ATHINNA_CITY BRANDING

Throughout the second semester of this postgraduate course, we studied the successful and unsuccessful branding strategies of cities in Europe and beyond. This research process equipped us with ideas, inspiration and research skills, and now, we are ready to design and propose a strategy for our own city, Athens. The outcome of the research could be pitched to valuable local and international stakeholders in order to bring these ideas into life and give Athens a unique narrative to engage with.

What makes Athens unique?

During the research, our working group identified the key features of the city as they are found either in the press or in surveys. The first was the urban landscape (the picturesque alleys, the architecture of the city, the innumerable hills, the coastal areas near the center) the second was the culture (monuments-archeological sites-museums, but also the hospitality of the inhabitants or the culture of coffee) and the third was the entertainment (Athens is a city that never sleeps, combines different types of entertainment that cater to all tastes, has bazaars, flea markets, etc.).

Continuing our research, we turned to the examination of the programs currently running in Athens which we studied a lot, as they were considered a useful tool that should be taken into account when developing our strategy. The programs we examined carefully were the “adopt your city” program, a new program concerning the bicycle center, the “Project Athens”, the renovation of parks, programs concerning the improvement of the digital capacities of special population groups (f.e. the immigrants), the open schools, the counseling women’s center etc.

The position of Athens on the international and European map.

Before proceeding with the planning of the strategy for the city, it was of primary importance to investigate what is the position of Athens at the moment and where it is in relation to its competitors.

We noticed that Athens is in the 99th place of the economist in terms of sustainability. In 95th place in terms of smart city, 56th place in digital city in Europe, 16th place in conference tourism, 25th place in approaching talents worldwide. In addition to the cultural and creative cities of the EU, Athens is: in 5th place in cultural vibrancy, in 1st place in cultural venues & facilities, in 29th place in creative economics and in 33rd place in enabling environment.

Indicatively, some distinctions that the city has achieved in recent years are also mentioned, such as its award as European Capital of Innovation in 2018, the 3rd best European city to visit in 2015 and its recent upgrade by the rating agency Moody’s from Ba3 to B1.

Finally, we selected 3 more areas that were considered important for our final proposals. So we noticed that Athens is in 124th place in the nomadlist (worldwide), is 32nd on the map of start up companies in Europe while Greece is the 3rd country in Europe in the possibility of using 5G.

The city’s competitors

As competitors of Athens for this project, we considered Barcelona, Rome and Istanbul. The reason why we chose these cities was mainly the geographical proximity but also the similar climate with Athens. At the same time, all three are historical cities. This works both positively and negatively since the historical character of these cities is so strong and intense that overwhelms the modern identity and pulse of the city.

Barcelona is one of the most visited and high ranked cities in Europe in terms of quality of life. Its unique architecture, climate and the identity, made the city an ideal destination not only for someone to visit but also to live. Barcelona is the 1st smart city in Spain and the 4th smart city in Europe and the 13th most innovative city in the world. Barcelona hosts the 22@ Barcelona Project since 2000, a project that redefined the character of the city and its also the Mobile World Capital, making the city the “Mecca ‘’ of future technology. Barcelona is also characterized by its numerous festivals such as the Sonar and Primavera Sound, which attract young artists and people from around the world, making it an artistic and cultural city.

Rome is the city that has always been considered the bridge between east and west and holds a large history. Rome’s branding strategy has always been focusing on tourism, since it’s not only a historical but also a religious centre. Rome, holds the brand name “Eternal” which in 2008 was ranked the 9th most powerful brand name worldwide, which is recognisable globally. The city’s administration is aware of that and is now focusing on the current and the multicultural character of the city.

Istanbul as the capital of Turkey is forming the county’s cultural, economic and historical heart. Although it’s a city also characterized by it’s historical past, is going above and beyond to keep up to today’s rhythms and become a global technological and innovative centre. Istanbul is now considered the “knowledge metropolis” and a regional hub for activities like finance, logistics, tourism and culture for the Balkans, the Black sea region etc. Istanbul hosts 27 Universities which perform the role of local knowledge hubs bringing global knowledge to the region and also aspires to be an environmental leader.

HOW TO REBRAND ATHENS?

Having discussed and researched all the above ideas and opinions about where people globally place Athens along with the outcomes of the city’s comparison with its competitors we are ready to introduce our own proposal for the new city branding of Athens.

Our proposal named Athinna — a juxtaposition between Athens and Innovation — is a new strategic plan that puts at the top of the pyramid two main pillars: Culture and Innovation. It is a plan for a city that focuses on its main strengths, takes full advantage of the opportunities that arise within the city scape but also related to the social aspects of life, and aims to open new innovative horizons in order to establish the city’s 21st century identity.

So to speak, how can we define Cultural Innovation? We can try and point out a few key parameters that describe it :

• It is a strategy that derives from the existing up and coming start up business ground of Athens.
• it continuously pushes forward the cultural regeneration
• it accepts and promotes the voices of the new creatives along with their innovative ideas
• it encourages the people of the city to domesticate the public space and to take control of the decision making in it
• it builts solid foundations for a friendly and well functioning contemporary city

The main brainstorming process in order to prepare this strategic plan was to find key solutions and answers to some simple questions such as: WHO? WHY? WHAT?

