“What makes the situation so interesting is that the new Greek leader Alexis Tsipras is having to negotiate when he has previously promised so much to his country, while simultaneously having to stave off bankruptcy”
adconnection is the leading performance media planning and buying agency, and our new blog series shows how media, advertising and marketing learnings can be found in the news every day, if you know where to look. CEO Catherine Becker, asks if the Greek debt crisis provides the ultimate lesson in media negotiation and handling multiple opposing interests…
The Greek debt crisis – the ultimate lesson in media negotiation? http://t.co/KfOl9yLUuf #Blog #GreeceCrisis #Media pic.twitter.com/FrR8uJ2z66
— adconnection (@adconnectionUK) June 26, 2015
Watching the negotiations between Greece and its international creditors – and the continual yo-yoing between trying to solve the crisis and risking putting Europe’s (and the world’s) economic and political balance into jeopardy – it has been fascinating to consider how each side’s strategic approach has led to the current situation.
Sometimes a side will use emotional tactics, threats or even the fear factor. At other times it will be presented as calm reasoning.
What makes the situation so interesting is that the new Greek leader Alexis Tsipras is having to negotiate when he has previously promised so much to his country, while simultaneously having to stave off bankruptcy.
There are certainly lessons there about not overpromising to stakeholders ahead of a negotiation. However, by emphasising the dangers of failure to reach a deal, Tsipras has been able to make his concessions in the negotiation more acceptable to his own people.Greece also has very specific challenges that make Tsipras’ negotiation more difficult. The country has an unusual welfare skew in which a relatively old population – even older than the European average – has an over-reliance on pensions (and there are few other welfare benefits outside this), making pension cuts a more difficult point to concede than would be the case for other countries.
Then again, the Greeks have also seeded some clever threats, i.e. implying that Russia could bail them out, a move that would be sure to rile the Europeans.
PR, clever seeding and the exploitation of the fear of not reaching a settlement have been critical elements in this ongoing drama. The Greek debt crisis may be being played out on the international stage, but these are most certainly all lessons that we can apply to our own business negotiations.
Catherine Becker Chief Executive Officer
Catherine is proud to be CEO of adconnection, having previously held senior roles in global agencies ZenithOptimedia, Y&R and JWT. She is passionate about delivering unique insights and profitable sales growth to clients. To date, Catherine has been the recipient of several industry awards, including the coveted Campaign Magazine Media Awards for her work on Chip & Pin, and The Media & Marketing Awards for Ford.
She was also shortlisted in the 2013 Chartered Institute of Marketing Women in Marketing Awards. Her passion for creative and standout media has led to her develop the first scented poster for Del Monte, as well as inventing the now ubiquitous ‘Share Square’ site in newspapers.
She hugely enjoys working with and inspiring the team at adconnection, who are as talented and competitive socially as they are in delivering client objectives and targets.