CorD Special Edition: Communications - The Road To 2018

COMMUNICATIONS The Road To 2018

INTERVIEW

Major Trend For 2018: Big Changes For Both Clients And Agencies STEPHAN LOERKE CEO, World Federation Of Advertising

It’s fair to say 2017 has been an eventful year.

Even for an industry used to as much change and disruption as ours. Last year will likely long echo with the words “murky at best, fraudulent at worst,” “an antiquated media buying and selling system” and “crappy” to describe the experience that drives people to ad blocking and prevents marketers from achieving their growth goals 2 |

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ith three quarters of World Federation Of Advertising (WFA) members saying they plan to review their agency rosters in 2018 and with 87% saying they are rethinking their programmatic models, this year looks set to be another active one

relationships work fall on the shoulders of agencies and clients alike. Clients will need to consistently demonstrate real leadership if they are to effectively partner with their agencies and enable collaborative relationships between agencies to deliver business results. RD

We expect to see more, rather than fewer, roster modelsperhaps as many different models as there are company-specific requirements. The emphasis on making these new relationships work fall on the shoulders of agencies and clients alike for client-agency relations. In the past this has tended to mean more RFPs, but that doesn’t have to be the case. We expect to see more, rather than fewer, roster models- perhaps as many different models as there are company-specific requirements. The emphasis on making these new

When we asked WFA members what the top five key characteristics they would want to see in an agency roster of the future, the number one response was “agencies working as true business partners”. Easy to say but what does this mean in practise? The answer probably

means a commitment to new remuneration models focused on common business metrics. This could mean big changes for both clients and agencies, potentially costing the client more and requiring a great deal more trust of their agencies.

Clients have long referred to agencies as our ‘partners’. Time will tell if partnership goals are reflected by client investment.

The programmatic market has been developing at breakneck speed. In 2017 we’ve seen considerable change to how clients go to market, with much more focus on ‘disclosed’ operating models.

In 2018 the challenges are regulatory.

New WFA research tells us that a priority for 8 in 10 client-side media directors in 2018 will be ensuring programmatic approaches are fit-for-purpose post GDPR and e-Privacy. The programmatic industry has been highly reliant on third party data, which require limited consent to collect.

This is all set to change this year, and radically so within the ad tech sector. Work is underway to establish new processes and ways of working, but expect a huge shake up as the clock counts down to

May 25 when GDPR comes into force.

Much has been said about marketing ‘transformation’ but recently we’ve witnessed a real appetite for change among client-side media teams. WFA research has identified that the most

support. Deutsche Telekom’s “innovative and progressive” review, which has seen agency scope significantly fragmented and more roles and responsibilities being taken-in-house, is a good example of this and we expect to see more in 2018. MG The year 2017 has been marred by major fraud and brand safety concerns. The cleanup job is under way with initiatives such as ads.txt and the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). There is also growing interest in what blockchain can do to bring greater transparency to various components of the digital media supply-chain and we’re starting to see new companies establish themselves as early specialists in the field.

This may not be ready for rollout just yet, but according to our research clients are looking at this closely. We predict that the narrative around this will develop rapidly in 2018, with serious implications for the supply chain. MG Marketing procurement’s relationship with their marketing stakeholders hasn’t always been straightforward. Some marketers boast of having enlightened sourcing colleagues. Others are less sym-

There is also growing interest in what blockchain can do to bring greater transparency to various components of the digital media supply-chain and we’re starting to see new companies establish themselves as early specialists in the field common approach to staffing media is via ‘generalist’ resource; generalists will likely always have a place not least in the most visible role of Chief Media Officer.

But 87% agree that as the complexity of media increases, more specialists will be required. In 2018 we predict the steady growth of data and technology specialists being recruited to support Chief Media Officers. We also anticipate that clients will continue to interrogate their global media operating model to establish the optimum balance of internal capability and external

pathetic. As more procurement functions achieve a certain level of maturity, 2018 will likely see many of these organisations move to the next level; developing into organisations which are more accountable, going beyond simple cost savings and evolving their approaches to ones that deliver tangible value to their marketing stakeholders and, more excitingly, to their overall organisation’s business results.

Having marketers and their procurement colleagues share aligned growth goals could be a real game changer■ COMMUNICATIONS

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CORPORATE

ŽELJKA MIĆIĆ, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT MCCANN BEOGRAD

What Is “The Truth About Age”?

How often do we think about aging? What are we afraid of and what are we looking forward to in our old age?

What are the greatest joys and the greatest worries of old age? When is it too late to start your own business or fall in love? Does the view of old age and aging in Serbia differ from the rest of the world?

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he study “The Truth about Age”, conducted by McCann Truth Central – the centre of expertise of McCann Beograd, sought to answer these and many other questions. The study was carried out in more than 30 countries, including Serbia, and provided insight into global trends and comparisons between local and global results.

The aim of the study was twofold: to explore attitudes of different generations towards aging; to offer a better understanding of those tagged as ‘seniors’ by society.

The representative sample of those polled in Serbia had 1,000 participants aged over 18, while part of the study focused on the over-55s, with a total of 500 respondents in that group.

“Aging is not something that only older people think about. Aging is an inevitable process that all generations and people face, wherever and however they live. The pressures of feeling and looking youthful have never been greater. This study shows us the way people see old age and aging, how their attitudes change as they grow older, what they do to slow the aging process, what they might regret in the future, how Serbia differs from the rest of the world in that sense, and many other things. This topic

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has never before been studied in this manner, and the results give us a new perspective of aging and our attitude towards it,” says Željka Mićić, research and development manager at McCann Beograd.

Thanks to this study, McCann discovered several facts about aging: 1. We are not looking forward to old age In Serbia, people in their 20s and 30s are the least worried about the aging process and think about old age the least, as they view it as being too far in the future. However, as we grow older we are less indifferent towards aging, experiencing more worry and fear.

2. Finances are the greatest worry of the older generation in Serbia, and family brings the greatest joy.

For 72% of over-55s, the greatest source

of happiness is their children and grandchildren, while most of them would like to spend more time with their families.

As many as 95% of respondents claim to have good relations with their offspring and would like to be remembered for caring about family and friends.

