I arranged a collaboration with Iva Balent, the Marketing Director of Agrokor, on the Woman of the Year project and the launch of the Woman.Comm Club in Croatia in 2027. During our first meeting, Iva was very curious and wanted to hear all the details about the Woman.Comm Club. She immediately suggested that Jana (Natural Mineral Water) should be the main sponsor of the Club. We developed the Woman of the Year project, an award for the woman of the year in the communications industry. A few days later, I arranged with Marina Bolanča, the founder and director of the PR agency Abeceda komunikacije, to start developing the Woman.Comm Club in Croatia and to organize Woman of the Year with Iva.
Two months after that, Agrokor was liquidated, a new company was formed where Iva was no longer employed, and our initial attempts with Woman.Comm in Croatia failed. Marina Bolanča and Abeceda komunikacije lost the project they had embraced wholeheartedly.
The Woman.Comm project was on hold for a few years, and then I was no longer involved. I handed over the project to Irena Miličević Vukoja after she left her position as the Marketing Director of Mercator BiH.
Irena started from scratch, paving the way step by step, segment by segment, making the story more serious and substantial.
Everything in the Woman.Comm Club is new, except for Marina Bolanča, who represents the only continuity from the time of collaboration with Iva Balent. Today, Marina remains at the helm of the Woman.Comm Club in Croatia as its ambassador.
MM: How do you assess the position of women in the Croatian communications industry, and what motivated you to lead the Woman.Comm project in Croatia again?
Marina Bolanča: I am always eager to support projects that empower women, especially when it involves women in my industry. There was no hesitation in this decision. Irena has laid a strong foundation for this project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the least I can do is help expand the platform to Croatia.
The communications industry, especially in the PR sector, is predominantly female. This might be due to the ability to multitask or a greater expression of empathy, but there are certainly many women in this field. The question is, on which positions? Although there are good examples of women in the industry who can drive change, the power remains mostly in male hands. Only a few women hold leadership positions, for example, in the media. The communications industry is multidisciplinary, and considering all the roles women play, it is truly challenging to be a successful woman in our industry, especially without support from a partner or extended family. Women tend to question themselves more and strive to find their deserved place, while no man’s success journey is attributed to his gender, which is often the case for women.
MM: What’s planned for the Woman.Comm project, and how do you intend to expand the Woman.Comm Club in Croatia?
Marina Bolanča: I’m confident that our colleagues will recognize the benefits of Woman.Comm and that we’ll connect easily since we all share the same goal. The work of the Woman.Comm Club is well-followed in Croatia, and I believe we’ll see a good response. I’ve received positive feedback in our discussions so far, and it seems like everyone is eager to get started. HURA will support us, and I believe we’ll be able to engage a larger number of colleagues from all areas of the communications industry. Having been in the industry for a long time, I’ll start with personal contacts, but I also hope that younger colleagues will see the opportunities and join us.
MM: What is the first event you will organize?
Marina Bolanča: We will hold a kickoff event after the summer holidays. we’ll provide all the details in advance. I hope our colleagues from Serbia, where the first event has already been organized, will also be able to join us.
