A city is a riddle. Discover Athens' branding up until now!
Athens CoCreation Branding Project
Panteion University Of Social And Political Sciences
Department of Communication, Media and Culture
MA in Cultural Management
Course: Cultural Marketing and Communication
Course Instructor: Betty Tsakarestou, Assistant Professor and Head of Advertising and Public Relations Lab
23. Athens marketing before 2004
• only promotional campaigns for the country as a whole
by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO)
• purely promotional activities
with no evident marketing plan
• characterised by extreme instability and inconsistency
– in the fourteen years between 1991 and 2004, the GNTO has used eight
different logos and ten different slogans
• some minor promotion of Athens was done
either by the GNTO or by the tourism sector
(e.g. Chamber of Hoteliers, Association of Greek
Tourism Enterprises [SETE]),
with no cooperation between them
25. Winning an Olympic Games bid is regarded as a significant victory
in the never-ending contest between the world’s leading cities
for prestige and investment.
In recent years the Games has turned into a mega event
and serves as a platform for host cities and countries
to tell a new story to the world about themselves.
28. The logo
olive tree branch
• reference to the greek heritage
of the Games
• sacred tree and symbol of the
ancient city-state of Athens
open circle
• open invitation to humanity to
participate in the Olympic
celebration
• rendered by hand in a free,
modern and unrestricted manner,
reflecting the human element.
29. A great opportunity
The Organizing Committee
realized that the upcoming
Olympic Games event
was a great media and PR opportunity for Greece
“to re-launch itself in the eyes of the world”.
• Thus the necessity to investigate the international
image of Greece, find out what the world thought of
the host country of the 2004 Games and decide upon
what needed to be changed, emphasized upon,
and communicated.
30. The Organizing Committee
surveys the ground
In December 2003, according to a tailor made qualitative
research among opinion leaders in six countries,
Greece is primarily being perceived as idyllic holiday
destination and secondarily as a place of great cultural
significance.
31. “... idyllic holiday destination”
< Sun and sea are part of this stereotypical image,
… as also are spontaneity and laissez-faire
and a sense of warmth and hospitality. >
32. “… a place of great cultural significance”
< The significance of the Greek culture mainly stems
from its history and link to ancient times,
rather than from the nation’s modern achievements >
33. 2003 ATHOC research (cont.)
• Respondents also seem to
have a clear image of the
Greek people, who are
described as warm, friendly,
welcoming, traditional,
family-oriented, strong, and
proud people that love life.
• The Greeks are perceived to
possess a large degree of
self-assuredness, as people
who manage to solve
problems rather ad hoc
thanks to their creativity and
ability to improvise.
On the other hand, Greeks seem to be
lacking the qualities of careful planning,
reliability and organizational skills,
which are perceived by the respondents as
key to the success of a modern state.
34. • Opinion leaders express the need to be “guided”
through the achievements of Greece
as a contemporary country in order to dispel
all myths and cliches regarding the passionate
but unreliable Greek character.
•
• … it would be advisable to focus communication more
on Greek modernity and socio-economical development
rather than Ancient Greece, the classical values and
the natural beauty of the country.
2003 ATHOC research (cont.)
35. During the Games - The positive impression
• Against all odds, Greeks manage
to stage a well organized event,
involving thousands of spectators,
volunteers, engaging thousands
of athletes and the world.
The atmosphere is that of a
unique Olympic celebration.
Transportation works well,
there are no security issues,
visitors feel comfortable and in
fact enthusiastic being in Athens,
following the sports events,
having fun.
36. Apologies!
Rich Reilly from Sports Illustrated:
- An open letter to Athens
and its crowd:
“Sorry about the way we acted. We were
paranoid and stupid and just flat out wrong.
Our bad.
If you want, we'll sleep on the couch.
We mocked you, ridiculed you, figured you
wouldn't be ready. We envisioned you as a
bunch of lazy, swarthy guys in wife-beater
T-shirts chugging ouzo instead of finishing
the baseball dugouts.
We were sure steeplechasers would have to
jump over drying cement, pole vaulters over
37. A success for the city’s image?
Not necessarily so…
• The 17 days of the Games attracted worldwide media attention.