Financial worries are the number one problem among older people in Serbia, followed by problems related to their children and grandchildren.

3. When do we actually become old?

The largest percentage of participants in the study consider that we’re ‘old’ when we reach our 60s, while the younger generations perceive 50+ as old age and older participants view it as 70+.

However, 58% of participants think that it is never too late for love. ■

Financial worries are the number one problem among older people in Serbia, followed by problems related to their children and grandchildren McCann Beograd’s ‘McCann Truth Central’ is part of the McCann global expertise centre that is present in 168 locations worldwide. To date it has presented the studies “The Truth About Mothers” (2013), “The Truth About Wellness” (2014) and “The Truth About Youth” (2015/2016).

McCann Truth Central is a global intelligence unit dedicated to unearthing the macro level truths that drive people’s attitudes and behaviours about life, brands and marketing. www.mccann.rs

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LJILJANA IVOŠEVIĆ, REGIONAL STRATEGIC DIRECTOR AT UM

It's All About The Moments How we communicate on social media has never been more important, for ourselves, for brands or for politicians. This constant change inspired UM to launch the largest global social media research 12 years ago, with a clear aim: to track user growth and growth in the importance of the new media phenomenon. Naturally, along with the growth of social media grew our desire to understand them better and learn how to help grow our clients' brands

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iljana Ivošević, Regional Strategic Director at UM Agency, explains: “Wave 1, launched in 2006, primarily focused on the evident rapid growth of social media users who communicate online. From one ‘Wave’ to another, we covered different topics: how social media changed form from predominantly textual to audio-visual, as their significance in shaping the opinions of groups of peers and colleagues strengthened, as did the need of users to communicate with brands on social networks etc.“ Wave 9 research was conducted in 78 markets, with 52,326 respondents representing 1.5 billion active internet users - those who use the Internet every day or every other day, and influence the growth and development of social media; those who adopt platforms and tools, and ultimately decide which will be dominant. In Wave 9, as the name “The Meaning of Moments” suggests, we are dealing with the detection of moments in which our consumer is most receptive to our communication and we learn how to make our communication more relevant at that moment.

"Wave 9 reveals, for example, which moments are most relevant to the communication of cosmetic brands, which media channels the target group uses when requiring information about products, which online platforms to use at those moments and on which devices. Furthermore,Wave reveals how the target group feels at

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those moments and what it needs to be satisfied, which is extremely important information for creating specific communication. We can now analyse these moments and find out which are more frequent or intense than others. On the basis of this data, we choose the channels (and devices) and adjust the communication. Wave 9 provided us with 9 categories of such data and over 200 related moments. All these moments are implemented in the agency's Moments

primarily taken over by their digital editions.

The Smartphone is undoubtedly the dominant device. However, larger screens (PC & laptop) remain our first choice when we want to consume longer texts and videos, learn or research. The Smartphone prevails when we need some information instantaneously, and it also largely takes on our digital social life.

Messengers are the fastest growing communication channel: from 53% in Wave 8 to

Facebook is still the # 1 social network, used daily by 83% of active internet users, but the number of so-called Facebook-nevers users is on the rise. Instagram, however, is the fastest growing network with users up to the age of 35: from 26% of those who used it at least once a week in Wave 8 to 53% in Wave 9 Tool, which we use in the strategic planning and optimisation of media plans,” adds Ivošević.

MESSENGERS - THE FASTEST GROWING COMMUNICATION CHANNEL Regional data related to media consumption isn't surprising. Online channels are the best when we want to communicate with friends and share our experiences, television is mainly used for entertainment and relaxation, print media still fulfils our needs for information, although their role has been

69% in Wave 9. This is the platform which experts predicted would fail due to the emergence of “lucrative” social networks, but it returned integrated into larger social platforms and clearly reflected our need to react instantaneously and receive instant responses.

FACEBOOK STILL NUMBER 1, SNAPCHAT GROWING RAPIDLY Snapchat recorded 40% growth in the number of users aged under 24 in the region, from 30% in 2015 to 42% in 2017. ■

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JASNA DUGALIĆ, ACCOUNT DIREKTOR, DIRECT MEDIA

Ever Stronger Partnerships There is a lot of talk about "what is the key to a successful relationship between agency and client". Jasna Dugalić, Account Manager at Direct Media, answers questions that clients asked most in 2017

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gencies are indicators that should point out to their partners the changes that are happening in business and our industry, and at the same time offer the most effective solutions to adapt to new business conditions, for the benefit of each one of over 500 partners.

• At the end of 2017, Direct Media had 16 successful years of cooperation with more than 500 clients. How did last year look in terms of cooperation with clients, and what did they ask most over the year?

- Year after year, our partnerships are getting stronger, and they are based on honest relationships whose goal is first of all the benefit to our partner.

Our interaction with clients is everyday, fast and warm with results an imperative. Some new clients wanted to get to know us better last year, so they asked us what sets us apart from other agencies, and some clients with whom we

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have been cooperating for a long time were interested in communications and advertising trends in general. Mostly the questions relate to changes in the digital advertising world, which social networks will survive, how much they can rely on influencer marketing, whether to invest more in digital this year in view of its growth. They also asked us how we

• Direct Media is a specific agency in many aspects. Could you single out in one sentence your comparative advantage, the one that distinguishes you from others?

- The best knowledge of the media and communications, the greatest media power and expertise in the field of strategic campaign planning.

Digital has deservedly gained the status of an equal in the media mix, but its time is only just coming. Last year, we still stuck to the traditional communication channels and television as a dominant medium, but this doesn't mean that there were no bold steps in digital media and campaigns based on more innovative advertising platforms, native advertising, mobile and influencers recruit new staff, how big our creative team is, whether to invest in socially responsible campaigns.

• How did you advise your clients on whether to invest more in TV or digital?

- There is no single answer to that ques-

tion. We treat the channel through which a message is delivered accroding to the goals of the campaign. Digital has deservedly gained the status of an equal in the media mix, but its time is only just coming. Last year, we still stuck to the traditional communication channels and television as a dominant medium, but this doesn't mean that there were no bold

still a diversification of advertising agencies, it takes a back seat to what clients need, and that is for their message to be seen, and then to win the hearts of their consumers. The task of our creative department, as an answer to a client‘s brief, is to always find a functional solution, so the one that 'works'. Sometimes it's a functional campaign would be one like

point out to their partners the changes that are happening in business and our industry.