Who are the people we engage with?

These are the people of Athens of course — the residents, the immigrants , the tourists, the local communities that built this humanitarian core. Along with these there are the various stakeholders that lead the ideas for the city towards materialization. Investors,Entrepreneurs,Organizations,Institutions, Municipality to name a few.

Why Athens?

Having considered all above in regards to the current state of Athens we come to conclusions that it can provide a solid fertile ground for a new strategic plan. Athens is a very affordable city, with a large number of skilled engineers and developers, lower rates and costs in comparison to other european cities. Dozens of new startup companies, events and contests put the city into a global innovative and financially attractive map that combines the elements of creative freedom, history and dynamic opportunities.

What do we propose?

So, what do we propose in order to improve Athens’ attractiveness and address the city as a worth-living capital? Truth be told, the recent city branding strategies that have been proposed and implemented during the last years have offered quite a lot of opportunities for Athens’ to use. And although many great initiatives have emerged (such as This is Athens, Syn Athina, Innovathens, Culture Net, Serafeio among others) Athens has not yet succeeded in rebranding herself as a top choice for new talents. So, what could be done?

Our first proposition is to focus on the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in order to achieve the cultural innovation of the city. And we choose this direction because Athens is an unexploited contemporary cultural centre that has many to offer. Apart from the many museums and archeological sites that are located in Athens, there is also a plethora of major private cultural institutions and galleries, plenty of artist-run project spaces, many architecture and design studios, a great deal of pop-up events and festivals and many creatives who are trying to thrive in a city that does not support the creative economy. (Athens — despite the aforementioned- ranks 29th in the creative economy index but 5th in the cultural vibrancy index). In addition to the above, Athens has a great building stock that- following the examples of the renovation projects of Kupseli Municipal Market and the former Tobacco factory- can be used in an effective way to support the growth and the development of creative industries. To be more specific, reusing old or abandoned buildings could promote cultural innovation in two ways. First of all, the conversion of these spaces into hubs and incubators for research and artistic creativity could give the opportunity for cultural synergies to foster by providing all the necessary facilities for young creatives and new start-ups, by supporting cooperation and networking activities for all cultural and creative sectors, by pooling resources, sharing best practices, and building on advocacy, policy and opportunities. The other way that the infrastructure renovation could support the cultural innovation of the city is the fact that by inserting new “cultural symbols” -that resonate with local sense of heritage- could help define and propose a new distinctive territorial identity for parts of the city.

Another suggestion in order for Athens to be a culturally innovative city is to further promote the intersections between art, science and society. Not only should we invest in cutting-edge practices (such as 3D installations or VR methods) and open access but we should also find ways to support and engage everyone in this process. Innovation can only happen when variety and multiculturalism are present. So it is important to give voice and access to marginalized groups that are currently not effectively integrated into the social fabric but have still a lot of creativity and inspiration to offer.

The main institution to which we would like to address our project is Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre. The reasons for which we chose it are first of all because it is an innovative institution that offers generous support of small and medium businesses and start ups. In addition to this, SNFCC is also inclusive and forms a public space open to all, that offers free access and participation to several cultural and athletic activities. Last but not least, SNFCC is a sustainability Hub and a leading example of environmental sustainability at three levels: design & construction, operation, footprint in the local ecosystem.

Four Proposals for a wider city strategy.

1. Synergies with organizations that have the know-how and can help the municipality. A typical example of future cooperation could be the cooperation with amazon, which announced the opening of its offices in Athens months ago. (The office will support organizations of all sizes, including startups, businesses and public sector organizations, in how to make the transition to the AWS Cloud).

2. Targeting digital nomads. Researches show that the two main prerequisites that concern them are the cheap and fast internet and the environmental conditions. We propose speeding up procedures for 5G, tax incentives focused on the specificity of the limited stay time that can work multiplier, since some of them may make investments, such as the purchase of real estate. In general, to give incentives in terms of the environment, with actions that will benefit the whole city, such as electric buses, incentives to reduce residents’ use of cars, use of smart bikes, pilot use of the EVNAN program for garbage as is the case in Sweden.

3. Aiming at conference tourism taking advantage of Athens, — a place where work and fun can be combined, such as gastronomy, history or nature, which provides easy access by air and road, and there are plenty of hall spaces for small or large events and for all financial levels.

4. Finally, utilization of abandoned buildings (renovated and energy upgraded them), through the Green Fund and their use as a ‘flexible office”, an industry that is already gaining ground at the moment and could bring profits, in the long run to the municipal funds.

Within the context of Athens Co Creation City Branding course that we undertook with professor Betty Tsakarestou we are trying to identify all the essential material that could be used in order to establish a main direction for the city branding of Athens. City branding is a managerial procedure which offers any given city with a distinct image and identity, provide cities with a chance of being clear, positive, different and distinguishable from other competitors. Also, city branding is considered a tool for achieving competitive advantage and increasing inward investment and tourism. At the same time, city branding can also encompass agendas for community development, reinforcing local character, enhashing citizens’ attachment to their own city and reducing social exclusion.