Branding in the Greek economy

We are in the seventh year of the finance and economic crisis in Greece and unfortunately the situation is still fragile. Since 2014 potential wealth has vanished, new fiscal measures were imposed, arrears have inflated, the citizens’ disposable income has shrunk, and the competitiveness of the economy has deteriorated. Nowadays, uncertainty is being prolonged, the country is dragging, and the economy is still sinking, mainly due to the huge delays in the completion of the MOU review.

The question, therefore, is what should be done to stabilize the situation, so that the country gets on a path of sustainable growth, with justice and cohesion, national dignity and dynamism.

In my opinion, above all, it requires a robust political leadership, with a coherent plan and the will to deliver.

This political leadership must set some priorities straightforward:

• Front-loaded enactment of structural reforms, which the government is not willing to implement.
• Intensive implementation of the privatization program, without internal impediments.
• Provision of liquidity to the real economy, through the faster absorption of EU funds, the repayment of arrears, and the cleaning of bank balance sheets.
• Change of the fiscal policy mix, moving towards a gradual reduction in taxation by safeguarding fiscal discipline, using fiscal equivalents from the expenditure side, and focusing on combating “shadow economy”.
• Emphasis on the need to reduce the medium-to-long term fiscal targets, in order to create fiscal space.
• Enhancement of debt sustainability, by determining aggressive medium-term parametric measures, taking into account both the stock and the flow of debt.
• Improvement of the social safety net and social cohesion with sell-targeted, modern and comprehensive welfare-enhancing interventions.
• Investment in education and human capital by fostering an open, outward-oriented and quality-focused education system, by implementing training and life-long learning policies and by initiating a national research system, paired with innovation and technology and adapted to the European and international frameworks.
• Implementation of a national strategic plan for the productive reconstruction of the economy, towards an outward-oriented growth model, with emphasis in the areas of internationally tradable goods.

All the aforementioned priorities are the key preconditions that could lay the foundations for the country’s return to the sustainable growth, generating jobs and increasing prosperity.

It is also obvious that in the long term, our living standards depend on branding and productivity growth. In turn productivity depends on innovation. This makes the combination of branding and innovation a critical concern for the E.S.V.E.P. So we try to promote on a decision making level our proposals and actions and sensitize the decision makers. We always try to note the significance of branding in our world and especially in the Greek economy. According to our view, brands are more than just intellectual property, they become the underlying common ethic that affects all aspects of a firm’s activities.

As Philip Kotler, the most influential marketer of all times notes: “An increasingly number of companies see their brands as the platform for running their business. The brand creates an identity for the product and/or company in the marketplace. It requires the company to think deeply its mission, vision, and values. The company has to work hard at developing the image that it wants customers to have of the offering. The brand must not only convince prospective customers and draw them to the brand but also be deeply believed in by the employees and other stakeholders of the company…” That note about belief is critical. Branding is a psychological entity that manifests economic value and firms of all sizes.

Under these circumstances E.S.V.E.P. is a leading organization in that field, trying to offer the best of his services toward the new direction of the Greek economy.

By Nikos Karageorgiou – President of the Greek Association of Branded Products Manufacturers