The positive impact of the Games has been perceived by the
general public internationally.
• However, as Athens
discovered rather too late,
the event itself does not
automatically do anything
for the country’s brand.
It is a media opportunity,
not a branding activity itself…
• For the country, it was a unique opportunity to relaunch itself to
the eyes of the world with a consistent strategy of objectives,
means and vehicles, key messaging, successful implementation
and follow up ……
which is not what happened.
38. What others did?
• Christopher Brown,
Tourism Task Force of the Australian
Government (October 2000):
“What we need to do now though is
not rest on our laurels, not think that
the gold medals we've won in terms of
promotion will simply translate into
flights into Australia full of rich tourists
wanting to create jobs. That is a
challenge that
we have to keep going with. We've got
to keep advertising, we've got to keep
marketing, we have to keep flying that
Australian flag all round the world
because we go stale pretty quickly once
the Olympic circus leaves town.”
41. The image of Athens
• The Olympic Games (and all development
efforts) did have an impact on the city’s image
as a tourism destination (although not as
significant as expected) but not on the
evaluation of other aspects.
• Need for strategies that would cover all
functions of the city and particularly focus on
the residents’ own perceptions and
experiences.
42. Tourism expectations
• Athens has upgraded and continues to improve its tourism product …
• However, the city’s reaction to the opportunities created by the Games
has certainly been slow.
• It seems fair to conclude that although Athens did get the push it needed
from the Olympic Games, another difficult task is ahead: to take serious
action.
43. A (weak) wind of change
• The stated reason of everything that is done in the
region during the first years after 2004 and concerns
economic prospects, tourism development, the
image of the city but also urban development in
general, is the explicit attempt to capitalise on the
(supposed) positive effects that the Games
had on the city, which at least seem to mobilize the
authorities.
• As a beginning, the marketing effort of Athens
focuses on tourism development with the clear goal
to make Athens a top city-break destination in
Europe.
44. The campaign for the Region
• For the first time, a concrete and thorough promotional plan
for the region of Attica and a comprehensive promotional
campaign in the years 2005-2006
• Once again, the campaign has been discontinued
• Today, what has survived this effort can be seen at the
region’s website www.athensattica.gr
45. Slogan and goals of the campaign
‘Surprise your self in Athens Attica’
• to reinforce and take advantage of the
element of a positive surprise generated by
the success of the Olympic Games
• to suggest new aspects of the city and the
region in an attempt to escape from certain
stereotypes and overused promotional
messages
46. 2005: Athens Tourism and Economic
Development Agency (ATEDCO)
An organization that would
• coordinate the existing activity
• design and implement new actions
• record and analyse the tourism product
• create a marketing and branding system
Today, ATEDCO is known as Athens Development and Destination
Management Agency (ADDMA) (www.developathens.gr)
47. The Development Program
The key priorities and objectives of its strategic planning are:
• Helping the city’s businesses to improve competitiveness:
Strengthening local entrepreneurship and competitiveness of the
local economy by focusing on the city’s comparative advantages.
Special emphasis will be placed in reinforcing Athens as leisure and
business travel destination
• Improving citizens’ quality of life: The quality of life of residents with
cutting-edge green development
• Regenerating the urban area: The revitalization of the urban fabric
• Handling the social crisis: The effective management of the social
crisis with the main goal of combating poverty and social exclusion
and ensuring social inclusion
• Sustaining the improvement effort: The support of the Services of
the Municipality with the goal of the smooth implementation of the
program and ensuring its sustainability.
48. Tourism Activities
Investing in actions which will strengthen the
existing tourism infrastructure, convey a
unified and competitive identity for Athens,
and promote the city abroad.
Main efforts:
• Breathtaking Athens
• Athens Convention Bureau (ACB)
• This is MY Athens
49. Breathtaking Athens
• To provide high level and up-to-date information for visitors to Athens
• To promote the image of Athens as a contemporary tourism destination
• To attract targeted tourism which directly contributes to the city's economy
www.breathtakingathens.com
50. Athens Convention Bureau
• To promote Athens as a conference destination
• To attract international conferences, company meetings and all forms of
events of international interest to Athens
• To respond to requests from meeting planners and others in a
comprehensive, immediate and responsible manner
• To emphasise the particular significance that conference activity holds for
the city's economy and to evaluate its impact with documented evidence
www.athensconventionbureau.gr
51. This is MY Athens
• Travellers planning a trip to Athens are encouraged to apply
online for a "This is My Athens" personal "showing around
town" with an Athens Local.
