The document discusses branding strategies for Athens, Greece. It analyzes Athens' current brand positioning, highlighting strengths like culture and heritage but also challenges like trust in governance. Opportunities mentioned include developing as a world cultural hub. Stakeholder partnerships are identified, including universities and foundations. A long-term vision is outlined focusing on Athens as a modern, livable city that integrates heritage and innovation. Engaging citizens and changing visitors' roles are emphasized. Overall the document provides a strategic analysis of Athens' brand and makes recommendations for collaboratively repositioning its image.

1. Panteion University of Social and Political Studies
Postgraduate workshop: Cultural Marketing 2020-21
Professor: Betty Tsakarestou
Athens co-creating Branding Project
Master Plan
The melody of the city
Doudoumi Virginia
Elafropoulos Dimitris
Kokosi Dorella
Papaioannou Penelope
Varnavas Kyriakos
1

2. The main challenge
To construct an image of
Athens
through citizens’
engagement
based on a strategy
focusing on the unique
character and potential of
the city.
Open School Adaptive Reuse of Factory Building
Architects: KN Group + AREA (Architecture
Research Athens), Pireos street,
https://www.archetype.gr/projects/anichto-scholio-
epanachrisi-proin-ergostasiou 2

3. Athens was named
“The European Capital of
Innovation 2018” by the
European Commission,
awarded the €1 million iCapital prize.
Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for
Research, Science and Innovation,
said: “Athens stands out as an
example that a city facing many
challenges can achieve great things.
Through innovation, Athens has found
new purpose to turn around the
economic and social crisis. It is proof
that it’s not the difficulties but how you
raise yourself above them that
matters.”
Current brand positioning
High position
3

4. Athens:
A city of
Opportunity
based on the
worldwide study
of PwC “Cities of
Opportunity 6”,
2015
https://www.pwc.
com/gr/en/public
ations/assets/ath
ens-a-city-of-
opportunity-
en.pdf
4

5. Current brand positioning
Relatively high position
● 78 (out of 500) Innovation cities index 2019
● Second best word tourist destination
● Among the top 20 destinations for meetings and events globally
● Position in the list “Best place to live for a diigital nomad” (1345 cities)
● 4th most walkable city
5

6. Current
brand
positioning
Low
position
Athens
near to
last in
IMD
Smart
City Index
(start ups)
https://digi
talcityinde
x.eu/city/2
6

7. PwC
2015
7

8. 8
https://teleport.org/cities/ath
ens/

9. Athens:
A city of
Opportunity
based on the
worldwide
study of PwC
“Cities of
Opportunity 6”,
2015
https://www.pw
c.com/gr/en/pu
blications/asset
s/athens-a-city-
of-opportunity-
en.pdf
9

10. What makes
Athens unique?
The combination of
modernity and heritage
10

11. 11

12. Challenges
❏ Trust & confidence.The feeling of
belonging: Engaging the residents to co-
create the brand of a future-focused city.
❏ Education - digital skills.
❏ Creative and knowledge-based jobs.
❏ Quality of governance. Communication &
continuity. Collaboration between
stakeholders and decision makers.
Network building logic. Networking leads
to scale-up.
❏ Respect of public spaces. Circular
approach towards waste.
https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/tense-
architecture-network-1st-prize-the-regeneration-
of-the-athens-city-centre/
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13. Strengths
● Athens ranks well in 4 areas: Sustainability
and the natural environment; Health safety
and security; Cost; and City gateway.
● Cultural capital, historic value
● Authenticity
● Innovation
● Cultural events, inspirational artists
● Landscape. Walkability
● English speaking residents
● Gastronomy - slow food culture
● Night life
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14. Athens transforms
Examples
● Openness, & tolerance /multicultural
understanding (over 40 religions
worshiped)
● Response to challenges e.g. 2004
● Successful projects e.g. Attika
motorway, Metro, Archaeological
(“Grand”) promenade, Bus real time
information system, District
gentrification
14

15. Opportunities
World cultural hub, Art & Hub spots
e.g.Movie Hub
The Little Drummer Girl, British series
Developing culinary city diplomacy
Coastline/ Athens Riviera
15

