Switzerland Tourism (ST) has introduced a new logo that incorporates the Swiss cross in place of the letter ‘T’, symbolising the “trustworthy origins” and radiating the optimism of the Swiss destination.
The symbolic cross goes far beyond just a national flag, it was expanded and given the so-called “colour tone” of five different shades of red, a symbol of modernity, diversity and independence, the company said.
After almost 30 years of Swiss Tourism advertising under the “Gold Flower” banner, Switzerland is for the first time adopting a comprehensive tourism brand world with “Switzerland”.
ST presented this in Geneva and is now taking the new image out into the world. In 1995, the “Swiss Transport Center SVZ” transformed its name to Switzerland Tourism, the group that promotes tourism in Switzerland. At the same time, the common image of tourism in Switzerland was created under the umbrella of a new logo, the “Gold Flower”.
This gold flower became the well-known and popular symbol for Swiss tourism advertising for a generation. For many years, not only the then new marketing organisation ST, but also a number of industry organisations, destinations and service providers promoted Switzerland’s tourism offerings with the same logo.
The new brand will be designed and implemented gradually worldwide with immediate effect – both in ST markets and across the entire tourism industry. The complete transition to the new brand world is likely to take a few months.
The new brand identity was developed together with the Zurich branding agency MADE Identity.
When developing “Switzerland”, MADE focused on three main areas. On the one hand, the brand should become more visible and noticeable internationally through a consistent one-brand strategy. In addition, the brand should have maximum impact digitally, tactilely and spatially. And finally, “Switzerland” as a brand should be able to accompany guests through the travel experience, from advertising, to the experience, to the souvenir.
Martin Nydegger, Director, ST, stated “The Gold Flower defined an era for a generation of tourism professionals. The Switzerland brand conveys trust, has a modern design and is forward-looking for another generation. The new tourism brand is being closely watched throughout Switzerland and will represent Switzerland far beyond tourism, including internationally.”