• It is a free program available to visitors and staffed by
volunteer Athenians who are excited to show "their city" and
all it has to offer.
• So far, the programme counts 400 Athens Locals.
52. Further necessary steps*
• creation of a metropolitan-level structure or, at least,
cooperation
• creation and implementation of a long-term strategic
development and promotion plan
(in the metropolitan level again)
• close cooperation with the tourism sector and other
sectors involved, not only in implementation but,
especially, in the decision-making phase
An obvious choice:
The ADDMA should be expanded to the metropolitan
or regional level.
58. “Artistic Events In Athens”
The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and
Tourism with regulated entities and in
collaboration with the Municipality of
Athens started performing from 1
September 2011 a series of cultural
activities and interventions in public
spaces in Athens. By mid November the
leading artistic forces of the country
visited squares, pedestrian areas and city
parks offering citizens and visitors alike
the opportunity to attend concerts,
dances, performances and so on.
http://www.nationalopera.gr/gr/news/kallit
ehnikes-draseis-stin-athina/
66. Athens Fringe Festival is a
multifaceted contemporary
art festival, organized by
Athens Fringe Network, the
first open and professional
network in Greece
addressing all creative cores
of the city. Synthesis Media
Company in collaboration
with Edinburgh Fringe
Festival organizes Athens
Fringe Festival (since 2009).
Under the auspices of the
Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
https://www.facebook.com
/athensfringe
68. Athens Technopolis jazz festival
The European Jazz Festival of "Technopolis" Municipality of Athens after
twelve successful years now opens its doors around the world hosting
bands from Portugal, Israel, Denmark, Hungary, Spain, Poland,
Argentina, Austria, Holland and of course, Greece!
http://www.technopolis-athens.com/web/guest/events
69.
70. Athens Pride
Athens Pride started as small grassroots initiative gathering a few
hundred activists in 2005 and quickly grew to become one of the most
popular and most significant all day events of the city. With the main
event attracting over 12,000 people in 2012, it is the largest pride event
in SE Europe. Regardless of this growth and success, Athens Pride
retains it's grassroots, all volunteer, non-profit character.
http://www.athenspride.eu/
71. Athens Pride is unlike any other in many ways. One example: For the
past 3 years an auction named "Artists for Athens Pride" has provided
most of the funding for Athens Pride, enabling it to produce free public
cultural and political events that are enjoyed by thousands. This
extraordinary display of sensitivity and conscience on the part of artists
in Greece and abroad has made Athens Pride unique, as the only Pride
in the world to be primarily supported by the visual arts community!
http://www.athenspride.eu/
75. Coworking spaces i
Offers start-up and entrepreneurs accelerator programs and workshop to help start, grow and develop a
business. Full time membership costs 140€ per month.
http://colabworkspace.com
76. Coworking spaces ii
A large space geared towards startups and new technology. Located in central Athens not far
from Loft2Work. The area over the past months has been abandoned, but is where most of
the things happen in the city – (i.e. concentration of entrepreneurial activity)
(http://123p.gr/eng/home)
77. http://loft2work.gr/
Coworking spaces iii
Loft2Work opened in March 2011 with a focus on social, creative, cultural. Not start up
oriented. Idea to make it feel like home. 20 members, 200sqm. Numerous and frequent
workshops oriented around personal development, rather than business development. The
Loft2Work philosophy is about spreading knowledge, empowering individuals in healthy
business ecosystems, and engaging youth.
78. Coworking Spaces iv :
LUDENS LABS - A playground for the mind
•Initiated by a bunch of youth and youth-at-heart in
2009 is located in a small ground floor multifunctional
space in the district of Eksarcheia
•LUDENS LABS hosts its Workshops, Conferences,
Competitions, Round Table Discussions, Festivals,
Exhibitions and other in-situ situations.
