to Israel and in that respect, kudos to the Tourism MInistry for putting their best foot forward, not being distracted by the aggressive anti-Israel campaign, and promoting tourism to Israel even now, when you wouldn't think it's possible. In terms of whether I'm clear from it the uniqueness of Israel like I am about Dubai (or Tel Aviv), as I wrote, the jury's out. But it's not their job to necessarily do that - what Israel needs is a national branding initiative and directorate/authority that is cross-ministerial and defines what Israel's essence is and based on that, its core offering to the world is. Since we don't have that, each ministry - if they choose to invest in this - will define it through their own prism. And that's part of the problem - it should work the other way around. Define a nation's brand holistically, and then adapt to the need being served (in this case, tourism). Failing that holistic approach (which was what the Brand Israel project at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did in 2010, but unfortunately it never took off), each ministry is on its own. The fact that the Tourism Ministry is even bothering with it all is commendable.
Convincing text and examles. Is the intriguing video a suggestion for Israel's new branding?
Thanks, Frances. And no, it's the tourism branding effort which is specific to the audiences the Ministry has decided it wants to influence (they are judged by how many tourists they get to Israel). See my above response to Steve as well for my two cents about it.