This post is inspired and influenced by a discussion with Twitter friends Kyriakos Pierrakakis (@Pierrakakis) and Abraham Tsoukalidis (@atsoukalidis) earlier today.

The bulk of this conversation is reproduced above.

This conversation got me thinking about a number of things.
But most of all this. 

I come from a family of Greek refugees who fled to South Africa in search of better lives.
My maternal grandparents were refugees from the island of Imbros, forced to leave by socio-political disruption.
My paternal grandparents were refugees from northern Greece, forced to leave by poverty.

Now imagine the strength of the emotional pull they must have felt …
Okay, my maternal grandparents had no choice but to leave. But Greece would have been closer, geographically and emotionally, than what was then a very dark Africa.
And my paternal grandparents? The impact of poverty must have been huge …

I never thought of it in these terms.
I never thought of the courage it must have taken to move to the bottom tip of this strange continent.
It never struck me what remarkable strength, self-confidence and emotional sacrifice such a move would have involved.
I never thought of what truly remarkable people they were.

Until today.

A nation is nothing more than its people.

If Greeks do amazing things, then Greece can do amazing things.
As I said in one of my Twiiter posts, Greece can only if Greeks can. 

The biggest threat that Greece faces today is that Greeks who can will leave, driven by the threat of poverty.
Or the desire for something more than what they can envision for themselves and for their children in Greece.
Not because they have the economic power to do so, but because they have the balls to do so. 

We will lose some of our best people.
The people with the strength and the courage and the vision and the creativity to leave are some of our best people.

Maybe this explains why there are so many accomplished Greeks in the diaspora.
Look anywhere. You will find Greeks in positions of power and influence, making a dent on the world, creating value, making their adopted countries a better place.

Where do I start?

Maria Callas
George Lois, advertising legend.
Bill Tragos founder of TBWAWorldwide.
Jim Gianopoulos, CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment.
Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post 
George Bizos, attorney to Nelson Mandela and a South African national hero.
Nicholas Negroponte, head of MIT Medialab.

And then there is my father, Jim Economides, whose vision and hard work led to the establishment of the heavy machine tool industry in South Africa.

We need the current generation of people like these to stay here.
Because Greece can only if Greeks can.

Kyriakos said, brilliantly, that emotions are the lens through which you process alternatives.
This lens should never become blurred and unfocused. 

 

 

 

Jim Gianopoulos, CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, talks about the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.

“No matter what part of the world you look at, you’ll always find a few Greeks. They are influential people, shaping things, making a dent on the world, how it feels and how it thinks. It’s no wonder because we come from a rich culture and tradition. We all know (that the Greece in crisis today) is not the real Greece – it’s a transitional moment in a long and glorious history. And there’s no greater symbol of that wonderful past than the Museum of Cycladic Art. It’s like a beacon born out of the beautiful blue waters of the ancient Aegean … a bold reminder of the strength of our roots … offers inspiration for all …”

 

Concept and direction by Peter Economides.

Editing by Thanasis Papathanasiou.

Huge thanks to Sandra Marinopoulos.

Also to Leda Karabela and the team at the Museum of Cycladic Art.
You guys rock! 

Jim Gianopoulos, CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, talks about the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.

“No matter what part of the world you look at, you’ll always find a few Greeks. They are influential people, shaping things, making a dent on the world, how it feels and how it thinks. It’s no wonder because we come from a rich culture and tradition. We all know (that the Greece in crisis today) is not the real Greece – it’s a transitional moment in a long and glorious history. And there’s no greater symbol of that wonderful past than the Museum of Cycladic Art. It’s like a beacon born out of the beautiful blue waters of the ancient Aegean … a bold reminder of the strength of our roots … offers inspiration for all …”

 

Concept and direction by Peter Economides.

Editing by Thanasis Papathanasiou.

Huge thanks to Sandra Marinopoulos.

Also to Leda Karabela and the team at the Museum of Cycladic Art.
You guys rock! 

“I am the global brand manager on Coca-Cola.”  Yeah right.

A brand is nothing more than the set of impressions that live in my head and your head and everybody else’s head. And these impressions are formed by everything the brand has said and done and not said and not done and by every experience we’ve had with that brand. Like, for me Coca-Cola brings back happy childhood memories of my grandfather because my grandfather would let me have Coca-Cola when my mother would not.

And there is a global brand manager in Atlanta managing this brand?

I am a brand strategist. I am not however a creator of brands. My job is to find out what has been, what is, and what can be. And to make sense of this within a powerful brand strategy. I am a mirror. I am a detective. I am a social psychologist. But I do not create brands. I reflect them. And I need to know how they fit into the collective consciousness.

Social media. I dislike that term. These are social gathering places facilitated through technology. In the old days people would gather in the town square, in the coffee shops, in the pubs, wherever … and they now gather online. Get togethers on steroids to paraphrase Vaynerchuk. And it’s at these get togethers that community is built. Community that implies shared values and shared culture and shared aspiration.