•All these take place under the umbrella of a grand
experiment called LUDENS LABS – A PLAYGROUND
FOR THE MIND which is implemented by the Non-
Profit Organization URBAN GAMES *ΑΣΤΙΚΑ
ΠΑΙΧΝΙΔΙΑ+, based in Athens
http://www.ludenslabs.com/
79. Coworking spaces v:
Synergy Project
“Work For Yourself, But Not By Yourself”
Synergy Project is the new co working space in Athens,
under the Parthenon, next to the Acropolis Museum
and just seconds away from the metro station.
Synergy Project offers fully equipped workstations for
anyone looking for a place to work or to study, a
modern meeting room for large meetings,
presentations and seminars and a relaxing common
area for charging your batteries during the day.
Their main objective is to create, through the
productive cooperation of their members, a dynamic
and effective synergistic community.
“Join the Project - Create in Synergy”
http://www.synergyproject.gr/
80. “Thinking Lab" is an open space-time thought and practice that tries to offer the experience
of a different paradigm in education and culture. The aim of the "workshop“ is to awaken a
mood search, investigation and experimentation regarding the relationship between
philosophy, science, art and technology and provide a kind of orientation to modern humans.
http://ergastirio-skepsis.com/
Coworking spaces vi:
Thinking Lab
81. Coworking spaces (how do they work)
• “The sense of creating a community and
collaboration within it.”
• “It’s just a matter of making people remember, and
reminding them what a powerful tool community
can be”
• Bridge different sectors of the community.
• Coworking spaces can be used to facilitate dialogue
between individuals, corporations, and social and
educational organizations.
• “Businesses and social work groups often book the
space for brainstorm sessions and to use the meeting
rooms. There's a big social part, and a commercial
part, and the coworking spaces is neutral ground for
these two sectors of society to come together.”
http://www.deskmag.com/en/coworking-spaces-in-greece-athens-209
82. EMBROS is an autonomous
space of cultural
expression and social
action.
•Is nonprofit, all events are
held FREE
•It covers all forms of art
and is open to anyone
•Is autonomous and self-
managed
•The management is
collective and performed
by working groups and
open meetings in which
whoever wants can
participate
83. Visual Intervention Program
Ministry of
environment, energy &
climate change &
Athens School of Fine
Arts. The pilot program
“Visual Intervention” is
only one of the actions
of the Ministry for the
shift change in old
Athens.
http://www.citybranding.gr/2011/10/graffiti.html
85. “We are only here to do. Seven days a
week, 365 days a year.”
http://atenistas.org/
86. An open community of
citizens of Athens
aiming to help revive
the city through
volunteer work and
urban interventions.
http://atenistas.org/
87. Donations received are only materials. In running
actions there is a money box in order to cover other
small costs. Atenistas is neither a Union (which
ensures less friction), nor an NGO (ensuring
participants that no financial transactions).
http://atenistas.org/
88. GloVo stands for Global Volunteers. It is a global volunteers
platform, in which people from all over the world can sign up
as volunteers for all kinds of events, according to their
location, interests and abilities. Also event organizers can
benefit from our website by finding suitable volunteers for
their events. In other words, GloVo aims at matching great
volunteers to great events.
https://www.facebook.com/GloVoPlatform
89. ΣΚΑΪ actions
Volunteer Action for the Environment and the Citizen
Health: drug concentration, medical services offer
Environment: Cleaning, afforestation, tree planting, recycling
Society: gathering food, clothes and blankets,
Education: Scholarships by organizations and Institutions
http://www.oloimaziboroume.gr/
91. RETHINK ATHENS
A city centre for people
Visions and objectives for the city of Athens of 2016.
Onassis Foundation (Organizer & Sponsor)
The Re-think Athens project is launching the transformation of the center of Athens in
2016. Extending from Amalias Avenue and Syntagma Square to Omonoia Square and
the Archaeological Museum, the city will reclaim its public space and will evolve into a
unique place, where citizens from every corner of Athens can meet, both in
commercial and leisure activities. Upon the completion of the ‘Re-think Athens’
Architectural Competition, the transformation of the city center along Panepistimiou
Street will be ready for implementation.
