“Speak Athenian. Be an Athenian.”

The new campaign for the city of Athens,

“Speak Aθenian. Be an Aθenian.”

 

was presented on December 10th by the Athens International Airport and Marketing Greece.

 

Aiming to promote the Athenian experience and the city of Athens as a city break destination, the new interactive digital campaign reveals the unique match of the city’s historical profile with its distinctive modern face.

 

“Hipstoricαl”, “Philosofα”, “Theαtricult”, “Bistrocrαcy”… A synthesis of Greek and English words, with Greek and Latin characters, creates new words that imaginatively express the “way of the Athenians”, who, despite adversities, experience their every day in an exciting city offering a blend of history, modern life of a special urban character and culture, with a splendid beach-studded coastline lying just 30 minutes from downtown Athens!

The campaign’s creative approach aims to promote the city particularly to new audiences and markets. Highlighting the exciting, multi-faceted character of Athens, the campaign shows travellers the many reasons why the city is a destination worth prolonging their stay in. The campaign was designedfollowing research of Athens’ tourism product carried out by Marketing Greece and the Athens International Airport and constitutes the new phase and evolution of last year’s “I’m an Athenian too” campaign: While, last year, participants became “Aθenians”.. they will now learn to… speak “Aθenian”! An array of digital tools was created for the new campaign, transforming participants to digital “Aθenians”, who share the same characteristics with the city locals and have an interest to visit and experience the city in its deeper essence!

The campaign’s web link, www.imanathenian.com, hosts more than 30 digital post-modern art experiences, inviting participants to share and spread across the social media universe.

Moreover, the mobile application is the main vehicle for audience interaction: Anybody can upload photographs sharing personal “Theαtricult” or “Bistrocrαcy” city moments, like true “Hipstoricαls” or “Aθeniants”! Combining images with the characteristic new words of the campaign, will form and create the new… lexicon of Athens.

 

“Speak Aθenian. Be an Aθenian” will roll out on social media networks and run in target markets through digital advertising placements and an extensive plan of action. The campaign, aiming at revealing the diverse faces of Athens, will further evolve in 2016 with a series of “live” activities to be held at the airport and in and around the capital. 

For the new campaign and its concept, AIA Communications & Marketing Director, Ioanna Papadopoulou, said: “Our first campaign, “PerhaΨ you’re an Aθenian too!”, in 2014 highlighted the universal notions -of a Greek origin- using, at the same time,a creative synthesis of the Greek and the Latin alphabet. We then embarked on the next interactive phase, the “I’m an Athenian too” application, brought to life together with Marketing Greece, offering all natural and virtual city visitors the opportunity to become “Athenians”, by discovering their personal “stamp” in the city.

Now, “Speak Aθenian. Be an Aθenian” allows our visitors to create a new language, to express their Athenian identity through their experiences in the city’s unique blend of history and evolution, which forms the Greek capital’s unique DNA.”

Marketing Greece Managing Director, Iossif Parsalis, said: “In promoting the contemporary face of Athens while preserving its classical values, which are conveyed in a post-modern fashion, we aim to further penetrate European markets. Athens emerges as a city break destination, setting a challenge for all of us in the next 3 years. Athens has new dynamics, that will continue in 2016 through our coordinated partnership, under the auspices of the City of Athens Municipality and the participation of the private sector.”

The campaign is being held under the auspices of the City of Athens with the support of the Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association and Aegean.

MARKETING GREECE is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2013 to effectively promote Greece’s diverse array of destinations and experiences. Its key shareholder is the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), with co-shareholders the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH) and the Hellenic Association of Communication Agencies (EDEE/HACA). Through a multi-dimensional communication strategy, MARKETING GREECE aims to showcase the country as one of the world’s most captivating travel destinations.