BRAND GREECE GREECE REPOSITIONED AND REBRANDED by Panos Livadas General Secretary of Information Gifted by nature with a remarkable landscape and by man with an out- standing ancient civilization that is still as relevant in modern times, Greece has always been the subject of love and admiration. In addition, this country is identified with some of the most powerful brand names in history, such as Democracy, Philosophy or the Olympics. Her recent successes, with the Athens 2004 Olympics being a prime ex- ample, have come to build and expand on such positive perceptions. Greece is now regarded as a stable and reliable environment and Greeks as credible partners, creating invaluable added value that is transferred to our products and services. All in all, Greece has been repositioned on the global map of perceptions. 12 about BRAND GREECE GREECE REPOSITIONED AND REBRANDED Given that images trigger perceptions in the image and the pulse of today’s and perceptions help shape deci- Greece. sions, states place great emphasis on building and projecting attractive im- The General Secretariat of Informa- ages of themselves. Especially in to- tion conducted an international sur- day’s competitive world, countries vey, questioning a single sample in around the world meticulously de- two different phases (i.e. “waves”), sign and carefully implement their before and after the Athens national communications strate- Olympics, and observing potential gies. shifts in attitudes. The data indicate that while traditional attributes iden- Gifted by Nature with a remarkable tified with Greece remain strong, landscape and by Man with an out- the new stereotype has now been en- standing Ancient civilization that is riched with new ones. as relevant in modern times, Greece has always been loved and admired. More specifically, the attributes most In addition, she is identified with strongly identified with Greece are some of the most powerful brand the following: names in history, such as Democracy, Philosophy or the Olympics. • Beautiful Landscapes • Culture Her recent successes, with the • Family Values Athens 2004 Olympics being a prime • Patriotism example, have come to build and ex- • Hospitality pand on such positive perceptions. • Fun Since the Games offer by default any • Cooperative one host the chance to present one- • Emotional self before a watching world, Greece seized that opportunity to unfold the The following attributes present the full spectrum of her comparative highest increase between the two advantages. It was Greece as a com- waves: petitive market in a plethora of sec- tors, like energy, the maritime indus- • Creativity try, the financial sector, or infra- • Progress structure; it was Greece as a gateway • Teamwork to all of South-Eastern Europe, a re- • Security gion that, once a cleavage impeding • High Quality of Services our contact with friends and partners, • Stability currently aspires to follow in our • Discipline steps of economic development and active participation in the Euro- Significant improvement is also ob- Atlantic organizations; and it was served in attributes like: Greece as a secure and reliable in- ternational partner in carrying out • Cooperative challenging tasks. Hundreds of mil- • Social Sensitivity lions of citizens around the globe — • Order from state leaders and opinion mak- • Rational ers to tourists, businessmen, in- • Care for the Environment vestors or students— were engaged • Modern Infrastructure about BRAND GREECE 13 BRAND GREECE Telling is the fact that the following tional attributes like “sun,” “sea,” traits present the most significant “fun” and “hospitality” that favor rise in their respective ranking, traditional comparative advan- among the 30 observed attributes: tages of the country, such as Cul- ture and Tourism. The second clus- • Progress ter, on the other hand, refers to ra- (from the 16th to the 11th position) tional attributes such as “High • Security Quality of Services”, “Security”, (from the 20th to the 14th) “Progress”, “Creativity”, “Disci- • High Quality of Services pline”, and “Teamwork” and em- (from the 25th in the 17th) braces non-traditional Greek com- parative advantages. The fact that It becomes apparent that two clus- Greece is now perceived as a sta- ters of attributes now make up the ble and reliable environment and modern stereotype on Greece: on Greeks are seen as credible part- the one hand, there are the emo- ners has an invaluable added val- BEFORE THE OLYMPICS (Global Results) 1. Beautiful Landscapes 74.70 2. Culture 60.90 3. Family Values 57.60 4. Patriotism 52.70 5. Hospitality 51.00 6. Fun 48.50 7. Cooperation 45.34 8. Emotional 42.40 9. Peace 40.00 10. Teamwork 36.40 11. Creativity 36.20 12. Social Sensitivity 33.90 13. Personal Satisfaction 33.90 14. Education 33.60 15. Common Goals 33.40 16. Progress 33.10 17. Great Potential 31.30 18. Challenging 29.60 