In an effort to make an already booming industry better, Wisconsin tourism leaders said they are working with an advertising agency to create a single unifying brand for the state.

"This is the first time the Department of Tourism has branded," said Jerry Huffman, spokesman for the state Department of Tourism. Huffman said the state has a "team of experts working to come up with one thing about Wisconsin that really distinguishes it and that we want to share with customers."

Huffman said things about Wisconsin that come to mind include cheese, the Green Bay Packers, golf courses, lakes, people, nature and a great bargain. The challenge will be narrowing these options to one all-encompassing idea.

The Department of Tourism has hired Lindsay, Stone & Briggs, a Madison-based advertising agency that specializes in branding efforts, to guide the branding process.

Marsha Lindsay, chief executive officer of Lindsay, Stone & Briggs, said her company has led group discussions and set up exercises to elicit input from consumers and stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industries.

Because of the large number of sources and the variety found within the state's tourism hot spots, the branding process is quite complicated, Lindsay said.

"When you are a state department, you are representing thousands of motels, hotels, attractions and restaurants," she said. "You have to arrive at a brand positioning that is an umbrella over all of them and is relevant to the targeted population."

Huffman said the state has been working through the branding process fairly rapidly. He said he expects a basic decision on the brand by the end of the year. A recommendation will be made to the secretary of the travel department, who will pick the final brand. The state will then move on to the artistic development phase.

Huffman said the state took on the project to bolster an already-successful tourism industry.

"Traveler spending is in great shape," he said. "In 2006 (tourists) spent $12.83 billion in Wisconsin, making it the No. 3 industry in the state. We want to do better and there's still room for growth."

According to Julia Hertel, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Wisconsin does as well as Minnesota and Michigan in terms of tourism revenue and success but branding by the tourism department could help specific destinations through cooperative advertising and joint marketing grant programs.

Although no brand has been decided upon yet, Hertel said her idea for the brand revolves around water, a common element to most Wisconsin travel destinations.

"The name Wisconsin means gathering of the waters," she said. "We have lakes in the north, the Great Lakes (and) major rivers. Milwaukee is on the shores (of Lake Michigan) and Madison has two lakes. To me, that is something that differentiates us from other states and can be embraced by many different destinations."