Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
Jury of advertisers at BalCannes have chosen Pristop from Slovenia as the best agency in the region. On this occasion, immediately after the award, we spoke with Aljoša Bagola, Executive Creative Director, Pristop.
Media Marketing: Pristop is traditionally the Agency of the Year at SOF, and now the time has come for the Regional Agency of the Year. Were you expecting this award?
Aljoša Bagola: That’s right. For four years in a row we are the best agency in Slovenia, for four years in a row we are in the Top 10 most effective independent agencies in the world according to the international efficiency index Effie, and now we have experienced the joy of a regional win. We really don’t burden ourselves with awards, but we try to keep a very high level of quality of all our projects. That’s why such surprises are even sweeter.
Media Marketing: You’ve just graduated at the Faculty of Communicology where you’ve been teaching students for years. Is the award at BalCannes a confirmation of this diploma, although not all merits for the win in Rovinj belong solely to you?
Aljoša Bagola: Haha, indeed. For eight years now I’ve been teaching about advertising at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana and for fourteen years I owed my graduation thesis. I wasn’t very pleased with such situation, so I’m glad I finished that, because we – the stragglers – were given a deadline for completion of the academic curriculum. And, as the old saying in advertising goes, the deadline for submission is the greatest motivator. So, last week was marked by two wonderful victories – one for the agency, and one for my parents. Rovinj victory was won by our excellent team that I am proud of, and with whom it’s an honor to cooperate. Blaž Vuk is one of the top creative directors in the region and I’m happy that ten years ago he responded to my invitation to come to Pristop, because our styles and visions excellently intertwine and complement each other. Robert Bohinec, our young creative director with a sense for small, offbeat ideas that he knows how to make into large-scale projects. Mitja Kocbek, our head of design and innovation is extremely versatile creative; Peter Zabret, copywriter, has the most insanely connected brainwaves, and you’ll most certainly hear much more about him. Of course, credits and thanks are also due to all the other members of the team of excellent creatives, strategists, project leaders, to Renderspace, to Pristop Media and to the clients who trust us. I kindly ask the competition not to take this as a list for poaching staff :)
Media Marketing: You saw the presentations of the 25 Top BalCannes campaigns. What are your impressions? Is our creative good?
Aljoša Bagola: Our creative is at a very high level, which greatly pleases me. Right from the beginning I’ve been a fervent ambassador of BalCannes, because regional connecting in creativity, and now this additional competition area, seem to me an excellent training, not only for our everyday quality, but also for effective performance on the major festivals abroad. Along with the Macedonian and Serbian New Moment and the Croatian Imago, who are recent winners of the Cannes Lions, one can see a few more regional talents and potentials who, armed with the right project and a well prepared case, could win top awards in the world.
Media Marketing: How much does it mean for you to be at the presentation of the Top 25 campaigns, to meet with your colleagues creative directors and hang out with them? Isn’t that a special charm of the BalCannes?
Aljoša Bagola: Of course. As I’ve said in a recent promotion of BalCannes: “If you’re not at BalCannes, you’re not in the region.” And I don’t just mean in the competitive sense, but also in the networking sense. Being slightly late, when I entered the main hall where the presentations of Top 25 BalCannes cases were already taking place, the hall was packed to the brim. People were standing against the wall, following the best of what their colleagues did last year. And these weren’t only creatives – in the hall there were a lot of clients, students, project leaders, journalists, media. BalCannes is truly a great motivation and an excellent opportunity for all.
Media Marketing: Did you manage to hear any lectures or a panel? What were your impressions leaving Rovinj?
Aljoša Bagola: Unfortunately I was in and out. I arrived in Rovinj directly from a several-days-long shooting of a new campaign, my wife is making a movie, so the family schedule unfortunately didn’t allow any lectures. Many lectures have been praised by my associates whom we send every year to the Weekend Media Festival, not only to relax but also to learn something. So, I just blazed into Rovinj, watched the Top 25 BalCannes cases, congratulated my colleagues and my team, left them the company credit card to celebrate the award, and rushed back to my daughter (laughs).