It is important to know your partner well, and to have a relationship of mutual trust to know whether you need to work on additional education. We have specialised training and tailor made workshops with partners that deal with specific and always hot topics of our work. In addition, we are active in all professional associations in which we discuss new developments on the market, we comment on ongoing issues in the professional media, and this is another aspect of our contribution to the education of the market. In addition, this year for the first time we have students from our partner companies at the Direct Media Academy.

• What is the idea of the lectures at the Direct Media Academy and will you organise a new cycle of this educational programme this year?

- The DM Academy, which has long been an internal educational programme for staff in our network, has been open since last year to all interested participants. We simply want to share some of our expertise with colleagues and to strengthen our brands

steps in digital media and campaigns based on more innovative advertising platforms, native advertising, mobile and influencers.

• You are increasingly present in the market through creative solutions, and last year you built up up your creative department. Have new clients given you a new creative driving force in 2018?

- Definitely this synergy happened through the new clients we acquired. Some of the solutions we have used in new campaigns are those that have received awards both at local and regional marketing events.

But creativity in placing an advertisement in the digital media age has been gaining importance for a long time. So we as a former media agency, and now as an agency that offers integrated communication services, win awards at festivals of creative achievements. Although there is

The Direct Media Academy, which has long been an internal educational programme for staff in our network, has been open since last year to all interested participants. We simply want to share some of our expertise with colleagues and to strengthen our brands and the whole market through better communication Štartaj Slovenija, which gave a boost to Slovenian businessmen and, with them, many of the consumers of Spar, the client of our Ljubljana office, and sometimes it's a simple but efficient mobile application.

• We have heard a lot about predictions in digital advertising for 2018 and new communications trends in general, and that is something that interests your clients too. How do they react to them, do you educate them and in what way?

- Agencies are lighthouses that should

and the whole market through better communication. This year, DMA will have the stamp of innovation as a necessary factor in every business in order to preserve its leading position. The event will be held in May, and our lecturers will join forces with foreign experts. Over a four-day programme we will cover all the relevant topics of modern communications and I am sure that we will be able to give answers to many current issues of the profession also thanks to our guests, experts who will bring new and fresh insights into our market. ■ COMMUNICATIONS

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DNA COMMUNICATIONS

Sprinting Through 2017 How to win a medal in each race and set a new personal record when you're running against Carl Lewis ...

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he past two years have been the most dynamic so far, driven by constant innovation, by the need to change mind set and approach to clients, by the postulate „fast, faster, the fastest“ in everything we do, by new runners emerging in our discipline... But also by the coming of age of professionals of a new and different generation, who have changed and are still changing our industry in important ways. What has led us to winning the throne in this race is deliberately transforming ourselves from a creative communications advisor into a business consultant, thanks to which we set personal records and have won all the clients we have been fighting for - the greatest number in our seventeen-year race.

Insisting that each project and client‘s request be approached in a strategic and analytical way, understanding their needs and goals and providing true and appropriate support on that path, is the direction that DNA has chosen.

It is noticeable that clients are turning more or simply returning to a partnership with agencies and are looking for a complete understanding of their business,

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expertise, commitment, and final result. In practical terms, this means that an agency model from just over 10 years ago must necessarily be replaced by an agency model that is ready for transformation - transformation in all its aspects.

On the communications market, the results and successes achieved are impossible without the most important link – the people who create these communications and who should take the credit. One of the greatest challenges the DNA Communications team has recently faced was therefore the educa-

launched in Serbia two years ago with the goal of raising overall awareness of the importance of dealing with employer corporate branding, getting an idea of the degree of its development in the domestic market and supporting its constant improvement. This is not just about communications support to the HR sector of a given company. It is more about fostering the synergy of this department with the marketing and corporate communications departments, because they are all responsible for creating a top team and atmosphere, and that

"Last year DNA Communications won the Bisnode Award and became the holder of the AAA rating of creditworthiness excellence. Only 2% of businesses in Serbia have this rating, which evaluates their safe, stable and growing direction towards a successful future. " tion and development of professionals under the agency's roof, but also in the broader profession. You can learn a lot about this from the Employer Branding project, which DNA Communications

atmosphere, again, attracts the same kind of people. The sooner we become aware of the fact that success depends largely on energy and atmosphere, we become more successful throughout

our business. This becomes especially important with increasing digitisation and the participation of millennials in the labour market. Although they have found the market somewhat unprepared, the millennials are those who are already taking a major part in creating and patenting innovation in communications and changing them radically. Members of this generation, who among others make up an increasing part of the DNA team, are undoubtedly responsible for easier understanding of the new trends that we are successfully following and applying today, educating clients and the environment at the same time. They show the necessity of understanding the specifics of the millennials as a target group, because the brands we work for speak to them. This further leads us in the direction: talk, understand, learn and change according to the demands of

the new generations you communicate with. All this has resulted in a strong growth in the number of people in DNA Communications, and now our internal team has become an equally important client to its own agency.

To learn and to change, both from our own mistakes and those of others, it is important to talk about them, openly enough and often enough. Promoting both mistakes and failures, we have launched a new form of talking about failures, with agencies, companies and the media as narrators, and all the others that make up the communications market. The first event of the Advertising Fail Stories, under the FuckUp Nights global movement, was launched in November 2017 together with the ICT Hub incubator for technology entrepreneurship. On this occasion, some of the most prominent marketing experts shared their advice

with the visitors and openly spoke about how the road to success is made up of not so simple steps that we often trip or fall on. By answering the questions: "How to rise again? How to start over?" we wanted to break the stereotypes of failure as a shame or taboo. The great interest in the event showed that the market really needs something like this, which is why these stories will continue, as often as possible and with stronger reverberation.

In sprinting through 2017, DNA Communications has proven that the unique philosophy that guides its work and its relationships with clients (Strategy.

