About

My name is Andreas Markessinis and I am the founder of the BrandingGreece.com project.

As a professional in the Marketing and Branding sector, I am very interested in corporate identity, branding and the intangible value of brands. More specifically, I have always been very interested in nation branding. I am fascinated in how perceptions, imaginery and, yes, stereotypes and prejudices can shape the elections of a consumer, a citizen or an entity. It is fascinating to study how the country of origin can affect a service or product’s potential clientele.

It is also very interesting to notice how perception of a country can change and evolve, usually due to remarkable events. But perception of a country overseas can also be manually changed with a true, intensive and coherent campaign. There is no larger branding project than that of a nation’s, and therefore there is no more fascinating branding experience than branding a whole country.

As a Greek-origined living abroad, it is only natural that I would be interested in how Greece is seen abroad. I have experienced it first-hand. As a resident in Spain, my view on Greece’s international brand is, risking being petulant, exceptional since it encompasses both the native Greek view with that of a foreigner overseas. Unfortunately, Greece’s image abroad is blurry, uninspiring and probably negative too.

Greece must be repositioned through a branding campaign which should encompass efforts which incorporate, absorb, and embrace a wide variety of activities under one visual identity and one distinctive discourse to form and project a multi-faceted yet coherent, interlocking and mutually supportive whole. The net result would be that Greece’s new brand would be both efficient and impactful.

To achieve that, Greece and Greeks need to enter a national debate on how Greece should be branded as trademark in the global economy. The BrandingGreece.com project aims to become the common ground for such debate. The project aims not to develop a brand for Greece, but to ignite a debate on the issue. Its goal is to become a common ground for debate, discussion and eventually achieve conclusions on how the “Greece” brand should be, how should be valued, and how should be marketed to the world audience.

In today’s world, Greece needs to streamline its profile clearly. But, how should that profile be? Which values should it be based on? What’s the “Greek” identity? What should “Made in Greece” mean?

The BrandingGreece.com project seeks answers to these questions, and it is open to everyone wishing to contribute.

You can contact BrandingGreece.com at andreas.markessinis[at]gmail.com

7 thoughts on “About

  1. Hello. I’m an Associated Press reporter writing about the Greece bailout and the relationship with Germany. Would anyone at this interesting site be available to discuss?
    Thanks.
    Christopher Torchia
    Bureau Chief, Turkey
    The Associated Press
    +90-532-260-9854

  2. Dear Sir or Madam

    We are organising the second international Colloquium on Place Marketing and Nation Branding on 23-24 September 2010 at Brunel University in London. The event last year attracted more than 80 participants from many countries with a good combination of academics, practitioners and doctoral students. I would very much like to welcome some one from your esteemed organisation to attend or present a paper. This would be a wonderful opportunity for us exchange ideas and developing collaborations. Please get in touch if this is of interest. Thank you.

  3. Dear Andreas

    We are organising the second international Colloquium on Place Marketing and Nation Branding on 23-24 September 2010 at Brunel University in London. The event last year attracted more than 80 participants from many countries with a good combination of academics, practitioners and doctoral students. I would very much like to welcome some one from your esteemed organisation to attend or present a paper. This would be a wonderful opportunity for us exchange ideas and developing collaborations. Please get in touch if this is of interest. Thank you.

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