HOW THE WEST (Of Greece) WAS WON

In fall 2023, I authored a viral and ultimately successful political social media video campaign for the incumbent Mayor of Patras, Greece, Kostas Peletidis.

BACKGROUND

Patras is quite behind in terms of political communication. Most candidates still focus their efforts on old media campaigns and openly use their ad spend to buy favourable coverage from the struggling print/terrestrial media.

Mayor Peletidis embarked on his third-term campaign during an unfortunate juncture. Having dedicated his previous terms to addressing social welfare issues amidst the turmoil of the Greek financial crisis, the city now found itself amidst a significant public works initiative that had not yet vested politically. The mayor's substantial redevelopment efforts were either in progress, delayed, or nearing completion, creating frustration among voters. The city had become a patchwork of construction sites that caused quality of life issues with no clear end in sight. The city’s press office had failed to communicate the mayor’s vision for a modern city effectively, even as that vision was starting to take shape. Furthermore, the mayor's online presence was lacking, failing to embrace new media platforms. Local grievance forums had evolved into opposition platforms, where false narratives often went unchallenged.

THESIS

With only 45 days left before the election, I was brought in to assist the mayor's campaign. My task was to develop a video strategy that could maximize our limited time and resources.

The mayor was a recognizable figure on a national scale, but local public opinion was divided. While he had gained widespread appreciation for his past social work, his future plans remained unclear beyond the concessions he had secured from the government. He was seen as a compassionate fighter. Researching opposition literature was pivotal. It became evident that most other candidates focused on criticizing the mayor's day-to-day performance, rather than communicating a new vision for the city. And even when they did present a vision, it was often vague, lacking in scope and imagination. With all that in mind I proposed that a video campaign should focus on the how and why, the aim being to briefly place the audience in the mayoral office. But how do you educate the public quickly without the media on your side and lacking an ad spend budget? The answer was clear:

IN THE THICK OF IT

Videos #4 & #5 dealt with the hot topic of Patras’ marina. The marina, which had seen better days, was a sore spot for the mayor, constantly being brought up as an example of inadequacy. The idea here was to talk about it first and talk about it the loudest, blindsiding the opposition. The moment part one reached social media all hell broke loose. It explained why the marina was in such poor condition but purposely omitted any redevelopment plans. 12 hours later, as opposition press releases and video responses were being publicised, we uploaded part two, which laid out how the faded landmark will be redeveloped. The opposition kicked and screamed for days, but a week later it was obvious that our rhetoric had won out.

Video #7 “How our city’s kids became a priority” showcased the mayor’s achievements in education and childcare. It was the most conventional video we made as it showed off his widely perceived strong hand in social politics.

SECOND WIND

With the public getting saturated with political messaging, a week away from the election engagement had dropped off, our 8th video - a public works showcase - achieving the lowest amount of views yet. At this point most campaigns dropped their centrepiece videos, but consistently failed to capture significant engagement with some now actively promoting their material. It was hard to imagine breaking the pattern that late in the campaign.

But at that very moment, a scandal was brewing. The Olympic stadium that hosted the 2004 Athens Olympics had just been condemned as unsafe due to neglect. News of the stadium's closure broke Monday morning. By that evening, it was the number one topic on the nightly news. The familiar story - about how the 2004 Greek Olympic facilities were left to rot and decay - echoing throughout the country.

As I watched the nightly news, I was getting excited. Partly by luck and partly by foresight, I had spent the past three days filming a video about Patras’ Olympic facilities. In great contrast, our stadium was in tip-top shape. The mayor had transformed the struggling Olympic facility into a source of civic pride, cherished by thousands who used it daily. That night, I worked until 5 AM knowing that if I got a video ready by Tuesday morning, it would hit at the peak of the news cycle.

Video #9 “How we turned an abandoned Olympic facility into one of the best sports stadiums in the country” went viral in a different way. It was the number two topic on greek Twitter for that day, spawning countless articles and putting the eyes of the nation on our campaign. We were everywhere. We estimate that 2.5 million Greeks laid eyes on either our videos or stories about them as a result.

On October 8, 2023, Kostas Peletidis emerged as the front-runner, receiving 40% of the vote and advancing to the second round of elections.

CHANGE OF COURSE

Prior analysis of our social media audience had shown that only about 12% to 16% were local voting residents. Collaborating with a local marketing firm and now armed with a tiny marketing budget, we strategically promoted our content across various platforms, ensuring we excluded our existing audience and reaching untapped demographics. We also addressed specific gaps in our outreach efforts. For instance, we recognized that we weren't effectively engaging with women aged 18-36 and tried our best to remedy the situation.

That week we only produced two videos; each strategically targeting voters who hadn't supported the left-leaning mayor in the initial round.

Video #11 “How Patras is entering a new creative period” another piece on how the city will change for the better, was our first video to touch upon liberal issues like tourism.

On Sunday, October 15, 2023, Kostas Peletidis was elected Mayor of Patras for a third term.

PARAMETERS OF SUCCESS

• The local audience had never experienced a video campaign of this kind. The move was simply surprising not only because the 70 year old mayor chose TikTok as his tentpole platform, but also because it was done at an unprecedented visual and editorial standard. The campaign reached far beyond the city but ultimately echoed back into it.

• The writing was unobstructed. There was no committee. Any editing was done by the mayor just prior to filming, and it was always minimal. It was an honor to be trusted that way. I later learned of rumors that the writing was done by high-profile Athenian politicos. This is flattering yet frustrating.

• The mayor quickly understood the power and immediacy of the new medium and embraced it, dedicating a very generous chunk of is packed schedule to the project. He was also very patient with me, and never complained about doing too many takes. He simply understood that the quality of the video was paramount.

• Weak video opposition. Both in terms of production value and quality but also in terms of media illiterate press chiefs.

• The fortuitous opportunity to go viral again, right before the first round of elections.

PRESS COVERAGE

“Εντωμεταξύ, το TikTok αποθεώνει τον Κώστα Πελετίδη” - LIFO - Sep 15, 2023

“Όλο το Twitter αποθεώνει τον δήμαρχο Πελετίδη για το Παμπελοποννησιακό: «Γιατί να μην είναι πρωθυπουργός;” - GAZZETA.GR - Oct 3, 2023

“Κώστας Πελετίδης έσωσε το Παμπελοποννησιακό Στάδιο και έδειξε ξανά πώς γίνεται” - ONEMAN - Oct 4 2023

News feature about the campaign - IONIAN CHANNEL - Oct 24 2023