In the spotlight: SDE Greece’s Nerina Komioti

I was born and raised in… Athens, Greece.

I studied… Economics so I can take over the family import business of automotive parts, which I never did. Instead, I started a postgraduate course in advertising and never looked back. I started my career in the agency world in 1990 and held various leadership roles in several Greek and multinational advertising, PR, event marketing, direct marketing and relationship marketing agencies for 20 amazing years.

I changed careers in 2013 by taking over the leadership of the Hellenic Advertisers Association. Before that, I took a three-year break and worked as a freelancer while studying organic farming and became a small producer and a better mom at the same time.

When I started in the advertising/marketing industry… the available communication media were TV, print, radio, outdoor and direct mail. As there weren't many choices, it was easier to capture audience’s attention. Today, the average attention span has dropped dramatically. We have to get people talking about our brands and accept when they openly say they‘re not good.

My proudest personal achievement… is my happy family. Christos, Phaedra and Chloe still tolerate me!

My proudest career achievement… is my reputation in the Greek marketing, media and communications industry.

Our priorities for 2018 are… member recruitment, value-creating initiatives and leadership visibility.  Our biggest challenge though is legal, as new media laws for media invoicing and TV buying in Greece will have major implications for advertisers and will change the existing business model among advertisers, agencies and media owners.

A very specific challenge for marketers in my country is… overcoming the difficulties posed by the ongoing economic crisis in Greece and to remain innovative, enthusiastic, creative and effective despite the challenging economic landscape.

If I could change one thing about the industry today, it would be… the high unemployment rate among marketing and advertising executives that is the result of the economic crisis.

What most people don’t know about me is… I am a blood, bone marrow and hair donor because helping others fills me with joy.

One thing about my country…“Γεια σας” (yia-sas), the Greek word for “hello” and “goodbye”, means “I wish you good health”.

Want to know more about Nerina and SDE Greece? Get in touch with her here.

This is part of a series of monthly interviews with heads of national advertiser associations in WFA membership.