19. High Quality Agric. Products 28.20 20. Security 26.50 21. Discipline 26.20 22. Stability 26.10 23. Order 26.10 24. Modern Living 24.20 25. High Quality of Services 23.90 26. Care for Environment 23.70 27. Rational 23.60 28. Modern Infrastructures 22.30 29. IntegrityIntegrity 21.20 21.20 30. Risky 18.80 14 about BRAND GREECE GREECE REPOSITIONED AND REBRANDED ue that is transferred to our prod- nity as a whole and on the whole ucts and services. All in all, Greece range of her comparative advan- has been repositioned on the tages: economy, tourism, culture, global map of perceptions. banking, shipping, energy, infra- structure and sports. Greece, with Close monitoring of printed and numerous successes ranging from electronic media by the Greek her brisk growth rate and the his- Press and Communications Offices toric agreement for the construc- Abroad (which operate in 33 coun- tion of the Burgas – Alexandroupo- tries and under the supervision of lis oil pipeline to successfully pre- the Secretariat General of Informa- siding over the United Nations tion) confirms that positive percep- Security Council and actively sup- tions are increasingly stronger. porting humanitarian missions Specifically, Greece now attracts around the world, is perceived as the interest— mostly in a positive an attractive partner on a plethora light— of the international commu- of fronts. AFTER THE OLYMPICS (Global Results) 1. Beautiful Landscapes 73.80 2. Culture 61.50 3. Family Values 59.50 4. Patriotism 55.10 5. Hospitality 53.90 6. Fun 49.80 7. Cooperation 48.70 8. Emotional 48.60 9. Peace 43.30 10. Creativity 42.90 11. Progress 39.70 12. Teamwork 39.60 13. Social Sensitivity 38.60 14. Security 37.20 15. Education 36.50 16. Common Goals 36.00 17. High Quality of Services 35.80 18. Great Potential 32.90 19. Stability 32.10 20. Challenging 31.80 21. Discipline 31.50 22. Personal Satisfaction 30.20 23. High Quality Agric. Products 29.80 24. Order 29.70 25. Care for Environment 27.50 26. Modern Living 26.50 27. Rational 26.00 28. Modern Infrastructures 25.30 29. IntegrityIntegrity 23.20 23.20 30. Risky 21.00 Research conducted by MRB Hellas, V-PRC about BRAND GREECE 15 BRAND GREECE In fact, some titles speak loud and ternational campaign of the Min- clear: the leading French newspaper istry of Tourism and the various ac- Le Figaro calls “Greece, the New En- tivities of the Hellenic Foreign ergy Crossroads”, while The Wall Trade Board while it has been Street Journal makes reference to adopted by the City of Athens and “Greece cuts deficit, keeps robust appears on communications proj- growth; a lesson for others?”. In an- ects of the Secretariat General of other indicative example, George Information. At the same time, it Pauget, Cr΄edit Agricole - Executive embraces an increasing number of Director, notices in the Greek news- important exported products, with paperKathimerini that “[Greece] the virgin olive oil being the pri- provides us access to a developing mary example. market and a fast-evolving region”. In recent years, Greece has “seized Capturing the world’s feelings as the day” to project her true image we read and heard them during the abroad: the image of a credible Games (phrases like “They Did and prospering country, a beacon Wonders” still echo in people’s of peace and stability for the whole hearts), we designed a communi- world and an efficient gateway cations strategy about a…“Won- for Southeastern Europe, a region derful Greece”. of more than 160 million citizens. The world has thus come to per- The logo, which embraces all of ceive her anew. The communica- Greece’s comparative advantages tions strategy designed and imple- under a unique communications mented by the Greek state only identity and sends out a unified aims to maximize what is a Won- message, is widely used in the in- derful time for Greece! 16 about BRAND GREECE GREEK FOREIGN POLICY Challenges and Opportunities in a Changing Geopolitical Enviroment by George Koumoutsakos Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs A foreign policy of principles and vision Greece is a security –and stability– producing country located in a complex, volatile and security-consuming geographical zone, in- cluding the Balkans, the Black Sea region and the Middle East. What all these regions have in common is that they are undergoing rapid change, which has rendered Greece’s strategic environment increasingly complex, introducing a range of hard and soft security issues, many of which cut across traditional regional lines and un- derscore Greece’s position as a transregional actor. We believe that the multilateral approach and regional cooperation are the safest means of confronting the many and diverse threats facing our broader neighbourhood; threats such as international terrorism, the prolif- eration of weapons of mass destruction, the degradation of the en- vironment and human trafficking.