QUEEN DIVA HAS LOST HER THRONE

The Diva Out of Work

Did the diva make ANT1 or did ANT1 make the diva? The answer is obvious. With a little help from Minos, we can all go pretty far.

The diva rose through the ranks of ANT1. She just happened to be at the right place at the right time…on a yacht that sailed the Mediterranean Sea. Oops, that’s the wrong story. Nevertheless, the same opportunity that led to her rise is what eventually led to her fall.

The Tactics of a Diva
Scream! Scream at everyone! Scream at anything! Keep people an arm distance away, so they won’t figure out how stupid you truly are.

Use melodrama behind the scenes, so that management will sympathize with you.

When success hits, claim it. When failure hits, blame it on the others.

Keep the smarter people suppressed and their ideas hidden -- this way no one will discover their true talents and you can maintain your throne.

Destroy all creative ideas before anyone gets wind of them.

Use the ANT1 brand to create personal equity and gain respect from actors, directors, and producers.

Promote yourself over all others -- after all you are the Queen.

Call your personal photographer to tell him which social events you will attend, so he will mysteriously show up and take photos and then publish them in the media.

Do not allow anyone to get close to you because they’ll soon discover your lack of talent.

These tactics may have worked at ANT1 but other networks will not put up with a diva gone mad. Bye, bye STAR. ALPHA watch out! Or are we back to ANT1 again? Now, that would be a big mistake for ANT1!!!
Medicine-tongue

KALOMIRA GOES TO EUROVISION

"Secret Combination" is the name of the song that Kalomira will sing and represent Greece with in the upcoming Eurovision competition in Belgrade; beating out her two other competitors Kostas Martakis, who had the song "Always and Forever" and Chrispa with the song "A Chance to Love."

The decision was made by both the general public and judges. Greek viewer accounted for 60 per cent of the voting, while the judges had the other 40%. Kalomira received a total of 56% of the vote, Kostas Martakis 32% and Chrispa in third with 12%.
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SO YOU SPEAK GREEK?!

Last week's clip from "So You Think You Can Dance" New York edition. Eleni gives it to the judges, Bravo Eleni!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8310495478102932692#37m05s
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A FILM FESTIVAL WITH AN "ECO-FRIENDLY" MINDSET

There is a unique film festival coming to Pireaus. The 7th Ecocinema International Film Festival, taking place between 21-27 February (at the Atticon and Cineak cinemas), aims to raise the public's environmental awareness, as well as its participation to a global dialogue.

In its 7 days of screenings, Ecocinema will present recent cinematographic productions and thematic tributes focusing on sociopolitical and environmental issues.

To see the list of films and schedules please click below: EcoCinema

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THE iFLOP

Steve Jobs tried to design --and dictate--the future of television. Here's how he failed. Steve Jobs, the Silicon Valley Svengali who gave the world geek chic in the form of the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone, looked ready to do it yet again last summer when he offered the first glimpse of Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people )'s iTV. The slender, elegant gray box would revolutionize television, he proclaimed, and let sofa spuds grab all sorts of video (TV shows, movies, Web clips) from all sorts of sources (cable, satellite, the Internet) and zap it to their TV sets. The details were sketchy, but--coming from Steve Jobs--iTV promised to tie it all together in a simple, sexy, fun package. "This is the missing piece," Jobs told his disciples, gesturing to a device the size of a textbook. "Here it is."

His timing was impeccable. When the product debuted in late March, the cost of delivering TV shows over the Internet had plunged, and the Web was brimming with video of ever greater variety and quality. The major TV networks were adding online downloads of such hits as NBC's Heroes, and Hollywood's titanic studios had begun talks to rent movies online through Apple's iTunes service.

Six months later iTV is a flat-out iFlop. Renamed Apple TV upon launch, the ballyhooed box has sold perhaps 250,000 units--far behind the 1 million sold for the iPhone, which was priced twice as high and has been on the market less than half as long. Apple, which declined to let FORBES interview Jobs and other execs for this story, provides detailed sales data for the iPod and other digital wonders but won't reveal any numbers for Apple TV; apparently the truth is too humiliating.

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THE INTERNET. THE TV.

Millions of people love watching Internet video on their PCs. So why can't the technology industry figure out how to get them to watch Internet video on their television sets?

It isn't for lack of trying. For several years, Silicon Valley has bombarded the market with gadgets that let you tune into online video in your living room. Plug one of these set-top boxes into your TV, and you can download a selection of movies and TV shows, or perhaps browse video sites like YouTube.

