Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
Jelena Mikić is the regional director of the Represent System, and sovereignly manages agencies in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and since recently in Macedonia. She uses modern technologies, but places most trust in the “fieldwork”. Almost every week she is on the road. She spends a lot of time getting to know the markets where the Represent System operates. In addition to working in the office, assisting colleagues and numerous meetings, she strives to meet as many people as possible, learn new things and keep track of all regional media. The decisions she brings are strategic, but she is often included in operational affairs. The two offices she is directly in charge of are still growing, and their teams are still learning. She takes care of finances, people, promotion, important clients…
Media Marketing: Represent Communications has its agencies in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia, and collaborates with partners in Croatia and Slovenia. How big of an advantage is it to be directly engaged in the market?
Jelena Mikić: Represent System combines three levels of “knowledge”. We follow the latest trends and share experiences with colleagues from all over Europe through the Weber Shandwick network we’re affiliated with. Through 15 years of work in Serbia, with hundreds of clients, including Coca Cola, Phillip Morris, NELT Group, MK Group, Hemofarm, Delhaize, Frikom, we have created top experts who can work in any part of the planet (and some do). But the third component is perhaps the most important for business in regional offices – and it’s having a home team that is well informed of local opportunities. Most of the attempts to manage without a “reporter at the scene” have failed. Similarities between markets exist, but each market in the region is specific, and the knowledge and respect of the subtle nuances of local business cultures often tips the scales even against flashy references or the Belgrade address of the HQ.
Media Marketing: The youngest agency in the region is the one in Skopje which was opened half a year ago. Why Macedonia?
Jelena Mikić: The results we achieved on the Montenegrin market are great, so clients have increasingly demanded that we provide them with similar services in other countries because they have the confidence that Represent Communications will always have the highest standards in their work. That gave us incentive to think about what was going on, and it was logical to go for the most familiar markets. So in 2016 we opened the office in Banja Luka and last year in Skopje. Macedonia has many creative people. We can constructively talk with colleagues from Skopje. Clients know exactly what PR means. There are many experts who have experience with international clients and advanced digital technologies. In Skopje, we work with a large company in Dubai for which we have designed and implemented a digital campaign for the markets of England, the USA and Canada, Dubai and Singapore. For example, such campaigns we have not yet done in Belgrade.
Media Marketing: What are your plans in Macedonia, and how are the initial experiences?
Jelena Mikić: Our plan for the Macedonian market is to create a leading PR and a digital agency, as he ones we already have in other regional markets. The Macedonian market is mature, our colleagues know the communication well and it seems that we perfectly understand each other, so the initial results were a pleasant surprise even for our ambitions. This is perhaps best illustrated with the fact that the office started working in September, and in January we already expanded the team. Our first clients were (and still are) Skopje City Mall, Junior Achievement, Biotek Laboratory, Blue Solace (from Dubai) and we will always be grateful to them for giving their trust to an agency that just opened its doors in Macedonia.
Media Marketing: You are responsible for the business of Represent Communications agencies in the region. How do you communicate with them? Do you have a weekly Skype conference, or occasional management meetings? How much are you operatively involved in the work of agencies in individual markets?
Jelena Mikić: Modern technologies help and provide support, but we believe in “fieldwork”. Almost every week I’m on the road, and I spend a lot of time exploring the markets we work in. In addition to working in the office, helping my colleagues and numerous meetings, I try to meet as many people as possible, to find out the news and to follow all the regional media. The decisions I am dealing with are strategic, but I’m often in operational affairs, because the two offices I have been directly responsible for are now growing, and the team is still learning. I take care of the finances, the HR, the promotion, the important clients, but only consultatively – both in Banja Luka and in Skopje we have great managers, Bojana Radić and Nataša Božinovska Mirkova. Working with them comes with a nice discussion and exchange of opinions. On the other hand, I try to involve our colleagues from regional offices and integrate them in the Represent System. We make mixed teams for some clients, so for example, for one client in Bosnia, support comes from the team in Skopje, while for one big digital project in Macedonia, our Content Studio from Belgrade is engaged. The teams in these two regional offices are small and it is important that they feel as a part of a large system to which they can contribute significantly as well.