Results. Support) is the right one, and this is a more than sufficient “dopingâ€? to enter this year in equally good form. We are hoping for fair play from the participants, the determination of new generations to run with us and ever more races. â–

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DARKO SOKOVIĆ, FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER OF PROPULSION FUND

We Are Building A Region Of Leaders “We strongly believe in this region of ours, with all its flaws and virtues, and we are convinced that it has yet to realise its full potential”

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ropulsion Fund is unique. Established in close cooperation with the leading companies in the region, it is at the same time an agency and a foundation with a clear social mission. "We are a rare animal among agencies", as Darko Soković picturesquely put it. This is not the first public engagement in his career, as he already discovered social activism during his university days.

“Today, Propulsion Fund has three production centres: in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Podgorica, and operations in Kosovo. More than 30 people design, write, record, produce mobile and web applications on a daily basis, create premium video, animated and television content, run campaigns on social networks and create unique communication solutions for about 60 clients a year. The pinnacle of our services are Propulsion Programmes, impact investment vehicles propelled and funded by leading corporations in the region. Investors include SBB,

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Erste Bank Montenegro, Sparkasse Bank BiH, AstraZeneca, Henkel, Apatin Brewery, Microsoft, Coca-Cola HBC Montenegro and Kosovo, Erste Bank Serbia, UNDP, UN Women, AmCham BiH and the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro.”

• What interest do large companies have in demonstrating their corporate social responsibility through Propulsion, and not, for example, on their own?

- “According to the Truth About Youth Research (McCann Truth Central, 2016), around 90% of youth in Serbia consider CSR an essential part of every serious brand’s operations and would actively engage either physically or intellectually for a brand that is socially responsible. It is clear that there is a generation well aware that companies are the ones crucially shaping our societies, and the youth are ready to embark on that journey together with the corporate sector. Everything we do leads to

one goal: building a strong, heterogeneous and relevant community committed to the company and society as a whole. This community is a powerful accumulated social capital of a company and can be deployed wherever the company wants. It is also a pool of future users, buyers, consultants, partners and innovators. At the same time it generates a capillary, outsourced innovation mechanism in a way that is not possible with centralized thinking in a small group.

Our programmes reshape talented people into leaders, vague ideas into innovative projects and create a cohort of ambassadors of our partner companies’ values.

In this way, we empower great ideas and their conceivers, and transform the region.”

• You were personally among the first in Serbia who worked on connecting, for example, students from Belgrade and Priština, when that seemed like an impossible mission, looking for what they

had in common, and not what divided them. Can we say that the very idea of the Propulsion Fund for the work in the region is on that track?

- “We believe that to deal with communication means, in fact, to actively work on change.That is why today we are the pioneers of the concept of the strategic corporate impact investment in the Western Balkans; the Propulsion Fund manages around 600,000 EUR of corporate impact investment funds per annum. We see ourselves as part of the first wave of new development of the region, led by companies that have understood that only by investing in the community can business itself advance in a sustainable and stable manner.”

region. In 2017 alone, more than 1,100 alumni benefited from the programmes, which also included 40 mentors with around 1,600 mentor hours. In 2017 our programmes received several awards, including the awards of UEPS and Virtus in Belgrade, Iskra in Podgorica and The Internationalist in New York.”

• Perhaps it is too simple to look at things through money, but the fact that companies invested about €600,000 in the Fund in one year says that business people have the need to follow your ideas to build awareness of democracy, respect for human rights, gender equality, and other goals you have set. Would you say that business people are more

Exclusively, I am announcing the launch of the Propulsion League, an innovative internal talent development programme that will be open to all our alumni and associates to further develop their skills, start their projects, and for some of them even to be employed in the Fund • You say that you shape the future of the region - working with young leaders, which Propulsion Project would you single out as the one that best 'shapes the future'?

- “We know how to attract and recognise young people with valuable ideas, together with leading companies in the region, and then involve them in some kind of competition, during which they acquire valuable knowledge and, at the end, choose winners among them. Programmes such as Šampioni svaki dan, Živi svoju ideju or Superste.net truly set the golden standard for the social impact investment strategies of the leading companies in the

aware than political leaders of the need to shape the region 'for the future'?

- “In Serbia alone, companies allocate around €22 million a year for social welfare. With this money you can build, say, less than three kilometres of motorway on Corridor 10. But if that money is invested in brilliant young minds, we will create a new generation that will be able to build hundreds of kilometres of motorways, create new ideas in business, art, culture, innovation, education. The leading companies in our region are those who have the strength, knowledge and resources to transform this region. Together with them, we are building a region of leaders.” ■ COMMUNICATIONS

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LEA STANKOVIĆ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNIS DDB

Different From Others

Agency Communis DDB doesn’t only create campaigns and brands for others, but is a brand in its own right

quantified, and where the scale is constantly rising, and it is up to us to fulfil those expectations with each solution.

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ommunis representatives always talk openly about the conditions under which they operate, market conditions and the business with which they deal. Lea Stanković is clear when she says that “the challenges are constant in business and have been for many years”, adding that “we live in the age of results, where everything is measured and quantified, and where the scale is constantly rising”.

- Economic factors dictate conditions on the market, and every year we must adapt to many factors that we cannot influence too much. Obstacles have always existed, but now they change faster and assume new forms. It is a challenge to be competitive on our market, it is a challenge to create something new and never before seen, but the greatest challenge is certainly to provide the high-quality services that are required today while at the same time developing a business you will live from in the future. We live in the age of the results, where everything we do is measured and

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• Is digitisation and its effect in the domain of communication, one of which is very short messages, actually proportional or, in contrast, proportion to the creativity in your business?

- Communis is an integrated agency that provides creative communication solutions, regardless of which channel that relates to. Technological changes and the development of social networks both dictate a faster pace and a different dynamic of work, because we don’t have the luxury of brainstorming a single idea for a month. It is a particular challenge at

to use them in the most creative way for the purposes of the brand.

• Communis is a pioneer in business and a brand in its own right. What differentiates you from other companies that deal with the same business?

