Greece is the ‘guest country’ of the Q2 2007 NBI: it was chosen because it has long been conspicuous by its absence – it is one of the few longer-standing members of the European Union and one of the few major tourism destinations not to have been included in the NBI.

Greece, of course, also has the Olympics in its bloodstream. Not only was it the birthplace of the Games, but Athens was host to the last Summer Olympics in 2004. In a relatively small country such as Greece, we would expect a successful Olympics to lead to more positive perceptions of the country as a whole, and not just the host city. There are indications that this happened in Spain and Australia after the Barcelona and Sydney Olympics.

Greece was ranked 17th in the Q2 2007 Anholt Nation Brands Index, just behind Ireland and in front of Belgium. As this was Greece’s first time in the survey, we cannot tell whether its brand is improving or not, and if it is, whether this is likely to have been influenced by the Athens Olympics. Nevertheless, the results in the latest NBI survey provide a comprehensive picture of Greece’s brand as a nation and some pointers to what may be influencing it.

Greece’s dominant brand dimension is tourism. The survey placed it only just behind Italy at the head of the tourism league, with strength in all three areas that make up the dimension. Its people were ranked 6th for the welcome visitors expected to receive.

Greece was the leading European nation for heritage, both built and cultural. Heritage boosted its score in the culture dimension where it was 10th, but it was also seen to have strength in contemporary culture for which it was ranked 8th.

Apart from these areas, Greece languishes in the middle and lower reaches of the brand tables. Considering its identification with sport during the 2004 Olympics, and its victory in the European Soccer Championships in the same year, its 20th position for sporting excellence is a poor result. This suggests that Greece has failed to consolidate and build on its reputation as a successful modern sporting nation. Greece’s exports come in at 26th out of 38. In governance, it is the lowest-ranked member of the pre-2003 EU, coming in at 19th place.

Greece’s strength is in tourism, but that contrasts with other areas, particularly Immigration/Investment and Governance. Greece is not at present a country many people would be attracted to live or study in, and its government has less credibility than most of its fellow EU members.

Greece may take comfort from the fact that it is doing better than Portugal in brand terms. Portugal joined the EU five years after Greece, and has also not managed to convince the world that its economy and governance are near the level of most members of the Union. What is more, its tourism sector, according to our survey, is built on weaker foundations than Greece’s.

On the other hand, Spain, which joined the EU at the same time as Portugal, has built a more robust brand, stronger than or equal to Greece and Portugal in all six dimensions. Spain is a bigger country, which usually helps in brand building. It also hosted a successful Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992 and continued to build on that success.

Turkey’s image of Greece

Of course, not every nation has the same view of Greece. The most positive perceptions about Greece came from the Americas, where Mexico ranked Greece 13th. Brazil, Argentina, Canada and the USA also placed it above average. However, what is most remarkable about the range of positions Greece was given by our panels is how narrow it was compared with most countries. Only eight places separated 90% of its rankings.

The major exception was Turkey. The world’s view of Greece is summed up in the chart up, while that of Turkey is shown in the graph with a moustache-like shape. Turkish panel respondents acknowledged Greece’s strengths in tourism and culture, but not to do so would to some extent undermine their own. Aside from these dimensions, however, the Turkish panel were extremely ungenerous in their responses. Overall, they placed Greece at 27th. It seems that intra-regional public diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean still has some work to do.

Given that images trigger perceptions and perceptions help shape decisions, states place great emphasis on building and projecting attractive images of themselves. Especially in today’s competitive world, countries around the world meticulously design and carefully implement their national communications strategies.

Gifted by Nature with a remarkable landscape and by Man with an outstanding Ancient civilization that is as relevant in modern times, Greece has always been loved and admired. In addition, she 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 example, have come to build and expand on such positive perceptions. Since the Games offer by default any one host the chance to present oneself before a watching world, Greece seized that opportunity to unfold the full spectrum of her comparative advantages. It was Greece as a competitive market in a plethora of sectors, like energy, the maritime industry, the financial sector, or infrastructure; it was Greece as a gateway to all of South-Eastern Europe, a region that, once a cleavage impeding our contact with friends and partners, currently aspires to follow in our steps of economic development and active participation in the Euro-Atlantic organizations; and it was Greece as a secure and reliable international partner in carrying out challenging tasks. Hundreds of millions of citizens around the globe — from state leaders and opinion makers to tourists, businessmen, investors or students— were engaged in the image and the pulse of today’s Greece.

The General Secretariat of Information conducted an international survey, questioning a single sample in two different phases (i.e. “waves”), before and after the Athens Olympics, and observing potential shifts in attitudes. The data indicate that while traditional attributes identified with Greece remain strong, the new stereotype has now been enriched with new ones.

