ATHENAI: Say yes to expertise, say yes to Athens
Within the framework of “Event Management Lab” of the 8th semester of our studies in the Department of Communication, Media & Culture at Panteion University, we were given the chance to meet and collaborate with Mrs. Fradelou, Communication and Marketing Consultant, specialized in organizing corporate events. Throughout this collaboration, we were given the opportunity to create our very own event, aiming to highlight the city of Athens as a top tourist destination.
Through this lab, which was one of the most worthwhile ways to end our university experience, we came in contact with a subject that was new for everyone, and through our sessions we came to deeply understand the procedures required in order to create a complete and successful event.
This journey lasted for four weeks, and through this we acquired all the necessary tools to create our own event. In all classes that took place, we excelled our knowledge in the basic principles of event management, the event categories, the building of our idea, our goal-setting, our marketing, communication and collaboration strategy, and lastly, how to organise a sponsorship program. After these courses, we were ready to begin our journey.
From the first session, we had been notified about the theme of the event we were asked to bring to life. According to the requirements of the project, our goal was to create an e-conference, whose ultimate goal would be to promote Athens as a top tourist destination all-year-round, and present the strategies that we would carry out.
The pillars we had to take into consideration were Modern Culture, History-Tradition, Oenology & Gastronomy, Sustainability, Shopping, and Environment. As additional tasks, it was required to include the design of our Communication material (creating our own logo, website and banners for social media & advertising usage), the event program and the speakers that would participate, our strategy and lastly, the communication plan of our project.
In the beginning, we had decided to work with all provided pillars. Having Athens’s past in mind, we wanted to promote its development, and at the same time, the bright past of the city in those specific sections. After receiving Mrs. Fradelou’s feedback, we took a 180-degree turn, now having as our sole goal the promotion of today’s Athens, the Athens of 2021. It was about time the questions started: What comes to mind when we think of Athens? Surely, our thoughts are related to concepts and ideas that were born in Athens, such as Democracy, Philosophy, Ancient Theatre, etc. All these concepts have their roots in the glorious past of Athens. Today though, things take on a new perspective. Athens should not be only identified with the past. Athens is about now, the modern world. We are prone to excellence and expertise as we were in the past.
After a thorough research and a lot of brainstorming, a new idea was born: Athenai. With “Say yes to expertise, say yes to Athens” as our motto, a concept of a phygital conference was created.
Our goal was to promote fields of expertise in Athens. We decided that the best date to start our event would be World Tourism day, which takes place on the 27th of September, and it would end on the 10th of October. The event would have both digital, through Cisco Webex Meetings, and physical presence in various venues in Athens.
Starting our project we decided to conduct a SWOT analysis in order to discover more insights about the strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to the strengths of Athens, we indicated that the natural and cultural attractions of our city attract millions of tourists every year. In addition, Athens is known all over the world for its great hospitality which, combined with its temperate climate, makes it an ideal tourist destination. Continuing with our existing opportunities, in the last few years, numerous startups have been established in Athens, reinforcing the IT development of the city. At the same time, through European Union support, Athens has managed to evolve its sustainability plans.
On the other hand, Athens faces some weaknesses which hinder its glory. The economic recession of the last decade led to the delay of growth in various sections. This fact, combined with the Covid-19 crisis, raised the uncertainty of dozens of businesses, such as tourism and the HORECA industry.
Based on these facts, we decided to emphasize our conference in 4 main pillars: Modern Culture, Sustainability, Shopping, and Gastronomy and Oenology.
Starting with our first pillar, which is Modern Culture, the attendees of the conference will have the opportunity to discover the new and evolved face of Greek culture, through a 5-day virtual conference, starting on the 27th of September and ending on the 1st of October. Our program will consist of a screening of modern plays and acts, a virtual exhibition of modern photography, a digital trip among the unique architectural buildings in Athens, a virtual entechno concert, and also, a virtual trip among different galleries and small cultural bistrots. Apart from these acts, we will also have many special speakers in our events, such as known musicians, art critics, photographers, and architects. Our guests will come from the world of art, music, photography, architecture, and journalism. At the end of our 5-day event, all our guests will receive a gift box which will include a ticket for a music and photography event at the Benakis Museum.