- An agency is made up of people and the atmosphere in which they work, and we have for many years held these two important elements in a nice synergy. This kind of combination results in consistently high-quality campaigns and satisfied clients with whom we nurture partner relations. Our principle is that the agency’s growth and development must not take place at the expense of this friends & family atmosphere that

The synergy of people and the atmosphere within the agency ensures the high quality of the campaigns we do and that our clients, with whom we maintain partnership relations, are satisfied the everyday level to create short messages and new advertising solutions that someone will notice and react to while scrolling up to 100 metres of screen during the course of one day. The openness of our people means that they can quickly understand the basics and functionalities of each platform that appears, and

we nurture. Additionally, although the market often views agencies through some of their latest campaigns, I believe the fact that we have endured for such a long time testifies to the fact that Communis is an agency that constantly produces good and different advertising solutions. ■

NEVENA KURTOVIĆ, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FUSION COMMUNICATIONS

CORPORATE

Be Fast, Stay Focused “Digital channels provide unlimited possibilities and it is up to us to adapt and to understand the needs of our audience”

“S

uccessful communication for us means a unique brand narrative placed through as many communication points as possible”, says Fusion Communications, an agency that also stands out by being focused on integrated communications.

With this in mind, the interview with Nevena Kurtović starts with future plans as the digital communication channels 'win' over the conventional ones.

“The keyword has lately become 'speed'.

If we take the past year or any of the ones before it, it is clear that trends change rapidly and that they are either accepted or rejected just as fast. To a large extent, though not primarily, it is all thanks to the digital. What has changed in communications? Channels have changed, and the way recipients hear a message, the way they are allowed to respond to the message ... the need to communicate will always exist, just that today it's essential to understand that it's more important how our message is understood then how we said it.

“Digital channels have given us very valuable insight into the views of our audience.

It is now our responsibility to adapt and to communicate in the right way. Imagine a room full of people and your story is of no

inertest to anyone; after a few minutes, no one listens to you any more. It's a great challenge to fill the room, tell your story and keep your audience's attention. These rooms full of interested people are in one way or another everyone's goal.”

hand, it is also a huge task for everyone in our industry to create campaigns in such a way that our messages are remembered.

When we already have such a developed way to reach our target group, our task is to adapt to it and to keep hold of it.”

• In an age of expanding digital media and social networks, how can communications experts reach target groups with dedicated messages, when people of different ages, professions and interests behave in a similar way in cyberspace?

- “The digital age, with its almost day-to-day changes, brings us opportunities we could

• As 'golden rules' of communication, you have mentioned fair play and innovation.

It is clear that innovation is an imperative for virtually every profession of the 21st century, but to what extent is this other 'golden rule' respected in our fairly small market?

- “I think that every market, even the smaller

The need to communicate will always exist, just that today it's essential to understand that it's more important how our message is understood then how we said it only imagine before. But putting this aside, I think that since we can now reach a specific target group that we aim at, it's very important to adjust our communications to this group. The diversity of our messages when communicating will at the same time show that we take care of everyone. On the other

ones, have room for anyone who wants to work, create, shift frontiers. I like to see what my colleagues do, I like to see nice and successful campaigns, I also like when a client sticks with a trusted agency for many years. I like to believe that many others have a similar attitude.” ■ COMMUNICATIONS

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MIRO ANTIĆ, PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER, M2COMMUNICATIONS

Experience Is The New Power Of Marketing “It is important to say that, although technological progress is one of the key factors of civilisation’s progress, mankind should be careful in all of this not to lose the power of the spirit and essence of the human being”

“I

nteraction between consumers and a brand is today imperative, as it leads to a positive, emotional connection that traditional forms of advertising cannot achieve so easily. Brands need to attract attention and engage consumers/clients in an efficient way. Such efficiency is actually achieved by “experiential” marketing,” explains M2Communications partner and Co-founder Miro Antić, speaking for CorD. - It is clear that experiential marketing is becoming an ever-growing topic, and the methodology that will be key to its further development is defined as Experience design.

The great news is that companies and brands are increasingly courageous in their approach to campaignsandcommunicatingwithconsumers.

They are brave to experiment and change boring concepts established by antiquated standards.

For example, the new global BMW website is today actually an online lifestyle magazine, defined by attractive content, while the link to car models is the last position on the main menu. With this, they show that they put the interests, emotions and essential needs of customers in the first place, and not their own product, with which they create a completly new brand experience. An excellent example of this was the launch of the BMW X3 model in Belgrade, which represented a kind of imaginary conquest of Mars.

• What are the most important trends and what will define “event management” and

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“experience marketing” in the future?

- One of the growing trends is combining experiential marketing with a powerful digital campaign. The key is to create digital content that is worth sharing and finding that which will attract the audience in order to achieve a greater “reach” and maximise the marketing result. Clients in our region have not yet fully understood the potential of this approach, but elsewhere in the world the combined model is becoming the standard in organising events. VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) are present in marketing to a great extent, although manifesting the full potential of these technologies is yet to be expected. However, what’s really exciting – at least in terms of “event” production and “experiential” marketing, is

or activation to become creators and actively change the contents, flow and even the environment of events. In addition to technology, a strong connection with art and cultural heritage will have the same role in the development of this area.

• Where do you see the greatest potential for the further development of your business?

- We are planning to introduce innovations in the field of “experiential” marketing through the development of certain experimental platforms and conceptual solutions. We have set up a new strategy for the further conquering of the international market and will soon start with concrete activities. Viewed globally, the greatest potential is actually in the creating of a new economy through the introduction

Combining digital and virtual content with “live” events or activations will enhance interaction to a higher level and unlock a new dimension in creating a “brand experience” actually “mixed reality”. Keeping pace with technology and integrating it is one of the biggest challenges, but is simultaneously the main driver of the further transformation of “experiential” marketing and event production. New technologies will bring a higher level of the personalisation of experience and enable event participants

of innovative products and services. By creating new ideas, technological solutions and communication models, along with responsible behaviour towards nature and humanity, and with strong support for the development of culture, new opportunities will arise for the further development of both business and society as a whole. ▪

DRAGANA STOJANOVIĆ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, MEDIA.COM

CORPORATE

Free And Creative When marketing agencies were becoming common, each had to find its own place, and the first clients of Media. com paved this agency’s way towards agribusiness

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edia.com d.o.o. is an agency that started operating in 2002 when its first clients, big agrocorporations, both foreign and domestic, started working in Serbia. Bayer CropScience, KWS, Dupont, BASF had just been breaking in to the Serbian market.