It seems like a no-brainer: Consumers get a greater breadth of on-demand content than cable offers, and in the comfort of their living room or bedroom, the industry argues. WSJ's Nick Wingfield reviews some of the gadgets that are bringing TV shows, movies and a broad range of other video from the Internet to the living room.

Yet consumers aren't buying. Internet video players like Apple Inc.'s Apple TV and Akimbo Systems Inc.'s Akimbo Player haven't managed to reach an audience beyond the early-adopter crowd. And multipurpose devices that let you watch Internet video -- such as TiVo Inc.'s digital video recorders -- haven't found a mass market either, analysts say.

What's the holdup? Generally speaking, the video players are just too complicated to hook up, too expensive and too limited in what they can do. There are skeptics, too, who think Internet video players are trying to solve a problem that simply doesn't exist -- especially as cable companies enhance on-demand video services.

The issue with these next-generation set-top boxes is they're hard to use, hard to install and the return on investment isn't particularly large because the content is available elsewhere.

Still, tech companies can't stay away from the idea, because of the booming popularity of Internet video. In August, Internet users in the U.S. viewed 9.13 billion online videos, up 26% from 7.24 billion in January, estimates research firm comScore Inc.

Users watched more than a quarter of those videos on Google Inc.'s YouTube, but online video from traditional entertainment companies is exploding, too. Over the past two years, broadcasters have begun streaming nearly all of their most popular shows free with advertisements on their Web sites. (A stream doesn't allow users to keep a permanent copy of the show.) NBC alone says it streamed 50 million shows from its site during October.

The solution is to blend the boxes (one set-top box) and keep it simple. Content must be accessed through both wired and wireless delivery infrastructures. The focus should be on HD programming

Key Assumptions:

TV must be the center of the consumer video experience, and today's service must be redefined
Access to broadcast content is critical for success
On demand, high def is in, linear, standard def is out
Open access to robust wireless networks will be prevalent
Advertising will be key value driver in the future
Price of storage is going to virtually zero;

The video entertainment service of the future -- one box, a TV, and many service providers (telcos, ISPs, portal etc.) which want, need, or aspire to be in the video business.

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GREEK FILM FESTIVALS SPREADING AROUND THE WORLD

Greek Films are Coming to a Theater Near You!

Greek film festivals will be held for the first time this year in Atlanta, United States and also Tampere, Finland. This comes on the heels of the Edingburgh Greek Festival in Scotland which was held a few weeks ago, and before a series of Greek Film Festivals that are about to kick off around the world. There has been a huge push by the Greek Film Center and local Greek Consulate offices around the world to push these film festivals.

For a list of upcoming Greek Film Festivals in 2008 please click on our handy link below: Greek Film Festivals 2008
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MARKETERS LOSING CONFIDENCE IN TV ADS

Traditional TV advertising has lost its power, and marketers/advertisers are eager to find alternatives.

Traditional TV ads have become less effective during the last two years. Given that belief, it's no surprise that close to half of marketers already have experimented with other ad formats that work with digital video recorders or video-on-demand programs.

Branded entertainment is the key to TV advertising in the coming year, such as ads in online TV shows. Emerging technologies continue to lure marketers looking to experiment in other formats. Also as more TV households use DVRs, agencies will most definitley cut spending on TV advertising.

With the proliferation of new media, media agencies in the US have stepped up their game to help clients deal with the changes. Two years ago, just under half the agencies reported they were ill-equipped to address changes in TV advertising, whereas only 28% did so this year. But it is the creative agencies that are falling behind, according to marketers: 47% of them said their agency was ill-equipped to deal with the changes, a mere 8% improvement from two years ago.

In order to deal with change, the industry will gear up to explore new ad formats and forms of video commercials. TV as we know it is a thing of the past. This is an opportunity for a progressive leader in the Greek marketplace. Hello, is there anyone out there?
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WIDE ANGLE

BIG PERSONALITIES

"Cafe me tin Katerina" You gotta love Katerina Zarifi. She definately steals the show. Hush now before the girl loses her job! Eleni watch out...the claws are out.

Hristina Lambiri, a woman who doesn't hide behind her finger. You go girl. More "Super Star" and less Super Sex personalities would be much appreciated. Pleassse, no more
s e x!

"Kitao Brosta" with Rania Thraskia, a woman with a sweet face and sweet pounds. Hopefully, it's real and not all saccharin.
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APOLLO THE LIZARD-SLAYER

Cleveland Museum of Art has acquired an antiquity from an unclear source for an undisclosed amount of money and things are starting to get a bit fishy...A bronze sculpture - Apollo the Lizard-slayer - possibly by Praxiteles, Ancient Greece's most treasured sculptor is under wraps in the museum's storage during it's renovations.

