Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Adnan Arnautlija
Last Friday, Sarajevo and Via Media agency hosted the eighth edition of the Branding Conference, which once again treated the communications industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina with world renowned names such as Karim Rashid, David Balfour, Boris Nemšić and others.
Through the day-long conference program, visitors had the opportunity to get acquainted with the latest trends, listen to the challenges and potentials of digitization and the telecommunications industry, get inspired from lecture by one of the world’s most famous designers, learn about (and feel) the power of neuromarketing through practical examples, and learn to appreciate and love oneself and thus build a personal brand from the presentation by the “mom” of modern marCAREting.
The conference which this year broke all the records was opened by Vesna Beganović, Via Media’s CEO & Founder, saying: “I’m truly a dreamer, a visionary. I want to change things, and for me, change is something important, so I expect it from my associates, friends, and clients. Clients don’t always like it, but I will not change myself because of that. No, I will change them, their communication and their brands, to the better.”
Her words were reflected in the slogan of this year’s conference, Reshape Brands, which invited all visitors and participants to think about how their brands can be turned into success stories of the future, because the industry is unstoppably changing, and all the players in it must inevitably change as well, or risk perishing.
It is no surprise then that the conference and its diverse lineup of speakers, despite the fact that they had very different topics and angles, had a clear linking thread. David Balfour, the master of experiential marketing, told us not to follow market trends, but to invent them and overturn the existing ones. Boris Nemšić, the “king of mobile telecommunications”, reminded the audience of the potentials of digitization, and the astonishing value that remains untapped in this field. He also took away the nihilist arguments of those who claim that something is impossible from small markets, citing the examples of great companies of today and their humble beginnings, and noting how competitive “small” countries can be on the world market already today. Neuromarketing expert Dalibor Šumiga once again delighted the audience with great practical examples of how neuromarketing makes campaigns better. Karim Rashid, the genius of industrial design, shared his vision of the world, explaining why brands today have to change their role, and how difficult it is for legacy brands to remain meaningful in the age of hyper-production. Lenja Faraguna, the “mom” of modern marCAREting, and her little boy who briefly joined her on the stage of the Youth House during her lecture, were a living example of what she “preached” – love yourself, appreciate yourself and be transparent in all that you do, because this is how authentic brands are built. Despite such diversity of topics, it was as if all of them shared the message: “The new marketing is upon us – human-to-human marketing, tailored to human beings.”
The prestigious Young Lions B&H competition was held within the Conference, whose winners will represent Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Young Lions competition held in the framework of the world’s most prestigious creative communications festival – the Cannes Lions. For the second time, this honor went to the creative duo from Mania team, Danijel Tepšić and Dajan Javorac, who took the Grand Prix in the PR category. Winners in the Digital category were the team of Degordian, Ivan Mandic and Martina Barišić, while in the category of Design this year there were no winners.
See you again next year at the Branding Conference 09!