On that note, our second pillar is Sustainability, which will be a 3-day digital event that will start on the 2nd of October and will last until the 4th of the month. The conference will include online workshops, which will be about sustainable tourism, and two virtual conferences about renewable sources of energy, entrepreneurship, and agritourism. For our online workshop, we will have various entrepreneurs, investors, travel agencies and journalists as guests, and Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis, Deputy Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Prof. Stavros Koubias, Chairman at the Scientific Council of iSi industrial systems institute, and a representative from the travel agency Around Greece as speakers. At the end of the conference, our guests will receive a sale coupon for agrotourism in Greece as a gift.
Fashion and jewelry were always an integral part of Greek culture since the ancient years; it is time for them now to stand out in the most Athenian way. Our third pillar is related to Shopping, and will be formed in a 3-day conference that will include a Catwalk by Greek Fashion Designers which will be held in Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, a Jewelry Display by Greek Jewelry Designers, and an Online Athenian Fashion Workshop. All acts will have one sole goal in mind; the promotion of the Athenian attitude and style. The conference will start on the 5th of October and end on the 7th. Photographers, Fashion Designers, journalists and influencers will be invited as our guests, and Fashion & Jewelry experts, Models and Photographers as the speakers that will accompany our acts. A gift will be offered to the audience as a memoir and that will include a souvenir bracelet of the Conference ATHENAI, as well as a Greek modern-style bracelet.
Our fourth, and last pillar is Oenology and Gastronomy. In this particular pillar our guests will have the opportunity to taste dozens of flavors which will make them acquainted with Greek cuisine and wine. It will be a 3-day event which will begin on the 8th of October, and it will last until the 10th of the same month. This will be the last day of our whole conference. The event will be entirely physical and it will take place at Technopolis. The event will include food and wine tasting of Greek-produced products, and also, cooking lessons using Greek patents/products such as mastic of Chios, Greek feta, pistachio of Aegina, etc. Our team of speakers will consist of famous Greek oenologists and chefs. In addition, many foreign wine experts, vintners, chefs, food and wine critics, restaurant owners, influencers, bloggers, journalists and travel agencies will be invited to our conference. On the final day, all the attendees will receive a gift box, which will include various local products and wines.
It can not be a successful event without its sponsors. Our Gold Sponsors will be the Aegean airlines, which will provide us with 25.000€ and Cisco Webex Meetings, which will offer us their services free of charge. Continuing with our Silver Sponsors, we have ERT, Vikos Cola, Ministry of Tourism, Ethniki Trapeza and many more. Each one of these sponsors will fund us with 5.000€.
The last step of organizing the ATHENAI was the most creative one, since it included the implementation of our fruitful ideas into a “canvas”, the world of social media, and website. We created fun, intelligent and full of color banners for our social media pages, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These banners showed some fun facts about Athens that probably not many people are familiar with. Our goal was to connect these facts with the 4 pillars of our event and excite the interest of the viewers.
Next, we formed our official ATHENAI website. The first thing that someone notices is the large and emblematic logo of ATHENAI, as well as the home area and the categories of the website. We also provided the user with a welcoming message, along with some practical and important information about the event. Moreover, we projected a detailed program of the conference and a gallery which will be filled with pictures of the whole experience. It is necessary to underline that the user has the chance to purchase an “ATHENAI Basic”, or an “ATHENAI Premium” ticket, depending on whether the pillar includes physical activities or not. The website follows a UX-based philosophy and is very user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.
Taking our idea one step forward, we talked about acts that could follow up and advertise our event. As a part of our Communication plan, we thought that the creation of a mini TV spot to promote Athens and show off all of its fascinating aspects would be a great follow-up. The TV spot would be broadcasted both in Greece and abroad, with subtitles in different languages if needed. To go along with our TV spot, we were certain we needed to take into consideration the power of press; we thought that a press release, as well as paid articles in foreign magazines and newspapers, would interest a variety of people, and show off a glimpse of what our event has to offer.
So, what comes to your mind when you think of Athens? We sincerely hope we elevated and evolved your thoughts. We truly believe that Athens should not be solely identified with the past. Athens is all about now, the modern world. A part of our ATHENAI vision was the ambition to be prone to excellence by offering 4 main pillars of professional expertise in order to increase tourism and show off a different angle of Athens, the angle of great specialization and excellence.
Our Professors: Betty Tsakarestou, Athena Fradelou
Our Team Members: Konstantina Angelidou, Grasiela Varkari, Myrto Galanopoulou, Ina Makrydaki, Katerina Somi, Margarita Kammenou, Eleni flevotomou
