Interview – Effie Moskofoglou: ‘Wrapsody Brings Hotel Brands to Life Through Creative Storytelling’

Effie Moskofoglou.

In the fast-paced world of modern hotel construction, amidst the race to completion, new hoteliers often find themselves struggling to maintain a clear focus on their branding strategy.

And this is where Wrapsody steps in. A premium marketing & communication agency for boutique hotels, luxury & lifestyle properties and destinations, Wrapsody offers expertise and guidance to ensure hotels get their narrative out there and stand out amidst the competition.

“Successful story building needs the appropriate ‘wrapping’ in order to be influential, convincing and effective,” says hospitality professional Effie Moskofoglou, the company’s co-founder, who counts over 20 years of experience in the Greek hotel market.

GTP Headlines sat down with Effie, who highlights the necessity for hotels to have a specific concept behind their branding and a clear strategy.

“Many hotels lack a clear position in the market, due to the fact that their narrative presents little to no features that differentiate them from their competition,” Effie says, referring to the company’s motto “Wrap up your travel stories”.

Mandraki Beach Resort, Hydra.

Wrapsody provides creative and effective integrated marketing and communication solutions. Acting as an outsourced strategic partner for hotels, the company takes on the design of a comprehensive branding identity that includes the content that the hotel brand brings with it. Services include content marketing, social media strategy, media promotion management and audiovisual content production.

“All our services act as the ‘wrapping’ for a hotel’s story,” she explains.

In just two years of operation, Wrapsody has managed to build a portfolio that includes leading hospitality brands in a number of destinations throughout Greece.

Wrapsody also stood out at the Greek Hospitality Awards when – in just its first year of operation – the company went home with the “Best Branding Strategy” gold award for the Mandraki Beach Resort on the island of Hydra. In its second year of operation, Wrapsody excelled once again at the Greek Hospitality Awards in the same category for the Minois Hotel on Paros.

“We took on these projects from the construction stages of the hotels, where we started working intensively on the branding and concept design of the properties,” Effie says.

Read on for our interview with Effie.

• GTP: Effie, please share some career highlights with our readers. What motivated you to become a communication strategist?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: After completing my studies at the Department of Communication and Media of the University of Athens, as well as my postgraduate studies in marketing, I worked in the media sector and shortly afterwards I had the great opportunity to participate in “Athens 2004”. After the end of the Olympic Games in Athens, I admit that my involvement in the tourism sector happened by chance… It’s a sector that immediately captivated me and fitted with my temperament, since its internal variations and scope for creativity are truly inexhaustible!
First station on my career path was Classical Hotels of the Grecotel Group, where I gained experience in a variety of positions until I finally took over the Management of the Marketing Department. It really was a proper learning experience, since I found myself next to owners and executives at a young age. They were the ones that gave me the opportunity to learn all about hotel internal works and taught me the art of hospitality.
My career as a hotel executive ended with the award-winning Kinsterna Hotel in Monemvasia, where I stayed for 11 years. Beyond managing the Communication & Marketing department of the hotel, my role was quite expanded, which gave me multi-level experience in a historic property that was created based on the strong vision of its owner and managed to communicate its unique concept on an international level.

• GTP: Please “introduce” Wrapsody to us. What was your inspiration for the company’s focus? Does Wrapsody fill a gap in the hospitality market?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: After almost 20 years as a hotel executive, I have found that many properties, with the exception of those whose size justifies the operation of an in-house marketing department, divide their communication aspect to many external partners, resulting in loss of the extremely valuable brand consistency. So the next step in my career came very naturally and effortlessly with the creation of Wrapsody, which aspires to fill that very gap, exclusively offering 360° communication & marketing services to hotels and destinations.

• GTP: What would you say differentiates Wrapsody from other companies and makes it stand out?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: Wrapsody is comprised of a team of young, competent and highly creative professionals who deliver our services with dedication and passion! Our goal is to provide specialized services through a tailored approach rather than simply applying common practices to all the hotels we work with without exception. Therefore, every project is a new challenge for us in terms of designing an impactful travel story that showcases the USPs of each property with a well-rounded aesthetic, while also evoking emotions in each property’s specific target audience.

Herodion Hotel, Athens.

• GTP: What exactly are the services Wrapsody offers hotels? Can you elaborate on your motto “Wrap up your travel stories”?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: Our service funnel starts with the design of a comprehensive branding identity, which includes not only the visual part (logo and corporate identity design), but mainly the content that the hotel brand brings with it. It is kind of like a ‘bible’ that deals with a number of important topics that are very closely linked to the brand, and is essentially the guide to any action related to the hotel. With this as a foundation, we cover the broader spectrum of communication through content marketing, social media strategy, media promotion management and audiovisual content production (photography-videography). Hence, our motto suggests that all these services act as the wrapping for a travel story!