Back to branding.

Branding is precisely this. A sense of community centered on an interest that matters. For example, photographers will agree that Leica (or Nikon or Canon) best represents the values and culture and aspirations of the community gathered around the common interest called photography. They may disagree about Coca-Cola and BMW. But probably not about Leica or Nikon or Canon.

Social media (oh how I dislike that term) facilitates these large communities. Where people who do not really know each other at all connect through a common interest. And they become friends. And they follow each other. And they like the same things. Or disagree about what they like but come to some kind of conclusion about what they agree about.

What fertile ground for a brand strategist!

As strategists we would research, then analyze, then build brand architecture, then design messaging streams, then communicate to stakeholders in a way that would motivate and align them.

And now this can all be done through these get togethers on steroids.

SAY HELLO TO OPEN SOURCE BRANDING

Where communities express themselves and dream and create and imagine and get involved and disagree and agree and build common culture and values. Where they find the building blocks that create brands.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.
Sounds insane? It’s not.

It’s happening.

The Limassol Branding Project has just been launched. It’s the world’s first interactive destination branding project involving anyone who has enough interest in this city to “JOIN THE CONVERSATION” and “share today” and “shape tomorrow.” On Facebook. On Twitter. On blogs. And in live meetings. The project is just two days old and the flood of interest exceeds all my expectations. The launch presentation was the ninth most popular presentation on SlideShare on Saturday 9 July … for a little city of 200,000 inhabitants.  This is what I call engagement.

Limassolians are expressing their DNA, their aspirations, their thoughts about their city, and offering some brilliant marketing ideas along the way.  Like how about downloadable email signatures for use on their personal emails. Or daily submissions of photographs in and around the city with the best of the week voted by the community. WOW. WOW. WOW.

Think about it. The brand we are developing is the city. But the city is the people. And the people are expressing themselves in this “get together on steroids” facilitated by Facebook and Twitter and Slideshare and Youtube.

Still want to do focus groups so you can manage your brand?

It is not your brand.

It belongs to everyone who feels it is theirs.

Power to the people. 

 

See the Limassol Branding Project at http://www.facebook.com/Limassolbrand 

 

 

THIS IS THE PRESS RELEASE DESCRIBING THE NEW LOGO

 

“I saw a photograph of Limassol and it had its back to the sea,” says Peter Economides, the global brand consultant leading the Limassol Branding Project, “and then I realized what is so special about this city.”

 

Ask residents to tell you what they think of when they think of Limassol and you’ll probably hear the same answer.  Sea.  And the second word you’ll hear is probably this.  Smile.

 

There are many cities on the sea.  After all the earth is 70% water.  

What makes Limassol so special is the relationship between the people, the city and the sea.  Limassol embraces the sea.  Wherever you are you feel the presence of the sea.  And people who live in Limassol use the sea daily.  To swim.  To walk or cycle along the beachfront.  Or simply as inspiration.

 

“When Limassol turned to face the sea, the city smiled.  And the sea smiled back. This incredible phrase was said to me by Mimis Sophocleous and it has provided inspiration for the Limassol Branding Project,” says Mr. Economides.

 

It is the direct inspiration for the logo of the Limassol Branding Project.

 

The blue represents the sea. The green represents the land and the city. The white represents the beach. But it is also a smiling face. And the name is at an angle, just like a winking eye.

 

This is the spirit of Limassol.

The sea, the relationship between the people and the city and the sea.  And a smile 🙂

 

This may be why Limassol has attracted so many foreign residents.  It’s friendly. It’s welcoming.  It’s open and accepting.  And it has one of the best beachfronts in the world.

 

The Limassol Branding Project is unique.  It’s the first time that an entire city is invited to participate – on Facebook and Twitter and on a unique interactive forum.

Everyone can share their point of view, provide their input and shape the future of Limassol.

 

Join the conversation.

Share today.

Shape tomorrow.

 

 

The Limassol Branding Project was initiated by Spyros Spyrou, joined by six other Limassol business leaders  –  Peter G. Economides, Costas Galatariotis, Michael Loizides, Christos Mouskis, Philippos Philis and Michael Virarti  –  under the umbrella of the Limassol Chamber of Commerce.  It has the full support of the various municipalities and communities that make up the Greater Limassol area, as well as the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, and the Limassol Tourism Development Company.

 

The project is led by Peter Economides of Felix BNI, www.felixbni.com, a global strategic brand consultancy based in Athens.  Mr. Economides has long experience in branding which includes Coca-Cola, Apple Computer, Heineken, Audi, Mattel, Seychelles Tourism, Greek Tourism and the Bank of Cyprus.

 

To download images please visit: http://gallery.me.com/koobootoo