93. “Cultural Center - Stavros Niarchos Foundation”
The project includes parkland 170,000 sq.m. and the new premises of
the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. The
construction of the Centre is to be completed in 2015, while part of the
funding has been secured from funds of the Regional Operational
Program of Attica and donated by the Foundation "Stavros Niarchos".
96. Starting up a Start up (funding)
• Kickstarter (USA & U.K.)
• (particular amount of money for your project to get of the ground)
• Zerofund (GREECE)
• (virtual amount of money, consulting, no need for legal identity, coworking
spaces)
• Openfund (GREECE)
• (transforming tech solutions to viable products through consulting and
partial funding along with product delivery)
97. http://www.kickstarter.com/
• Οne of a number of crowd funding platforms for gathering money from the public
• Project creators choose a deadline and a minimum funding goal. If the goal is not met by the
deadline, no funds are collected, a provision point mechanism.
• Creators from the US or the UK.
• Kickstarter takes 5% of the funds raised. Amazon charges an additional 3–5%.
• Unlike many forums for fundraising or investment, Kickstarter claims no ownership over the
projects and the work they produce. The web pages of projects launched on the site are
permanently archived and accessible to the public.
• After funding is completed, projects and uploaded media cannot be edited or removed from
the site
• No guarantee that people that post projects on Kickstarter will deliver on their projects, use
the money to implement their projects, or that the completed projects will meet backers'
expectations. Contributors have no way of receiving confirmation unless they directly ask the
original owners and Kickstarter itself has been accused of providing little quality control.
• As of October 10, 2012, 73,620 launched projects (3,426 in progress), with a success rate of
43.85%. The total number of dollars pledged was $381 million.
98. • http://www.zerofund.org/index.html
• access to famous Startupers, Product Developers and Executives from Microsoft, Google,
Yahoo! etc and we give you resources to build your product. Oh and after that, we'll send you
to San Francisco for a three months acceleration and up to $65k - Thanks MindTheBridge!
• 1.[expired 28th February 2013]
• Build a KickStarter-like page (based on our platform) in order to promote your idea
• 2.[Two weeks]
• Raise a minimum amount of money you need in order to create your minimum viable
product
• 3. [One month]
• Build minimum viable product and get as many users as you can
• 4.[Three days]
• One Startup enters MindTheBridge on-the-spot, other Startups get short-listed and the rest keep
on developing
99.
100. http://theopenfund.com/
• Openfund is a seed venture capital fund, targeting innovative business ideas
around software and the web.
• Call of interest (expected duration: 2 months)
• First judgment (expected duration: 1 month)
• Second judgment (expected duration: 15 days)
• Seed preparation (expected duration: 15 days) seed financing of 20.000euro to
30.000 euro
• Seeding Timeframe (expected duration: 4 months) turn an idea to a working
prototype and a business that is launched, even if not at full operational capacity
• Exit (expected duration: undefined)main purpose of a fund remains nevertheless
to be profitable. The alumni start-ups of theOpenfund are provided with full
support to grow, so as to end up in a further round of funding or acquisition,
providing exit opportunities for the fund’s investment.
101. Successful greek startups
• Bugscense (crash reports deliver Big data for analyzing and troubleshooting
mobile apps) http://www.bugsense.com/
• Taxi beat and Taxiplon (booking service) https://taxibeat.com/
• Hellas direct (insurance services) https://www.hellasdirect.gr/
• Incrediblue (booking service for boats 100.000 euros funding)
http://www.incrediblue.com/
• Workable HR(special software rental and recruiting services, 600.000 €
funding) http://workable.com/offers/startupbootcamp
• Pinnatta (mobile message exchange app, 100.000 downloads, 550.000 €
funding) http://pinnatta.com/
102.
103. Start ups as professionals “see” them
• TEDx Athens Video
• Bindi Karia inter-view on start ups
• SUCCESS AND FAILURE ARE THE FACETS OF THE SAME COIN.
