Editorial: Euro campaign a major flop

The summer tourist season is upon us, the date for the locking of the Cyprus pound with the euro is around the corner and we still have not seen any decent campaign that will help inform the public about this strange thing called the euro.

With the exception of three banks – Alpha with the Euro bus they launched last year, Bank of Cyprus with the special group seminars, Hellenic with the ingeniously designed books for children and recently Societe Generale – not much else seems to be taking place at the information level.

Months were wasted in the courts over which advertising agency was eligible to undertake the campaign, and now all we get is “Have YOU been informed about the Euro?”

Well, have you?

This wrist-slitting marketing approach could only happen in Cyprus where select media get the bulk of the campaigns and no one has yet to see billboards, leaflets or other ads that will actually inform the public about details of adopting the euro and how it will affect their daily lives.

Simply saying “You go find out for yourself” is squandering taxpayer’s money.

Cypriots will be heading to foreign shores and many destinations will be accepting euros, while just as many tourists will be visiting the island from eurozone countries and will have only the common European currency in their pockets. Surely, owners and operators of hotels, restaurants, pubs, souvenir and clothing shops, petrol stations, pharmacies, as well as service shops and kiosks need to know how to deal with the currency and be ready to make quick conversions.

Do they know many notes and coins they should have in stock? Do they know that there are more denominations and coin values than Cyprus had before?

If most of the businesses and professionals have already been informed by some of the seminars or workshops targeted to specific groups and organized by the Central Bank or the local Chambers of Commerce, then, quite frankly, why waste money on a an ad campaign that makes no sense and is of no practical use to the consumer?

Unknowing consumers are being duped into exchanging their current and saving accounts from Cyprus pounds to euros “at no extra cost”, meaning there will be no exchange rates, but bank charges will be levied prior to mid-July, while all accounts will be transformed into euros at the end of the year at no extra charge or cost.

Foreign companies are also being scared into a rush to change their Cyprus pound exposures, because of an impending ‘devaluation’, which shows how little people are aware of the fact that the CYP to EUR rate had been agreed upon long ago, with a marginal 2.25% band of fluctuation. This rate has already been pacing itself towards the lower end of the band and has had little if any affect on the strength of the CYP.

The Financial Mirror has for many years kept its cover price in CYP and euros, while we have been introducing the euro value parallel to the Cyprus pound in as many news stories as possible.

We have done our part and will continue to do so. Have you?