16. “Competitors”
Lisbon
Lisbon: “Hip, cheap, innovative” (slogan)
Athens - Lisbon compared
Madrid
● Smart urban transportation
● Digital transformation that will
introduce, develop and expand new
Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT)
16

17. 17

18. The vision
(the melody)
A long-term
branding that can
direct the city’s
development
❏ Modern city integrating its heritage
into the future, classical values, e.g.
citizen-centered digital technology,
the people at the centre of the vision,
helping people from other places feel
at home.
❏ Citizens that learn and collaborate.
❏ Evolving over time: multi-layered,
transformative, sustainable.
❏ Gain visibility at international level.
18

19. Branding principles/ pillars
Tools for a changing
world
Wellbeing Economy
● Intellectual capital
and innovation
● Technology
readiness
● Health, safety,
security
● Sustainability and the
natural environment
● Transport and
infrastructure
● Ease of doing
business
● Long term investment
instead of “win fast
and fail cheap”
● Cost of living
19

20. City branding
[...] “purposeful symbolic embodiment
of all information connected to a city
in order to create associations around it”.
Lucarelli, Andrea and Berg, Per Olof (2011). “City branding: a state-of-the-art review of
the research domain”. Journal of Place Management and Development, 4 (1), 9-27.
20

21. Guide to strategic map
Create a clear identity representing the city’s soul
A city slogan/motto/logo such as:
“The future begins where everything began.”
“Athens. Classical feelings, wise inspirations”
“Athens. Feels classical, inspires wisely”
“Wise people think Athens”
“From Athens to Be …” -authentic
- inspired
- wise
- artistic
- entrepreneur
- everywhere
- Evokes emotions
- Is about citizens, not just about city
leaders
- Has a clear statement
- Has a “why”
- Is iconic and timeless
- Uses simple storytelling mechanisms
- Includes heritage as well as vision
- Motivates residents & visitors
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22. How to make
the
vision/brand
appealing and
exciting for
people
● Involve children and teenagers. They view
space differently and may share some
really valuable insights that adults won't
have thought of.
● Make every resident a city brand co-
creator. E.g. City powered apps that utilise
geo-spatial location, picture enablement,
comments and votes to transform how
citizen local requests are reported and
addressed in the city. Direct Democracy!
22

23. Engage the visitors
In this process of the redefinition of the
city, changing visitors from passive
tourists into key stakeholders of the
reconstruction. Visitors can be living
witnesses of the change, a dynamic
process to which they belong. They
don’t receive something "ready-made",
but they become part of the
transformation, having the feeling of
explorers in a new space that redefines
itself from its internal resources brought
to the surface.
23

24. Guide to strategic map
Co-branding partnerships & stakeholders
❏ Executive public servants -
Athens Municipality
❏ Media Labs
❏ Artists, local and
“philhellenes”
❏ National Technical University of
Athens
❏ National Kapodistrian University
of Athens
❏ Panteion University
❏ Stavros Niarchos Foundation
❏ Onassis Foundation
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25. Why National Technical University of Athens
Among other projects that
have rendered the city of
Athens far more livable and
resilient, the engineers of the
Technical University have
constantly win prizes in
competitions of redesigning
parts of the city. e.g.
https://www.archetype.gr/proje
cts/anaplasi-tou-kentrou-tis-
athinas-1o-vravio
25

26. Why National Kapodistrian University of Athens
Panteion University of Social & Political Sciences
❖ Project management
❖ Survey planning and applying
❖ Establishment of Laws & Regulations
❖ Courses “to the point” (e.g. Cultural Management and Communication)
❖ Designing, maintaining & updating digital platforms
❖ Conferences, seminars
26