• TURN POSSIBLE FAILURE TO SUCCESS BY PERSISTENCE AND WORK WORK WORK
• TIME INVESTED IS RETURNING AND TURNED INTO SUCCESS
• THERE ARE EXPERIENCED PEOPLE IN THE FIELD WHICH ARE AVAILABLE, WILLING
AND WAITING TO BE ASKED
• 1:45-4:30 / 5:30-13:30 / 14:20-14:55 / 17:10-18:07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KkC6JZqoul8
104. TEDxAthens (TED=Technology, Entertainment,
Design) is a world-class conference about Innovation,
Creativity and Ideas based in Athens, Greece. Proud
member of the TEDx family.
https://www.facebook.com/tedxathens
105. TEDxAthens’ mission is to develop and
leverage the TED experience at a regional
level, uniting innovators, thinkers,
inspirational speakers, shakers, makers
and breakers. TEDxAthens is a world-class
conference about Innovation, Creativity
and Ideas based in Athens, Greece.
TEDxAthens is one of the first TEDx events
worldwide and the first ever TEDx event in
Greece - started in May 2009. TEDxAthens
is curated by Dimitris Kalavros-Gousiou
and organized by a team of 60 volunteers
(as of November 2012). What would Ideas
worth Spreading really mean if it did not
give communities, organizations and
individuals the opportunity through TED-
like experiences?
https://www.facebook.com/tedxathens
106. TEDx events are fully planned
and coordinated independently,
on a community-by-community
basis. As of November 2011,
more than 2.000 TEDx events
have took place worldwide.
TED was founded in 1984 as a
one-off event. The annual
conference began in 1990, in
Monterey, California. TED's early
emphasis was technology and
design, consistent with its origins
in the Silicon Valley.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TE
D_%28conference%29
107. Innovation index
• Innovation city global index
http://www.innovation-cities.com/innovation-cities-global-index-2012/7237
330th in 415 participant cities (influencer)
• All cities are graded into award categories based on their band score. In
descending order of importance to the innovation economy:
• NEXUS: Critical nexus for multiple economic and social innovation
segments
• HUB: Dominance or influence on key economic and social innovation
segments , based on global rends
• NODE: Broad performance across many innovation segments, with key
imbalances
• INFLUENCER: Competitive in some segments, potential or imbalanced
• UPSTART: Potential steps towards relative future performance in a few
innovation segments
108. Innovation ii
Corallia is the first organisation established in Greece for the
structured and systematic management and development of
innovation clusters, with the strategic aim to develop
cohesive and productive innovative ecosystems within which
actors operate in a coordinated manner, in specific sectors
and regions of the country, and where a competitive
advantage and export orientation exists.
http://www.corallia.org/
109. Ease of doing business index
http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings
World bank index for entepreneurship’s convenience
Greece ranked 78th amongst 185 participants
• Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 185.
• A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory
environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local
firm.
• This index averages the country's percentile rankings on 10 topics, made
up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The
rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2012.
110. European Green city index
http://www.commoncurrent.com/notes/2009/12/european-green-city-index-rele.html
Athens ranked 22rd amongst 30
participants
scored 53,09 (87,31 as highest and 32,33
as lowest)
111. Brand strength index
• http://www.macrame.tv/storage/Saff_CityBrandBarom.pdf
• Athens ranked 10th amongst 72
participants, totaling 73 points (89 as
highest and 29 as lowest)
• 110% Brand utilisation (131% as highest
and 45% as lowest)
113. *Bibliography
Karavatzis Mihalis 2008, From city marketing to city branding: An interdisciplinary
analysis with reference to Amsterdam, Budapest and Athens, University of
Groningen.
http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/rw/2008/m.kavaratzis/
Maria Fola 2007, “The international image of Greece: An analysis on the occasion
of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games”, 3rdHellenic Observatory PhD Symposium on
Contemporary Greece, London School of Economics, June 14 & 15, 2007
Maria Fola 2011, “Athens City Branding and the 2004 Olympic Games”, in Keith
Dinnie, City Branding: Theory and Cases, Palgrave Macmillan
116. PANTEION UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCES
Department of Communication, Media and Culture
MA in Cultural Management
Course: Cultural Marketing and Communication
Course Instructor: Betty Tsakarestou, Assistant Professor and Head of Advertising and
Public Relations Lab
AthensCoCreation BrandingProject
Athens, June 2013