The gaps in the sculpture's ownership history is questionable... Greece claims it was said to have been fished up in the 1990s between Greece and Italy and probably sold illegally until it was acquired by the museum in 2004.

This sculpture missed its chance to be displayed in the Louvre last year with a number of other Praxitele's works as well as be compared to other works of Apollo the lizard-slayer as the Louvre retracted its loan request for this exhibit.

Shouldn't antiquities belong to the countries from which they come from and not to the highest bidder?
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REMEMBERING A MASTER

"Even an ugly face has a side that has beauty in it, and my purpose is to find it and make it into a photograph." - Dinos Diamantopoulos

Greece lost one of her artists earlier this month when Dinos Diamantopoulos passed away at the age of 55. He was one of the greatest photographers in fashion and celebrity. Dinos perfected the art of retouching his photographs --never the persona. He had a keen eye for beauty and breathing life into each photograph. For thirty years he built his portfolio on photographing portraits of Greek models, politicians and entertainers and the fashion world. His photos defined perfect, timeless beauty.

Above, a photo of Dora Bakogianni from his latest black and white collection.

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COMMENT TO: IS YOUR DEGREE WORTH ANYTHING?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

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IS YOUR DEGREE WORTH ANYTHING?

AN AMERICAN EDUCATION IN MASS MEDIA: A LOOK AT THREE AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES IN ATHENS (NYC, DEREE, UIndy)

NEW YORK COLLEGE EDUCATIONAL GROUP -- FORMERLY KNOWN AS NEW YORK COLLEGE
What is New York College Group? Has anyone in NY heard of this college? NO! There is a prestigious institution named, New York University, but this university has no relation to New York College Group. Well, I did some investigating. There is no college in the United States called New York College. So, let me try and clarify the confusion -- New York College Group Athens offers degrees from various countries -- one being the United States. The degree they offer from the US is from an institution called, Empire State College, which is part of the State University of NY (SUNY) system. It's a SUNY college for ADULTS. It's for returning students, around thirty-five years of age. Warning: Recent high school graduates go elsewhere. So, why the name New York College Group when they offer degrees from other countries and not just NY? You got me. I certainly wouldn't pay top euro to study at an institution that doesn't know how to market itself correctly. This educational group has no campus and no real facilities for the students.
WEBSITE: No bios of instructors for the undergraduate communications program were listed (listed were instructors for the graduate program). Acting head of department only.
ACCREDITATION (Empire State College): Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
TUITION: Around 6,080 EUR per year to complete your degree in four years.

THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF GREECE: DEREE
This is the only university out of the three that has a campus. If you're going to pay top euro for a degree you might as well go somewhere that has facilities for the students that are up to par with the US standards. Also, Deree offers scholorships, grants and reduced tuition to students who excel academically. On the other hand, when I see a course listed as "Brand Building in Advertising" that concerns me. Branding and advertising are not the same thing. If you're offering a degree in communication -- you have to know the difference.
WEBSITE: No bios of instructors were listed. Head of the department unknown.
ACCREDITATION: New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
TUITION: Around 7,000 EUR per year to complete your degree in four years.

The American College of Greece is a "not for profit" institution. This means they do not advertise. It should be noted that an advertised university isn't necessarily better -- it's just better known.

UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS
This university appears to have a broader program of the three, however, the calliber of education is my big concern. This instituion has no campus. The Department Chair/Assistant Professor -- Graduated with a PhD in 1999 and has worked at the university since 2002. Where is the work experience? No work experience, I might as well just read a book!
WEBSITE: Faculty PhDs listed. No bios of instructors were listed.
ACCREDITATION: Academic Quality Improvement Program and Higher Learning Commission.
TUITION: Around 6,000 EUR per year to complete your degree in four years.

All three programs lack hands on experience in television and radio production -- Most courses are based on theory. In the US, if they offer a mass media program, they offer the production facilities. Here, they find it too costly to invest in on campus production facilities and prefer to pocket the money. Nevertheless, they could develop internships with mass media organizations, so that students can work and earn credits towards graduation. Currently, the courses offered by these universities focus on advertising, public relations and journalism, so you're not getting a true mass media education. In addition, I have to question how much work/teaching experience these instructors really have.

Obviously, there are more qualified professors in the US to teach in American institutions and competition for these teaching positions is fierce, therefore, you're getting a level of expertise from your educators, whereas in Greece, there are limited educators with the right credentials -- hence you are not getting the same level of education. Afterall, America is the leading mass media market. It's been around the longest. It should be noted that some of the above aformentioned universities hire their own students right out of college, with no work or teaching experience. And if you notice, many of the educators in Greece are called instructors and not professors. There is a big difference.