More specifically, the attributes most strongly identified with Greece are the following:

• Beautiful Landscapes
• Culture
• Family Values
• Patriotism
• Hospitality
• Fun
• Cooperative
• Emotional

The following attributes present the highest increase between the two waves:

• Creativity
• Progress
• Teamwork
• Security
• High Quality of Services
• Stability
• Discipline

Significant improvement is also observed in attributes like:

• Cooperative
• Social Sensitivity
• Order
• Rational
• Care for the Environment
• Modern Infrastructure

Telling is the fact that the following traits present the most significant rise in their respective ranking, among the 30 observed attributes:

• Progress (from the 16th to the 11th position)
• Security (from the 20th to the 14th)
• High Quality of Services (from the 25th in the 17th)

It becomes apparent that two clusters of attributes now make up the modern stereotype on Greece: on the one hand, there are the emotional attributes like “sun,” “sea,” “fun” and “hospitality” that favor traditional comparative advantages of the country, such as Culture and Tourism. The second cluster, on the other hand, refers to rational attributes such as “High Quality of Services”, “Security”, “Progress”, “Creativity”, “Discipline”, and “Teamwork” and embraces non-traditional Greek comparative advantages. The fact that Greece is now perceived as a stable and reliable environment and Greeks are seen as credible partners has an invaluable added value that is transferred to our products and services. All in all, Greece has been repositioned on the global map of perceptions.

Close monitoring of printed and electronic media by the Greek Press and Communications Offices Abroad (which operate in 33 countries and under the supervision of the Secretariat General of Information) confirms that positive perceptions are increasingly stronger. Specifically, Greece now attracts the interest— mostly in a positive light— of the international community as a whole and on the whole range of her comparative advantages: economy, tourism, culture, banking, shipping, energy, infrastructure and sports. Greece, with numerous successes ranging from her brisk growth rate and the historic agreement for the construction of the Burgas – Alexandroupolis oil pipeline to successfully presiding over the United Nations Security Council and actively supporting humanitarian missions around the world, is perceived as an attractive partner on a plethora of fronts.

In fact, some titles speak loud and clear: the leading French newspaper Le Figaro calls “Greece, the New Energy Crossroads”, while The Wall Street Journal makes reference to “Greece cuts deficit, keeps robust growth; a lesson for others?”. In another indicative example, George Pauget, Cr?édit Agricole – Executive Director, notices in the Greek newspaperKathimerini that “[Greece] provides us access to a developing market and a fast-evolving region”.

Capturing the world’s feelings as we read and heard them during the Games (phrases like “They Did Wonders” still echo in people’s hearts), we designed a communications strategy about a…“Wonderful Greece”.

The logo, which embraces all of Greece’s comparative advantages under a unique communications identity and sends out a unified message, is widely used in the international campaign of the Ministry of Tourism and the various activities of the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board while it has been adopted by the City of Athens and appears on communications projects of the Secretariat General of Information. At the same time, it embraces an increasing number of important exported products, with the virgin olive oil being the primary example.

In recent years, Greece has “seized the day” to project her true image abroad: the image of a credible and prospering country, a beacon of peace and stability for the whole world and an efficient gateway for Southeastern Europe, a region of more than 160 million citizens. The world has thus come to perceive her anew. The communications strategy designed and implemented by the Greek state only aims to maximize what is a Wonderful time for Greece!

Greece ranked 5th for overall country branding according to the second annual Country Brand Index 2006 (CBI). The Index was released in London at the World Trade Market, an annual exhibition held for the global travel trade. This is the official release text:

The CBI identifies countries as “brands” and emerging global travel trends in terms of foreign exchange earnings and job creation. The world’s fastest economic sector pertaining to country branding is travel and tourism and accounts for more than 1 of every 11 jobs worldwide.Greece ranked very high in a number of categories, reflecting the country’s exquisite historical and natural resources, wide variety of holiday options, and the all important “enjoyment” factor. The categories in which Greece excelled are:

• Value for Money
• History
• Art and Culture
• Resort/Lodging Options
• Rest/Relaxation
• Beach
• Natural Beauty
• Nightlife

The summation quote by the branding experts is “Greece: Friendly people with great surroundings and great food.”The international study of country branding was developed by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consulting firm in co-operation with Weber Shandwick’s Global Travel Practice, a public relations firm. It focused on more than 1,500 international travelers, recruited from a globally diverse sample including the Americas, Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East and screened to include only frequent international travelers who travel internationally more than once a year- between the ages of 21 and 65, with a balanced split between men and women. Business and leisure travelers were both included, as well as travel industry experts and hospitality professionals. The study examined how nations can be branded and ranked according to key criteria, such as emerging trends, travel motivations, challenges and opportunities within the world of travel and country branding.According to the CBI report, new trends for travel and tourism are emerging and unique criteria are making a big impact on the average traveler who is no longer satisfied with the ordinary. Some of those trends include the emergence of people who write on blogs and countless websites about their own travel experiences.With new trends in the travel industry and an ever expanding travel community, come new audiences, all with different needs and expectations during their time away from home. They crave the exotic, “feel at home” accommodations, and want to make weddings, anniversaries and reunions an unforgettable and special time when abroad, wherever their destination may be.Other contenders who ranked on this year’s CBI list were Australia (1) and the United States (2) and Italy (3). In addition to the top 10 rankings, the top three “rising star” countries that are likely to be major tourism destinations in the next five years are China, Croatia, and the United Arab Emirates.For a complete list of country ranks and a look at the Country Brand Index 2006, visit: www.webershandwick.com

This is the new “Greek identity” that emerges after the successful hosting of the Games, as perceived by citizens in five major countries (USA, UK, Spain, Germany, France) and reflected in the results of a large public opinion survey conducted in these countries on behalf of ATHENS 2004 immediately after the Games by the consortium consisting of MRB, VPRC and RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL.

