Is Greece in major financial trouble ?, Current account balance and GDP Options

[Chris]

I agree there is a long way to go, serious things yet to be fixed...


However the above article can shove it. This day and age is all about perception and bullshit media reports. Greece was the whipping boy for 3 years and counting. Some justified, alot complete dramatic BS. Good on Samara and Stournara for turning that around and running with it.


They have done a lot, you have to admit. It's not going to be fixed over night. But at least Europe is taking them serious...

This post has been edited by Chris: May 21 2013, 07:19 PM

[RED SHERIFF]

yes..the article does not mention how to solve the problem or big issues...

yet it touches on the 'illegals' and how they should be incorporated into society.

[Giourkas]

Finally, some proactive action by the Greek government!

Greece hires Google’s Steve Vranakis to develop the country’s national brand strategy

Can national branding help debt-stricken Greece boost its export competitiveness and encourage much-needed investment?

Greece’s beleaguered government seems to think so and has hired Steve Vranakis to help develop a new image-building strategy for the country.

According to the government, a positive national image is vital for export and investment promotion. And Vranakis seems to be the best man for the job.

The 41-year-old Greek Canadian is the creative director at Google’s Creative Lab for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before joining Google in 2011, Vranakis worked for the international advertising agency VCCP where he oversaw numerous award-winning campaigns for Coca-Cola and collaborated with some of the biggest brands in the world like McDonald's, BMW and Levis.

Vranakis, who started his career as a graphic designer in Vancouver some 20 years ago, is part of a new working group in Athens that is made up Greek politicians, civil servants, media and other industry representatives. The news was announced earlier this week by Government Spokesman Simos Kedikoglou.

Other key members of this working group include Stefanos Isaias, the CEO of Invest in Greece, and Theodora Mantzari, designer and former art director of the Athens Olympic Games 2004 (she received an award from the International Olympic Committee for her work on the image and identity of the Games, which the IOC said epitomized Olympic Excellence).

Americans’ perception of Greece plummets

Ask Americans what they think of Greece at the moment, and the answer will be “irresponsible” and “stressful”. These are the words used by more than half (52%) of the people polled by Aloft Group, Inc, a brand consulting and communication firm. The findings of the survey, which were published on Business Wire, suggest the crisis has negatively skewed Americans’ view of Greece.

Before the crisis, most Americans used these words to describe Greece: pleasant, intriguing, relaxing, alluring and carefree. Now, they’re using these words: expensive, irresponsible, stressful, scary and unpleasant.

'Never waste a good crisis'

At a high-level investment conference in Athens in October 2012, Simon Anholt, an independent policy advisor and one of the world's leading specialists in creating brand strategies for countries, said Greece still has “remarkable equity” in its brand (despite all the bad press). He said Greece needs to defend its “good image” by putting through all the necessary structural changes to boost economic growth and promote tourism and exports.

“Never waste a good crisis,” said Anholt. “It is only when things are not okay can changes be made.”

According to international brand strategist Peter Economides, Greece is suffering from “an image crisis” and a “how-we-feel-about-ourselves-as-Greeks crisis”. Last year, Economides, a Greek South African, presented his own strategy for a new innovation and entrepreneurship incubator in Greece, under the banner of his popular Ginetai (It is possible) campaign that he speaks about regularly.