By Maria Paravantes for Southeast European Times in Athens -- 14/03/12
Corporate sponsors are working to reassure foreign investors that the economic situation has stabilised. [Reuters]
"Give peace a chance" may have started off as the anthem to the American anti-war movement in the 1970s. But a one-word change to John Lennon's 1969 hit -- making it "Give Greece a Chance" -- is the motto behind the ongoing "Greece is Changing" campaign, the latest initiative launched by the country's leading businesses to challenge international perceptions.
In all, 20 Greek companies -- including Athens International Airport, Hellenic Petroleum, J&P, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Aegean Airlines, Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) -- are running a series of ads in influential international media. These include The Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, as well as in French, German, Swiss and Dutch papers, in efforts to rebuild confidence in Greece and attract foreign investors.
The ads ran days ahead of a eurozone finance ministers meeting late last month, which ended with general agreement on a second 130 billion-euro bailout.
"Greece is Changing" is the brainchild of South Africa-born brand strategist Peter Economides, who was also behind Apple's "Think Different" campaign in 1997. This new one aspires to reinstitute a constructive role for Greece within Europe.
"The whole point behind the ads was to initiate dialogue and we believe we accomplished this, judging by the reaction of the foreign press," Economides told SETimes.
The public relations campaign began last month, ahead of the EU finance ministers meeting. [greeceischanging.com]
Economides, who believes the "Greece is Changing" site works as a fine reference tool, explained that the one-off ad push is all about attracting attention to the real facts and figures. "You basically have a Northern European audience, decision-makers who are sceptical. These people have a different mentality; they've been raised on the Protestant ethic. There's so much dialogue going on about us without us. All we want is to pull our chair up to the table in the right way," he told SETimes.
But can this awareness campaign really make a difference when steep tax hikes, slashed pensions and wages and a 21% and rising unemployment rate are already a stark reality?
Tourism specialists believe there's more to it. They say that for there to be rebranding of anything, there must be a clearly defined product.
"We must first develop a product, set a pricing policy and specify the target group," Bournemouth University Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, deputy director of the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR), told SETimes.
"Greece needs immediate changes from the ground up; it doesn't need to be given a chance by others. There's really no point in asking for support or special treatment if we can't do what's self-evident and move forward," he said.
Buhalis is not alone in his belief that the international community will view Greece in a different light only when it can demonstrate that it is changing. Only then will foreign investors think again.
"We have incredible resources -- culture, natural environment, gastronomy -- but no complete products. Rebranding now without a consistent product would be a waste of money," he added.
Andreas Andreadis, president of SETE, agrees that rebranding and development should go hand-in-hand. "Greece must rebrand, but it must first define a product and create branded destinations," he told SETimes.
Source: SETimes.com
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