More specifically, the survey was carried out in the period from 1 to 22 September 2004 in the USA (1001 respondents), Spain (502 respondents), Germany (507 respondents), the UK (519 respondents) and France (502 respondents). It was a telephone survey conducted using the special telephone interview system. The respondents were selected at random from among the adult members of every household, following a random calling process. The survey was conducted in accordance with the Codes of Practice laid down by the Association of Greek Market & Opinion Research Companies (SEDEA) and ESOMAR.

The survey results show that the majority of respondents felt positive about Greece after the Games, based on what they saw or heard during that period. Indeed, 38.7% of Americans expressed their intention to visit Greece in the future, ranking Greece as the second most popular destination after Italy. In terms of their intention to travel to Greece for their holidays, Germans represent the largest ‘client base’ for Greece.

Regarding the Olympic Games, the largest percentage of respondents showed great to extremely great interest, with access to relevant information being achieved through television channels, magazines and advertising.

The Olympic Games of Athens were characterised as successful by 90% of Americans and 93% of Europeans, while 40% of all respondents considered the Athens Games to be the best Games ever organised in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

More in particular, the survey results showed the following:

Increase in positive opinions about Greece after the Games, based on what respondents saw and heard (table 1)*:

• USA: +23%
• Europe: +7%
• UK: +11%
• Germany: +2%
• Spain: +1.7%
• France:+10.5%

Positive feelings about Greece after the Games (table 2)*:

• USA: +9%
• Europe: +3.9%
• UK: +3%
• Germany: +0,8%
• Spain: +3%
• France: +7.7%

Likelihood to visit Greece for holidays (table 3)*:

a) US residents

• Greece: 38.7%
• Italy: 50.2%
• Spain: 37.2%
• Turkey: 7.8%
• Croatia: 5.2%

b) Europeans

• Greece: 49.2%
• Italy: 49.9%
• Spain: 42%
• Turkey: 17.2%
• Croatia: 19.1%

The above data allow the conclusion to be drawn that after the success of the Games Greece is strengthened compared to its competitors in tourism, outranking even Spain in the US market , while in the European market it ranks very close to Italy and is well ahead of Spain.

On average, 30% of respondents showed great interest for the Olympic Games (table 4)*.
Sources of information regarding the Olympic Games (table 5)*:

• USA: 36.5% programmes or newscasts on TV
• Europe: 46.1% programmes or newscasts on TV
• UK 50.9% advertising
• Germany 58% programmes or newscasts on TV
• Spain 45.3% advertising
• France 64% programmes or newscasts on TV

How successful did the respondents believe that the Olympic Games were (table 6)*:

• USA: 35% successful, 59.3% very successful
• Europe: 52.8% successful, 44% very successful
• UK: 38% successful, 59% very successful
• Germany: 62.7% successful, 32.5% very successful
• Spain: 58.4% successful, 38.8% very successful
• France: 53% successful, 45.2% very successful

A total of 40% of the respondents believe the Olympic Games of Athens to be the best ever organised to this date (table 7)*

Viewers who watched the Opening Ceremony. From the data of table 8*, it follows that 41.3% in the USA and an average 48% in Europe watched the Opening Ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games on television, which made ratings skyrocket.

• USA: 41.3%
• Europe: 48%
• UK: 50.5%
• Germany: 50.5%
• Spain: 48.4%
• France: 42.4%

People liked the Opening Ceremony very much in the USA (65%) and in Europe (61.1% on average). Of particular interest are the high percentages recorded in positive responses in Spain (68%), Germany (64.8%) and France (62.9%). (table 9)*:

• USA: 65%
• Europe: 61.1%
• UK: 49.2%
• Germany: 64.8%
• Spain: 68%
• France: 62.9%

Athletics and Swimming are very popular sports and attracted a large number of viewers. In the USA, 59.4% of viewers watched the Swimming disciplines with great interest, while an average 61.6% of European viewers watched the Athletics sports, with the UK representing the highest number of viewers (table 10)*:

• USA: 59.4% Swimming
• Europe: 61.6% Athletics
• UK: 74.2% Athletics
• Germany: 60.4% Swimming
• Spain: 52.8% Athletics
• France: 59.4% Athletics

Greece is a “safe destination”, a “modern European Country” that organised “technically excellent” Olympic Games with a “human dimension”. The following results were recorded after the Games emerge (tables 11-14)*:

• Athens – safe destination: 74.6%
• Greece – European country: 72.3%
• Human dimension of the Games: 66.2%
• Greece – modern country: 63.5%
• Games – technically excellent: 64.6%