• GTP: What’s the concept behind your branding?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: The concept behind Wrapsody’s branding is built upon our belief that successful story building needs the appropriate ‘wrapping’ in order to be influential, convincing and effective; just like the wrapping around presents that further enhances the experience of receiving the gift in the first place, heightening the emotion of the receiver. We were also very inspired by the Greek word ‘rhapsody’ that has been internationally used to mean an epic story full of power feelings and emotional excitement. Combining the infinitive of our ‘wrapping’ verb along with the noun ‘rhapsody,’ we created the compound word that we feel perfectly encapsulates our work!
Lastly, with regards to the logo part of our branding we, once again, turned to the art of wrapping and giving shape and ‘life’ to a simple piece of paper – namely, Origami. The shape that stood out to us was the crane, since birds are symbols associated with freedom and spirituality which are things one may seek when they travel. It also fits perfectly to our agency’s Tourism sector niche, that birds’ nature is to travel and explore new destinations.

A77 Suites, Athens.

• GTP: How is it that hotels need help with branding? One would think that while creating a hotel and planning the details (decoration, staffing, etc), the investor/hotelier would have a clear focus of a branding strategy. This is not the case?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: The intense and fast pace of modern times, along with the massive growth of tourism in recent years, have possibly lured investors/hoteliers into the hunt for faster delivery time. Everything has to be done quickly, as if they are participating in a doping-induced 100-meter sprint race, while in fact the actual completion of a hotel project is akin to a marathon…. So indeed, many hotels are one-dimensionally managing the commercial aspect of the project, immediately after they are structurally completed. However, they often fail to design a specific concept that gives character and personality to the property, thus completely forgetting that the aforementioned are elements capable of boosting the financial results of a hotel business.

• GTP: In your years in the hotel sector, what are some of the most common branding mistakes you’ve seen entrepreneurs make?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: As it has probably become clear from the above, the absence of content and a specific concept behind any branding, the implementation of fragmented actions without creativity and a clear strategy leads to confusion. The result is the emergence of many hotel-products that do not have a clear position in the market, due to the fact that their narrative presents little to no features that differentiate them from their competition. This is truly unfortunate, as many of these properties have potential, since they are remarkable in terms of construction and overall aesthetics.

• GTP: How many properties are currently in Wrapsody’s portfolio and where are they located? Should we expect any new cooperations in the near future?
  

Grand Hyatt Athens.

Effie Moskofoglou: In just two years of operation, Wrapsody has succeeded in building a portfolio that is characterized by diversity, not only in terms of location but also in terms of size and style of accommodation. We work with a variety of hotels in Athens, whether they belong to international groups such as Grand Hyatt Athens, Greek groups such as HP Hotels, or even boutique hotels such as A77 Suites, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World! Beyond Athens, however, we work with hotels located on the most prominent islands, such as Santorini and Paros, but also in more niche destinations such as Hydra and Thassos. All these variations make our daily work particularly interesting, keep the creativity of our team at a high level, but above all, they give us valuable experience to be able to manage properties that have significant differences between them.

• GTP: Can you share with us one of your most exciting projects?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: One of the most important projects that gave Wrapsody its first gold award in the ‘Best Branding Strategy’ category of the Greek Hospitality Awards during its first year of operation, is Mandraki Beach Resort. It is a historic hotel, located in the amazing Mandraki Bay of Hydra, an area which was used as the shipyard to General Miaoulis during the Greek Revolution. We took on this project from the hotel’s construction stage, where we started working intensively on the branding and concept design of the property; now, we are thrilled to be managing everything related to the brand image, promotion and extroversion of the hotel. From conducting lifestyle photo shoots, producing reels, managing social media and implementing influencer marketing with resounding guest appearances such as Chiara Ferragni, to hosting journalists and securing articles in national and international titles such as The Times, The Guardian, Madame Figaro FR & National Geographic UK, are just some of the extroversion activities we have consistently implemented for this hotel.

Point A restaurant, Herodion Hotel, Athens.

• GTP: What would Wrapsody’s message be to Greek hoteliers?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: In the case of new hotel openings, it would be ideal if the huge investments that are being implemented in our country are not limited to the construction, decoration, staffing etc. of the accommodation, but are also accompanied by strategic branding and a consistent communication plan. The contribution of an agency, such as Wrapsody, in these types of projects is crucial, since if the collaboration starts in the creation of the accommodation, it is more likely to achieve brand consistency at all levels. Also, in the case of established hotel brands, we have identified the need to renew their image, even if their commercial success is a given. The need to create a fresh and modern image is not necessarily linked to financial results, but it is certainly necessary since it helps to broaden the target audience, open new markets, as well as has a positive impact on their existing clientele.

• GTP: What’s coming up next for you and Wrapsody?
  

Effie Moskofoglou: In view of this new season’s beginning, we are already in discussions with several hotels. However, the cases that truly showcase the creativity of our team are those that start with branding design during the construction stage of a hotel, as I mentioned earlier. One such case is a new up and coming Athenian boutique hotel and its adjacent restaurant in a very central location of the capital. Our collaboration with the architectural firm in charge of its construction is excellent, while the owners’ team is made up of young people who trust us and are daring enough to follow the communication strategy we envisioned for their property. It was a proposal that breaks away from the conventional image presented by most hotels in the city. This is precisely why we are confident that, despite its small size, this property will become the talk of the town. I even dare to predict that it will give Wrapsody its third gold award for the best hotel branding at the Greek Hospitality Awards 2024!

Details on Wrapsody’s services can be found here.