By: Ekrem Dupanović
Photo: Participants of the panel dedicated to communication with millennials
I’ve spent the last week in Selce near Crikvenica at the PRO.PR Conference. I wanted to cancel the trip at the last moment, as we were having a great fuss in Sarajevo regarding the launch of the new portal that was launched yesterday. But I didn’t, because I had promised to Danijel Koletić I would come and take part in a panel, and Danijel is someone you can’t say no to, because he himself is a man of his word – when he promises something it is set in stone.
It turned out it was good that I left. I left Malik, Adnan, Asja and Amela to solve the many technical issues we had, without me there adding to the anxiety. And on top of that all, Malik went to Banja Luka for a digital conference, but he also worked from there around the clock to sort everything out. I’ve had time to think about everything, to make a plan and get a little rest.
I love going to the PRO.PR. The atmosphere and energy of this conference are incredibly positive. Everyone there is already like friends. Most people are coming to the conference regularly for years, and we all know each other well. We love to meet and socialize. It’s not a big conference in terms of the number of participants. There’s around 200 of us there, but I have a feeling that Danijel doesn’t even want more people there, and that he deliberately keeps the number of participants at the conference limited. Even when he chooses a hotel where he will organize the next conference, he chooses a hotel with a hall of that capacity.
The PRO.PR Conference program was excellent. I participated in the panel dedicated to communication with Millennials. With regard to the subject matter (Millennials), I saw myself as a cultural-historic relic. The whole discussion revolved around the fact that everything is constantly tailored to Millennials – strategies and communication channels are tailored to them, advertisers speak in the language they will understand, generally everyone knows what Millennials don’t want, so they offer them only those things they would want. So, in the end, I asked, “Isn’t this leading us towards some sort of chaos?” Millennials know what they don’t want, but they also don’t know what they actually want, so everyone is offering them what they think would suit them. Where does this lead the Millennial generation?
Honestly, I didn’t follow most of the other lectures, I was constantly in touch with Sarajevo and Banja Luka, preparing texts, planning content for the next week, helping the rest of the team as much as I could. Since the issues were mostly technical in nature, they didn’t have much use of me. Because of my poor understanding of that part of the job, I did more harm than good.
What especially impressed me this year was the award ceremony of PRO.PR GLOBE AWARDS. This has now become a serious award! Excellent selection of winners and great satisfaction among them for the received awards. It seems to me that this pleasure has never been greater. I received one of the most important awards three years ago. I wish I had received it this year – the atmosphere was simply that good.
These awards are now a serious obligation for Danijel. It’s not an easy task to continue maintaining such a good selection of winners and retain the criteria that have brought the awards to this level. I remember a few years ago, when Danijel told me he wanted to start PRO.PR AWARDS. Back then I shared some of my experiences with the awards for the most successful managers, first in Yugoslavia, and then in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most important experience I shared (and he reminded me of this now in Selce) was: “Danijel, be careful. Whenever there are awards, there are also intertwining interests of different groups and individuals who will try to influence you. You are investing your credibility and your honour in the PRO.PR Awards. Don’t let anyone trade with that. Believe only yourself and your instinct.”
It was really great. After the ceremony, I talked with most of the winners. They held the statues designed by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rijeka firmly in their arms and were delighted. These were not children, but adults with rich careers behind them and numerous awards and recognitions that they have received so far. And yet they were delighted as if these were their first awards.
After that, I got into my car and drove towards the Japod Islands near Bihać with a team from Communis, to make a plan for The Young Leaders of Tomorrow event, which will last from June 23 to 28. There we will welcome 100 young leaders from our industry!
April 16, 2019.
