Athens the city is the museum

In 2022, Google Greece approached us to create a campaign for Athens. The main objective was to promote the city in a unique way using Google technology while addressing a common challenge: most visitors only stayed an average of three days, focusing mainly on the Acropolis and other historical landmarks. Yet, Athens has transformed into a vibrant, modern metropolis, and to be honest, it’s an incredibly cool city right now.

The brief was exciting— I had the chance to develop a campaign for the city i grew up in. The idea was simple but bold: it challenged traditional tourism campaigns by reimagining the concept of a museum, turning the entire city into a living, breathing exhibit. Once we established this concept, the rest came together smoothly. With Google’s support, we designed an immersive experience that would give visitors a new way to explore the city.

Essentially, we planned a “museum visit” that spans the entire city. We created audio walks, allowing visitors to listen to curated audio content as they explored Athens, just as they would with an audio guide in a museum. To bring this to life, we collaborated with local Athenians, who shared stories about the modern-day “artifacts” that make Athens so unique. Currently, there are four routes available, and the entire experience is accessible through Google Maps.

The campaign also ran in Times Square in New York and received fantastic results, earning us eight awards at the local Ermis Awards, including Gold for Campaigns, Gold for Production, and Gold for Multi-Platform Campaigns. You can check out the experience here.