Abstract

In this talk, I will discuss the promotion of tobacco, Greece’s most important export commodity in the interwar period. I will focus on how private and state actors interacted in carrying out a series of activities aimed at increasing the demand for Greek tobacco in foreign markets. Such activities include participating in trade fairs, facilitating the circulation of market information, and publishing articles in foreign periodicals.

I argue that, starting in the mid-1920s, the crisis of tobacco exports, the need to differentiate Greek tobacco from its competitors, and the importance of advertising in the cigarette industry led Greek tobacco merchants to turn to the state and ask for: a) sustained direct contact with consumers; b) the creation of a “Greek brand” with a series of attributes related to quality, and c) the reduction of information costs for exporters. The implementation of these policies caused market information to become a common good, and the emergence of the promotion of Greek products as a new area of economic activity.

Time and place: Monday 12.2.2017, 16:00-19:00, National Hellenic Research Foundation (48, Vas. Konstantinou av., Athens, groundfloor), metro "Evangelismos" or bus station "NHRF".