Everything Communicates

As I was running around my neighborhood, I noticed the below sign in one of the house construction sites along my route. It drew my attention, as it was a clear warning label for keeping safety precautions while on site. One would argue “What’s the great deal about it?” and I may agree to a point until I realized that this communication is checking two very important boxes

  • It serves a great purpose, that is of work safety in a clear, illustrative way
  • It communicates the company group’s name, the company and also a brand motto (which is so cool for a cement company as it translates “relationship on solid foundation”)

Building further on the second point, this leadership practice of placing such signage is ultimately showing respect and professionalism and could be translated multifacetedly as taken by various stakeholders. The constructor (B2B client) is happy with a useful piece of communication material that upgrades his image while keeping him compliant with H&S rules, the potential B2C customer translates this as a responsible practice which may affect positively his preference when buying a B2C product from the company (eg. for DYI use), a business professional may consider the company for employment, a prospect investor may consider purchasing company’s stock (even though Lafarge’s stock has stopped trading in the Athens Stock Exchange for some time)… and the list goes on.

Some may find “Everything Communicates” a cliché, I find this a perennial universal truth.

Everything Communicates

A playful twist for a (previously) dull passage

I’ve been writing my blog for 6 years and I have never praised projects that I have led (at least not until today). However, on November 2020 while Greece is experiencing the second phase of a lockdown, I had the honor to receive a Platinum distinction in the Event Awards 2020 organized by Boussias Communications for the project “The First Interactive Under Passage in Greece”. I felt that amidst these tough times, this is the right moment to write about this case and highlight the significance of brand experience as we navigate through Covid19. Let me break down for you, why I believe this is a particular good story to share.

In early 2019, I took the courage to propose to my manager an idea to revamp an underground passage in the city I grew up. Why does it take courage to propose something like this?  There are numerous reasons but let me provide my top 5: A. It needs a good amount budget B. You face the risk that the project gets vandalized C. Initiatives like this are often mistaken for CSR actions and not perceived as brand initiatives (ie. there is a weak brand role in the renovation) D. It is almost impossible to hit the right balance between a branded intervention (which also included a high risk of vandalism) and a restoration that cannot be attributed to a brand (ie. this is nice but we don’t know that OPAP did it) E. Collaborating with the Public Sector can be long and cumbersome. Even one single reason of these, could have discouraged us and force us abandon the idea.

Continue reading “A playful twist for a (previously) dull passage”
A playful twist for a (previously) dull passage

Every street has a story – every wall has a tale

Lately there have been many discussions on graffiti, on who defines public space, on whether the people performing graffiti are artists or vandals.

I’m not the person to judge this, however I would like to share with you on this occasion a practice that Elais-Unilever has adopted on the empty walls of their own premises in Pireaus. The company had asked some years ago from an artist named Stelios Faitakis  to turn the blank walls outside their offices into an art statement.ElaisGraffiti

Now this is an excellent practice! Beside the stunning visual/artistic result which you don’t have to be an art expert to perceive its quality, I like it also for several other business reasons: Continue reading “Every street has a story – every wall has a tale”

Every street has a story – every wall has a tale