After interviewing students from these universities I learned:

Students who studied in both the US and in Athens stated -- "the course work in Greece is much easier -- and it's much easier to get a better grade. "

"A student who had received a failing grade from an instructor -- mysteriously passed the course without retaking it."

"Student complaints offten go unresolved with the local institutions in Athens."

"In fear of retaliation from the local administrators, we are often afraid to take the matter of concern to the home university or the board of directors in the US."

So, there you have it -- If you want a mass media degree that's worth something -- I'd recommend studying abroad.

If you must study in Greece, I would recommend Deree -- for their on-campus facilities and reputation/accredidation. It's worth the extra cost. Second choice is the University of Indianapolis for their broad course selection (that's if these courses are offered every semester). Lastly, Empire. I would prefer to go to a university that doesn't promote themselves as adults (thirty-five years of age). What does this mean exactly? Is someone straight out of high school not an adult?

I have to wonder...what are these institutions teaching our children? But then agan...it's only business, right? Who cares about the level of education. Money talks! Bullshit educates!
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ABSOLUT GREECE

Absolut Vodka has had a strong presence in Greece for many years --grabbing substantial market share of the Greek drinking public. Greece ranked 7th in the world in terms of the number of cases imported for 2007. 10.7 million cases were sold worldwide in 2007, and below are the top 8 markets. In comparison to the other countries, which have much larger populations, Greece's per capita import of the vodka is substantially higher than its counterparts. Anybody surprised?

Absolutely fabulous advertising by Absolut Vodka! This shows how a strong brand can compete against our traditional Ouzo. Coming soon: Vodkaries serving mezedes!
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Top 8 Markets:

1. U.S. - 5.0 mil cases
2. Canada - 377,000 mil cases
3. Spain - 343,000 mil cases
4. UK - 324,000 mil cases
5. Germany - 319,000 mil cases
6. Mexico - 313,000 mil cases
7. Greece - 265,000 mil cases
8. Poland - 262,000 mil cases

WHAT IF THERE WAS AN eBAY FOR NEWS?

Imagine a place where journalists could pitch stories as soon as they hit 'save.' Where editors could snap them up just as quickly for printing in tomorrow's paper. Imagine a reporting network built on trust, where both editors and journalists could accrete bodies of work tagged with endorsements and feedback. Is an eBay of news viable? And ultimately, will it deliver news to readers more quickly and more cheaply?

A pair of young entrepreneurs -- she's a graduating Berkeley journalism school student and he's a former engineer for Amazon -- have combined expertises to create one such vehicle: Reporterist.com.

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IS REALITY DEAD?

All reality shows should have a visceral reaction for the viewer. You need to feel something. Stirring debate is a critical piece of the genre's makeup and success.

But this tried-and-true strategy may not work anymore. As a genre itself, it's just much more familiar now. And, as with anything, its power to shock lessens over time.

The press and the population are becoming a bit inured to the kind of attention-grabbing gimmickry of reality shows. But people aren't completely numb to it, yet. YET.

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MOBILE ADS

Pssst, hey you! There’s a cheap latte waiting at the coffee shop on the corner! Cellphone advertising is almost here.

Location-based ads are of great interest to advertisers who have seen shoppers eschew traditional forms of mass-market advertising on television and in newspapers and magazines.

Communications companies abroad, including those in Singapore and Japan, have only recently begun to test whether customers are receptive to getting ads based on their location. But there is a growing belief among advertisers and marketers that Americans will embrace this type of advertising, as long as it is useful and not intrusive.

Consumers are savvy enough to expect advertising. They are accepting of it, but they want it to be relevant. If they are getting something they are interested in, that is great. But if they are sending ads that are not relevant, people won’t want it. The key is to add value.

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PAY UP, SO I'LL SHUT UP!

Love isn’t so rosy behind the scenes

An extremely successfully showbiz couple is making payments to a singer (that’s what she calls herself), so that she won’t spill the beans about the husband’s cheating affair.

It all started when the male paid the singer for sexual favors using a check that was given to him by his best man. Stupid!

Now the singer wants payments to keep her mouth shut or she’ll expose the story to the media.

It’s much easier to dish out other people’s dirty laundry than to face your own dirt. Hypocrits!!!
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THE MYTH OF TALENT

Conventional wisdom says that it is not enough to dream -- You need talent.

In other words, you either have it or you don’t. And buying into this dead end myth about ourselves is where it goes wrong for many people.

