Marketing Abroad; Santorini

As you jet off to the sunny Greek isles ‘marketing’ will probably be the last thing on your mind. However, whether a keen marketeer or an innocent bystander, marketing and the decision making that it entails will effect your entire holiday, you just may not know it!

Marketing guru and GEM MEDIA MD, Gemma, recently took her summer holiday in the picturesque town of Santorini, where crisp blue skies meet the wine dark sea to create a pristine vista. The ocean front villas are painted white and blue and have become the quintessential image of a holiday on the stunning Greek isles. The view markets itself and many travel agents, airlines and tourism companies have used the image to entice holiday goers to Santorini’s stunning shores.

But the marketing doesn’t stop there. With such a prolific tourist industry, local business in Santorini is booming and business owners are using their own tactics to win the attention of holidaymakers. Businesses vying for tourist attention range from restaurants and bars to hotels, water sports activities and companies offering day trips and excursions. Beach front boards, planes dragging banners and eye-catching bar fronts with enticing drinks offers all come under the ‘marketing’ headline; ready to catch your eye and encourage you to choose their business over another.

A holiday in Santorini offers a little bit of paradise for every type of jetsetter. For Gemma, a holiday is best spent lapping up the rays and indulging in Greece’s exquisite cuisine.

There are a number of beaches, which are either dusted in dark volcanic sand or pebbled. For a lively beach bar fronted scene you can head over to Perívolos, the area has successfully marketed itself to a younger crowd looking for a beach side cocktail. We believe that when on holiday it is essential to kick back with a mojito… or two, and here you will find drinks deals aplenty to wet your palette.

You can also head over to Kamári for smooth sands, picturesque vistas and all types of water sports.

Incredible food in Santorini is never far from the plate, pop in to any restaurant and you will be sweetly satisfied by some of Greece’s best dishes, such as Mezzes and keftédes (meatballs) as well as delectable seafood dishes. With dinner comes another decision, heavily influenced by keen restaurants marketing their business… What do you look for when deciding on your restaurant for the evening; is it the friendly waiter standing outside summoning you in? Do you need somewhere that displays pictures of its plates, maybe prices? Or is décor and atmosphere top of your list?

Of course, we all feel drawn back to that one special restaurant that provides the free feel-good glass of ouzo as a post-meal pick me up. These special touches that make one business stand out above the rest, is what successful marketing is all about.