27. Why Stavros Niarchos Foundation
- Successful example of a
Public-Private Partnership for
the Benefit of Society
- Excellent pre-opening
audience engagement
- Sustainability
- Experience in Projects such as:
“The Return to Public Space”
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28. 28
Why Onassis Foundation
- Experience in designing City
rebranding projects, e.g. “Rethink
Athens”
- Innovative programmes in terms of
city experiences, eg. supporting artists
collaboration, youth culture.
- As part of the #OnAthens initiative, the
Onassis Foundation has enriched
people’s everyday lives with urban
interventions and artworks (renovated 3
basketball courts, 1 volleyball court,
and 2 playgrounds in partnership with
the City of Athens).
Project “A Neos Kosmos in Stegi’ s neighbourhood”

29. Why Artists, local and
“philhellenes”
● Artists are extremely important
to the construction of the
identity of a place.
● Their roles unfold as stories,
artifacts and atmosphere as
well as entrepreneurs.
Why Media Labs
The media labs research groups
have the experience and potential
to propose new strategies in terms
of creating attractive places where
people live and work in addition to
the mobility systems that connect
them, in order to meet the profound
challenges of the future.
29

30. Attract wealth creators
who are
- scientists, engineers,
entrepreneurs, designers, artists
- able to develop new businesses
- interested in culture, physical
fitness, technology, artisanal food &
drink
and who
- consider sustainability and
environmental issues important. Paul Efmorfidis
https://www.coco-mat.com/us_en
Greece should invest on quality and rarity.
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31. Hot Wheels Gallery Patission str
https://www.hotwheelsprojects.com/contact.html
Hugo Wheeler, Founder & Director (British)
Julia Gardener (British)
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Artist - entrepreneur, persona 1

32. Art Studio
Spetson 64, Kypseli Athens, 113 62
David Fenwick (British)
Athens i's an accessible and
attainable city that almost feels
external to Europe in its
atmosphere. There's a palpable
sense of freedom that's
conducive to creativity.
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Artist - entrepreneur, persona 2

33. Alexander Jaschik
Photographer,
cinematographer, film director
(German)
facebook.com/doorsofathens
mycreativeoutput.tumblr.com
https://www.alibigallery.com/exhibition/here-to-stay
Exhibition “Here to stay”, 2019, Alibi Galleri,
Psirri, Athens
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Artist - entrepreneur, persona 3

34. Sustainable label
Clothes out of recycled plastic
“Circular Independence”
Vassia Kostara, fashion designer
Kleanthis Nikolaidis, product
development
https://www.vassiakostara.com/
Project Paralies
https://ecozen.gr/2021/06/project-paralies-
meiosi-tou-perivallontikou-apotypomatos-
sto-thalassio-oikosystima/
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Artist - entrepreneur, persona 4

35. Catalyst for the city's evolution
Reimagine relationships between City
Hall and residents, e.g. Open source
platform to motivate citizens to
become more involved and submit and
track service requests. By enabling
citizens to report issues with an app, city
servants are able to decrease costs as
they aggregate crowdsourced data to gain
valuable insights and discover hidden
patterns (seasonal burden on
infrastructures etc.) in a cost effective way.
Direct Democracy!
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36. Athens
has the potential
❖ To be a modern, livable city
focused on the future
❖ To combine its multiple
layers into a coherent image
❖ To inspire its residents and
visitors
❖ To reveal its artistic &
innovative soul
❖ To attract people thanks to its
classical values that provide
answers to modern issues.
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37. Thank you!
37

38. References
Avridsson, A.(2006). Brands. Meaning and Value in Media Culture. New York: Routledge.
Dinnie, K.. (2011). City Branding. Theory and Cases. London: Macmillan.
Henninger, C. E., Foster, C., Alevizou P. J., Frohlich, C. (2016). "Stakeholder engagement in the city
branding process," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 12(4), 285-298.
Houghton J.P., Stevens A. (2011). “City Branding and Stakeholder Engagement”. In: Dinnie K. (eds) City
Branding. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lucarelli, Andrea and Berg, Per Olof (2011). “City branding: a state-of-the-art review of the research
domain”. Journal of Place Management and Development, 4 (1), 9-27.
Tsakarestou, B. & Pogner, K.-H. (2014). “Cities as platforms for co-creating experience-based business
and social innovations An experimental approach”. Paper presented at 7th Art of Management and
Organization Copenhagen Business School August 28th - 31st, 2014.
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