Perhaps that very fact contributed to the agency’s start in providing and full service it still offers, with the ability to meet any specific requests from its clients. "Our agency chose agribusiness as a focus, but in some ways agriculture has ‘chosen’ us by the force circumstances”, explains Dragana Stojanović, speaking to CorD. - “We realised that all of the marketing tools had to be used in the field of agribusiness, but at the same time it was necessary to hit the right spot with otherwise mistrustful end-users. Seduce them with the spirit but at the same time remain simple and professional. Fifteen years ago, we first used pioneer methods of advertising in the agricultural sector, and today we are trying to be innovative in finding specific solutions. A marketing department in agribusiness follows modern communication trends completely.

Nowadays in agriculture, satellites are used in day-to-day work and GPS navigation for mechanical works, so marketing has to keep up. The target group is a bit diverse, which is why all advertising channels are used.”

• Is there a specific difference between working with agro companies, in creating agro brands and campaigns and other sectors?

- “Yes and no. The market is the same, the end user is at the same time the user of many brands that have approach him according to the latest trends in our field. On the other hand, the analysis on the basis of which we work and measure the position of the brands for which we work in the field of agriculture, tells us that, at least as far as their products

• If you would have to highlight the most important plan or ambition of Media.com for 2018, what would that be?

- “This year's plan is again, above all, that our clients are satisfied. It is important that they are successful in their business so that we can be free and creative in working with them.

By this I am also referring to the solutions that we have prepared for clients this year and which I hope will be adopted in their companies both at the regional and global level. In the 2018 plan there is also

Working with clients in building agro-brands, we use all available communication channels in accordance with our goals, and of course this increasingly involves the online world are concerned, communication channels must be diversified and at the same time at multiple levels.

The target group is not only agricultural producers. The end consumer from the agrarian sector has a great advantage of personal contact with professionals, people in the field, television and printed material. This greatly affects the strategy and structure of plans. That's why we use tools such as video and graphic production, organising events, media buying ...”

a greater orientation towards promoting F & B (food and beverage) in the Organic Food sector.

Global healthy lifestyle trends and the promotion of healthy management absolutely require a change in approach among agro-producers to the production of a healthy and high-quality product intended for an increasingly demanding end user. Serbia has great opportunities in this area and we will work on promoting and connecting producers, restaurants and hotels that recognise this trend. ▪ COMMUNICATIONS

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CORPORATE

BRANKA CONIĆ, PR AGENCY DIRECTOR, NEW MOMENT NEW IDEAS COMPANY

Balkan Creativity For The World “We are part of the world and, even more, we are actively shaping this world”

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ew Moment has good reason to remember the last year fondly, primarily due to the number and significance of the awards and recognition it received. Perhaps that’s why director Branka Conić’s first association with 2017 is as a year that was “magical and the most successful in the history of the agency”.

- New Moment Agency has a tradition as the oldest and most creative agency in the Balkans. We received five Cannes Lion awards at the most prestigious Festival of creativity in Cannes for the project ‘One Book for Peace’, which aims to promote interreligious tolerance and similarities between the two sacred books, the Bible and the Qur'an. Receiving the Cannes Lion Award is tantamount to winning an Olympic gold medal, so this year we brought five Olympic medals back to our country, in competition with 46,000 projects from around the world, and simultaneously became the first agency in history to bring this kind of recognition to our region. Success in Cannes is not only success for our agency, rather it is a major breakthrough on the global stage for all creative people from the Balkan region who have shown that they work at a level shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s most developed countries, where budgets for the creative industry are immeasurably higher.

In addition to the Cannes Lions, last year we were also again declared ‘Agency of the

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Year in Serbia’ by the Serbian Association for Marketing Communications (UEPS) and ‘PR Agency of the Year’ by the Serbian Public Relations Society for the third time.

• New Moment operates in the region, but also on the global market. You have done campaigns on the Canadian, American and Indian markets, as well as cooperating with the market of the Middle East... Compared to Serbia, what are the difference between the standards, modalities, customer requirements and rules on these markets?

- A good idea speaks all of the world’s languages, so the fact that we live in Serbia

• The year ahead will, in all likelihood, be marked by great technological advancement, especially in the domain of social media, digitisation, new channels of communication etc. In your opinion, to what extent is the Serbian market ready to get involved in these global innovative trends?

- Our market is certainly following the latest trends in the world. Digitisation has also made boundless knowledge possible and created a whole new generation of young professionals who are part of the global scene. On the other hand, I notice that the more digitally connected

Creativity, social responsibility and expertise give credibility to our profession and should provide the basis for reputations to be built or anywhere else in the Balkans doesn’t prevent us from getting our own billboards on the streets of New York or Dubai, which happened to us. Basic rules of the profession are the same the world over, and during this time of the increasing digitisation and automation of processes and even thoughts, it has never been more important than it is today to show the strength of a good idea, the language of the heart and a bright mind.

Creativity is the spice that all great dishes contain. It is the only constant of every success in our work along all meridians.

and informed we are, the more valuable emotions and creativity are considered.

Without them, our job is simply to manufacture advertisements, PR texts, events and press announcements. Moreover, in addition to technological superiority, the power of our profession lies in our capacity to actively change the world in which we live, and this should be used not only to increase the sales of our advertisers’ brands, but also to influence change in people’s consciousness around the world, and particularly in our region. ▪

ALEKSANDRA KOŽUL, PR AND DIGITAL DIRECTOR, NOVASTON MARKETING CONSULTANCY – NMC

CORPORATE

Knowhow, Experience & Creativity “Today In communications it is most important to reach an individual and address them personally”

N

ovaston Asset Management has been doing business for more than four years, carefully building its portfolio as an independent real estate platform.

Recognised as the “grey eminence” of marketing and PR, primarily in the sphere of shopping centres and retail parks, the company recently launched the Novaston Marketing Consultancy (NMC), with great ambitions. “NMC is specialised and focused on retail clients,” explains Aleksandra Kožul, who has personally amassed great professional experience in the public relations domain.

