“Love Letters from Athens”: A heart-warming digital campaign

Athens touches the hearts of millions with its launch of six short videos that depict messages of hope and anticipation written on postcards from the capital

The partnership “This is Athens & Partners” has released a new digital campaign titled “Love letters from Athens”. The campaign features six short videos of different, unique postcards. Although each postcard has its own inscription, all six carry the same message: “We look forward to seeing you again!” Moreover, each letter is signed off in the same way, “Love, Athens”.

Hope, optimism, and nostalgia

On its website, the municipality of Athens reported that the idea for this campaign came from the letters of anticipation that are generally exchanged during difficult times.  Thus, by alluding to a time when travellers will once again be able to visit Athens, the postcards convey a sense of optimism and hope.

Similarly, the signature “Love, Athens” evokes bittersweet feelings of nostalgia. More specifically, it makes the postcard feel personal and meaningful – especially for those who have visited Athens numerous times before.

The postcards are presented in six short videos and they all depict a certain, distinct landmark from the Greek capital: for example, the statue of Athena at the Academy Building and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. As the campaign’s target audience is Central and Western Europe (mainly the UK, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland), the postcards can be viewed in English, French and German.

The above video is one of the six from the "Love Letters from Athens" campaign.

“This is Athens & Partners”

The “Love Letters from Athens” campaign was launched by “This is Athens & Partners” with the aim of promoting the Greek capital as a destination in international markets. The organizations which participated in the making of this campaign are: The Municipality of Athens, The Development and Tourism Promotion Company (EATA), Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE), Marketing Greece, AEGEAN, Athens International Airport, Lampsa SA, Lamda Development, and Ioanian Hotel Enterprises SA.

The Mayor of Athens, Mr. Kostas Bakoyannis commented on this campaign saying: “In such a difficult period, Athens declares its presence in world tourism.” Furthermore, he explained that this digital campaign is meant to show the world that Athens can adapt and that it will “play a leading role in the new map of tourism”.

Ioanna Dretta, CEO of Marketing Greece, also shared that these postcards serve as a reminder of all the things that make the world love Athens. The main goal of this campaign, Dretta noted, is “to promote the personality of the city and to send a message of anticipation and optimism for when the city meets its visitors again.”

The CEO of Lamda Development, Mr Odysseas Athanasiou stressed that Athens is a city that is known for its history and culture. “Our vision at Lamda Development is to reposition Athens on the global investment and tourism map, highlighting its unique characteristics, its past, present and future,” he added.

“Love Letters from Athens” touches the hearts of people all around the globe as it fills them with a sense of hope and optimism. The postcards remind us that all difficult times must at some point come to an end and that we will meet again.