Talent is a set of skills you develop over time through desire. Eleni Menegaki is a perfect example -- Her on-air skills have improved drastically throughout the years.
Unfortunately, talent alone is not enough....

Even when natural ability is discovered and nurtured, it is only good for one thing – altering the length of your learning curve.

So why do we so easily buy into the limiting mythical idea about talent being nothing but a birthright? Fear. The first word most of us learn is no. And from an early age we are programmed to get our rewards by performing as close to flawlessly as possible. So to avoid rejection we absolve ourselves of being responsible for our own creativity by agreeing with the myth.

One other reason we are frozen by the myth of talent is the talented people themselves. The highly talented do not get our attention until their skill level is so high that no trace can be found of the beginner they once were. Their highly evolved skills do seem to come out of nowhere like a magical byproduct of the birthright we have been told about.

So, for all of us untalented people there's still hope.
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GREEK AD CAMPAIGN?

ABC knows the way

While networks are seeking ways to accommodate commercials, advertisers are finding ways to slip in their brand messages directly into programming. ABC Family's Greek solves this dilemma by becoming the grounds of a multiplatform ad campaign.

Greek is a teen drama that follows the story of Rusty (Jacob Zachar), a college freshman who aspires to join a fraternity to leave his geeky high school reputation behind. The cast also includes Spencer Grammer (Casey Cartwright), Scott M. Foster (Cappie), Jake McDorman (Evan Chambers) and Paul James (Calvin Owens) among others.

Two week's ago, Greek featured the band Dollyrots perform its song “Because I'm Awesome” at a student hangout, and then caught an instant replay of the song in a Kohl's commercial as part of an ad buy estimated at just under $1 million.

Although the idea sparked from the retailer and its ad agency, McCann-Erickson, the network has been cooking up integration deals for several years now, according to ABC Family executive vice president of ad sales, Laura Nathanson.

“We were out all year saying we were open to doing these creative integrations where they made sense,” she said. “And we took the show Greek out well before it was on the air, saying we had this really interesting show, what its production timeline was and that we were really looking for the right kind of partner.”

Kohl's and its agency were among those who jumped on board. Kohl's, who decided to launch a new campaign using the Dollyrots to project a more trendy and youthful image, collaborated with the network so that the band will actually be featured and not just talked about on the show.

Earlier this season, Greek featured another integration, in which some characters went to see the movie Hot Rod and declared it amusing. The scene was the result of team up with Paramount Pictures.

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EUROVISION SONGS LEAKED ON INTERNET

Two songs that were to be released at the time of a press conference by Greek national broadcaster, ERT on Wednesday of this week have leaked on the internet. The songs are the national final entries from Kalomoira and Kostas Martakis. The songs were leaked on a Eurovision message board this morning and the links were quickly picked up by a Greek website.

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Kalomira Interview

CITY BOOK BAZAAR

Athens' Book Bazaar is is set to open today --it's 13th consecutive year. Located at Klafthmonos Square in downtown Athens, the event is organised by the Association of Book Publishers, and under the aegis of the City of Athens' Cultural Organisation.

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STORYTELLING AS A BRANDING TOOL

What a Difference a Story Makes

Companies need to understand the logic of storytelling in order to build an emotional bond with the people they communicate with: their consumer and their employees.

As such, storytelling is as relevant for internal branding and towards stakeholders, as it is toward the end consumer. Most simply, storytelling and branding come out of the same starting point: emotion and values. A strong brand builds on clearly defined values, while a good story communicates those values in a language easily understood by all of us.

All good stories have a message, conflict, plot and characters. Storytelling as a branding tool is not about telling stories just for the sake of it. Storytelling is about communicating messages that reflect positively on the company brand.

First, you must develop a clearly defined message. Without it, there is no reason to tell stories – at least not with a strategic purpose. Among storytellers – screenwriters as well as authors – the central message, or premise of the story, is an ideological or moral statement that works as a central theme throughout the story. It’s important to stick to one message per story. A story with more than one central message runs the risk of becoming messy and unclear.

Too much harmony and not enough conflict makes for a story that is about exciting as watching paint dry. Conflict is the driving force of a good story. No conflict, no story. Conflict forces us to act. As a rule of thumb, a good story always centers on the struggle to attain, defend, or regain harmony. As storytellers, we get our message across through conflict and its resolution. When the Ugly Duckling becomes a beautiful swan and is finally accepted into the flock of swans, the conflict is resolved.

In storytelling, conflict is not negative. It is a fundamental premise on which the narrator can communicate his perception of right and wrong. In a classical fairy-tale the conflict is often permanently resolved. The greater the conflict the more dramatic the story will be, however, conflict should not go over the top that it becomes confusing.

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