- The inexhaustible knowledge we possess enables us to create and implement various positioning strategies that are harmonised with the unique needs of clients and which, of course, adhere to the highest standards. When it comes to shopping centres and retail parks, it is a major challenge to come up with an adequate communication platform.

We approach each client and project carefully and with unique analysis and custom-made proposals – that is what sets us apart and is expected of us by our clients. We are continuing in that direction in 2018. We are in negotiations with several large foreign clients and are preparing important projects, while we continue to grow in every respect.

• To what extent have the large number of shopping centres and retail parks, including your partners, “oversaturated” the field of communications in Serbia?

- There is always room for good projects and creative, socially-responsible campaigns. It is important to find the right way to approach an individual, a person.

Personalisation is crucial today when it comes to communication. This area has undergone very significant changes over the past few years, due to the development and accelerated advancement of

ages us to present ourselves to clients in creative ways and to reach the final consumers in the most efficient way. In this business, regardless of which branch you are working in, you must be quick and active, familiar with numerous rules and services, and often harmonise differing opinions. That kind of activity doesn’t suit everyone, but one who has once found themselves in this area will find it difficult to return to more static jobs.

Working in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as an advisor to the deputy PM

We are in negotiations with several large foreign clients and are preparing important projects, while we also plan to continue to grow this year new technologies. Anyone can be an influential communicator today. For that very reason, I believe the room for communication is only expanding and that it is up to us to find our “place under the sun”.

• During your professional career you’ve dealt with communications and public relations in various areas, including politics. Which area is the most challenging professionally?

- Every profession – and, it seems to me, public relations in particular – carries with it certain challenges and encour-

responsible for European integration, was a huge challenge for me personally and I am very proud of that period of my career. Working for your country, being part of big projects, being at the “source” of some key decisions is truly an invaluable experience that I use in my work today. Perhaps the only difference is that in politics every situation, word, move – even the most harmless – can develop into a crisis, while working on marketing and PR for shopping centres and retail parks is far more relaxed and more creative. ▪ COMMUNICATIONS

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CORPORATE

JASMINA STOJANOV, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NOVA COMMUNICATIONS

Political Stability - A Sine Qua Non For Doing Business Building trust with a client and getting him to realise that he is in safe hands and not in the hands of some quack is not just important, but an essential part of a relationship

“C

risis and budget cuts have been a problem in recent years, but another is the proliferation of small and often unprofessional 'agencies' that have become unfair competition by dumping prices”, says Jasmina Stojanov at the beginning of this interview with CorD. But, she adds, "the market has nevertheless stabilised".

“So clients operate in more stable business conditions, they can plan their activities in the long run and with greater certainty, and this opens room for marketing agencies to provide better quality work. Political instability in the last twenty years has been an additional aggravating circumstance in which Serbian agencies have been working, unlike colleagues from other countries in the near and far surroundings. The course of political stability, the one that many ignorant people perjoratively call 'stabilocracy', is a sine qua non for our business so it needs to be supported in full force.”

• Is it easier for the company’s creative team to work with clients who already have a clear marketing strategy, or with those who leave your agency the initiative?

- “It is good when a client correctly defines its problems. The client, therefore, should be a patient who knows exactly where it hurts.

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Unfortunately, sometimes the client behaves as a patient who has found the medicines he needs on Google, but this is a wrong approach in marketing, as in health care. The client who knows what kind of medicine he needs usually makes mistakes and valuable time is wasted disabusing him. Again, on the other hand, trust between the client and the agency is necessary, it is necessary for the client to know that he is in safe hands, not in the hands of some quack doctor, or more precisely quack marketer, of whom there are plenty. A good agency must provide the client first and foremost with a good marketing strategy, and then ensure that the greatest impact is achieved with the smallest budget,

risks and opportunities in the market and in timely response: avoiding risks and exploiting opportunities. And all this in a way that fully takes into account the client’s needs and is cost-effective.”

• How sure can you be in your strategic planning in this environment of rapid technological development but also lack of market predictablity?

- “Plans are often one thing and reality another. We all would like to have clients with whom we can plan for the long term. It would be useful both for clients and for us, but it often happens that the circumstances require a different, guerrilla approach to

A good agency must provide the client with a good marketing strategy, and ensure that it has the greatest impact with the smallest costs that is, the greatest benefit for the product, whether it is goods or services. And now this is a challenge for the client - whether he will choose an agency that will fulfill his wishes or one that will propose the most effective solution. I am a fan of the second approach and I try to make my NOVA Communications a partner to the client, not in fawning or mutual flattery, but in detecting

certain situations. At Nova we are prepared for both options. My agency was established in the mid-1990s and we learned to work for the benefit of clients in the most varied market conditions. This experience is precious, and we share it generously with those we work for. In addition to professionalism, transparency and expediency, I see it as the main quality of the agency I run.” ▪

COMMUNICATIONS

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ADVERTISING TRENDS 2018

BY MARK HADDON

What You Need To Know

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oving on, last year we prophesized chat bots, augmented reality (yes, I know everyone did, and still does), plus the growth of social advertising. All of which have come to pass, in some form or another.

But what should the canny advertiser be aware of? What band wagon just cannot be ignored? And what possibilities should you be open to?

MOBILE FIRST… THEN EVERYTHING ELSE! Smartphone ownership and usage is more or less the norm. But the extent to which it is now the go-to device is undeniable.

It’s an advertising trend that’s been coming, I mean when’s the last time you looked up a recipe on your desktop? Or searched for an offer on a pair of boots? The fact is, mobile users are spending over four hours on their

smartphones each day! Not only that but comScore reports that “mobile apps account for 57% of all digital media usage”. The truth is your beautiful display ad, made desktop first, is more likely to find an audience on mobile. Something needs to change. (Hint: it won’t be your audience!)

Businesses need to embed “mobile first” thinking across all their digital marketing.

This means making sure your website, landing pages, banners, in fact all your digital campaigns are responsive. This goes rightdown to the initial stages of design too. You need to think how it will look on the mobile.

Is it mobile ready? Better still, now is the time to design everything mobile first.

Throw out the old thinking of designing a campaign desktop first and then scaling down. Scale up from mobile! Advertising has long gone mobile and it’s about time all brands caught up.

For the first time ever, 2017 was the year digital ad spend outstripped television. In 2017, digital spend was $209 billion worldwide compared to $178 billion for TV advertising. And one final stat. Excluding China, according to GroupM the ‘digital duopoly’ of Google and Facebook will end the year with an 84% share of all digital media investments for 2017!

VIDEO ADS WILL BECOME MORE IMPORTANT Next on the list as an advertising trend for 2018 is video. Video isn’t new but we predict its popularity and use to go stratospheric in online advertising. Among the social networks, both Facebook and LinkedIn are adapting their sites to host video better. While, within display advertising, the use of video is growing. In Europe alone, online video display is multiplying three-and-a-half times faster than non-video display! It now accounts for one fifth of the total display market in Europe according to IAB Europe.

Video is authentic and helps advertisers to connect with viewers, which in turns helps with conversion. Furthermore, people are watching video displaying ever greater numbers on their mobile phones. Making sure you have a video display ad that is mobile ready is a no-brainer.

Daniel Knapp, executive director at IHS Markit, sees the growth of video and mobile as a significant shift in advertisers’ thinking. The fact is “the digital advertising market is changing as we enter the post-desktop age”. And like all changes, it’s better to be at the front than trailing in the wake.

GO NATIVE AND EMBRACE SOCIAL There’s a shift happening in the world of native advertising. In the words of The Economist “a brutal winter is setting in”. Across the web online publishers from Mashable to Vice are COMMUNICATIONS

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experiencing the same problems as their print forefathers.TheduopolyofGoogleandFacebook is sucking up ad spend across all channels. As well as a taking a chunk from the ads sold by the publishers themselves. Both are bypassing the publishers altogether and getting advertisers to spend directly on their platforms. This is a trend that will continue in 2018.

There’s no denying that native advertising will remain a key part of the online advertising puzzle. However, social media is gaining greater traction. Some commentators even predict that native advertising is going to fully shift from publishers to social media. And yes, this means Facebook (and Instagram) is going to be where those ads go. The fact is no other social media operator offers the size of audience and variety of ad formats. Being able to adapt will be key.

TRANSPARENCY GETS SERIOUS! Transparency, ad fraud, and brand safety were huge issues in 2017. It’s no wonder then that a key advertising trend for 2018 will be the industry getting its act together to combat this scourge.

Transparency in digital advertising is important from two perspectives: cost and inventory. You need to know where your ads are served, and where your money is being spent in the ad tech chain. Without this data, your media budget is out of control, you cannot make well-founded decisions, and you are susceptible to fraud.

Better advertising and greater transparency go hand-in-hand. Many brands are demanding an improved media supply chain, and the adoption of industry wide standards.

In 2018 companies that purposefully make things unclear for advertisers will die a slow painful death. The truth is both, context, and whether companies you work with adhere to transparency with, will be huge for brands.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. One success in 2017 was the adoption of ads.txt by publishers looking to combat ad fraud.

Over 750 of the web’s top 2,000 websites now have ads.txt installed, according to Google.

For Jessica Goodfellow of the drum, “ads.txt has been arguably one of the biggest trends to emerge in 2017”. It’s helped to clean up the programmatic supply chain and adoption rates are set to accelerate in 2018. It’s one way publishers can boost their revenue, and

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advertisers avoid costly mistakes.

2018 will most likely see digital advertisers adopting and applying tools to improve transparency. For example, through using something as simple as a heatmap for banner and video ads. By seeing the location of clicks you can set up rules to detect and filter invalid traffic. Useful for avoiding ad fraud, and improving transparency. Expect all the major players to bring out similar tech, as well as more advanced techniques, such as machine learning.

advertisers need to address in 2018.

MACHINE LEARNING AND AI Last but not least in our list of advertising trends for 2018, is the rise of machine learning. Machine learning is a training process for computers. It’s already used by those in advertising for a variety of activities, such as real-time ads, pattern recognition, and fraud detection. In 2018 machine learning will go next level! Becoming smarter, faster and more efficient.

ADVERTISING TRENDS WITH A ROBOT YouTube has been at the forefront of applying machine learning. Using algorithms to detect and remove content that violates its terms of use. While it doesn’t fully rely on machine learning for the process – it has a 10,000 strong workforce who watch traffic. Machine learning is helping human moderators remove nearly five times as many videos than before. In 2018, expect machine learning to assist and improve processes, from sending messages, to sifting through big data. It’s going to become the norm.

CONCLUSION

Transparency, ad fraud and brand safety were huge issues in 2017.

It’s no wonder then that a key advertising trend for 2018 will be the industry getting its act together to combat this scourge IGNORE GDPR AT YOUR PERIL In 2018 another advertising trend that cannot be underestimated is privacy. In particular, If you don’t already have a plan for GDPR then hurry up – the clock is ticking. If you do business in Europe, then GDPR will have a massive impact on how you advertise online. For those engaged in online advertising it’s a critical change.

GDPR means the data a company can hold on any user located in the EU is about to get that much harder to access and hold. With new privacy regulations, and procedures, combined with tough enforcement. GDPR will apply to all companies processing the personal data, of anyone residing in the EU, regardless of the company’s location. Details of the changes that will come into play on 25th May 2018 are here . Being solid on issues of privacy and data security is something all

It’s been an interesting year to say the least, but politics aside, digital marketing continues its remarkable rise. Technology has again enabled better and more sophisticated campaigns. While, if anything, the events of 2017 have set the tone for 2018. GDPR is looming and brands already know the first challenge that awaits them. Plus, navigating the wake left by duopoly of Facebook and Google is only going to get harder for digital marketers.

With new technology embedded, greater focuses on accountability, and “value”, 2018 has the potential to be a pivotal year. Here at Bannerflow we’re already providing brands with the right tools to make the most of these trends. Plus, with new features for social networks, creating well-crafted, eye-catching, ad campaigns, which convert, is – hopefully – only going to get better. ■