Media Marketing: It seems a bit surprising that the Montenegrin agency is the most successful one in the Represent System for the second consecutive year. How do you explain that given the fact that Montenegro is not among the more important markets when it comes to communications industry?
Jelena Mikić: The fact is that Montenegro is a small market in which the communications industry is not well-organized or professionalized as is the case in other countries in the region. Nevertheless, I would not agree with the statement that Montenegro is not a significant market because business results and the continuous growth of our office in Podgorica leave no room for surprises of any kind. At the same time, they are the proof that it is a market that should not be underestimated when communications are concerned. Represent Communications Podgorica is, as you have said, for the second year in a row the most successful agency in the Represent System, and since its founding it has been one of the communication leaders and an agency that has set serious standards of PR profession in Montenegro. Here, above all, I mean the professionalism in approach to business, clients and work tasks, as well as popularization of the profession itself. For years, our agency in Montenegro is trusted by some of the largest international companies such as Pivara Trebjesa, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Mercator and Telemach, and since the beginning the agency has been the official PR agency for communication of the largest infrastructure project in Montenegro – the construction of the motorway. With a team of dedicated, diligent and talented colleagues who continue to work hard and successfully move their boundaries when it comes to communication, we are not surprised by the fact that the Montenegrin office reports such great business results.
Media Marketing: How do you leverage the collective synergy of your agencies in the region? Do you collaborate on some very important projects?
Jelena Mikić: Represent System has over 100 people and therein lays our greatest strength. The team possesses different knowledge, experience and we combine that. For example – Rudnik Ugljevik is the client with whom we started cooperation in Bosnia last year. It’s a great system that wants to modernize its communications and they engaged us for education and digital campaigns, and this client is serviced by teams from Belgrade, Banja Luka and Skopje. Recently, for a large customer from Belgrade, we prepared a digital strategy for our four markets, on which we had a mixed team. For the Kopaonik Biznis forum, our longtime client, our colleagues from the entire system are engaged, along with partners from Croatia and we will have a mixed work team at Kopaonik itself. Some system-level functions are united, for example in Belgrade we have a strategic office that helps all the other offices, and it’s the same with designers and production. The future is in the “turnkey” solutions that save money and time for clients, but agencies need to be aware that such solutions require flexibility and constant training.
Media Marketing: Reporting on socially responsible business represents a significant part of PR activities today. Do you follow this trend, or do you try to be a leader in it, and to act as a socially responsible company by yourself?
Jelena Mikić: Represent Communications Belgrade has been practicing various social responsibility campaigns for years and is part of a number of initiatives. We conduct our business in line with UN Principles and the guidelines of the Public Relations Society of Serbia. We are one of the founders of the Serbian Philanthropic Forum, we worked with Red Cross, with Lice Ulice… Represent Communications Banja Luka also participated last year in the charity event under the auspices of the President of Republika Srpska, which raises funds for reconstruction or support to important institutions mainly related to the health of children. Represent Communications Skopje is the youngest office, but we have already developed an independent, art-oriented project with the idea of making it accessible to disabled people. We are currently looking for a partner with whom we could implement the project, and we are very encouraged after the first meetings and reactions.
Media Marketing: The freshest news from the Represent is that you have won a big regional pitch for Wizz Air. You will do PR for them in the six markets in the region. I believe you had a lot of competition there. Why do you think you have won that pitch? What was it that made your offer break the competition?
Jelena Mikić: It was one of the largest and longest pitches in the last couple of years. I think two things were crucial: first of all our serious regional presence, which gives clients the feeling of confidence, and a strategically well-devised approach. The client sought to see an umbrella vision of their regional position, and we can boast of serious strategic arm that works for the entire region. Thanks to this we gave an overview of the position at the level of all six countries, and a very clear analysis of the specifics in each market. At the same time, we were very flexible, and we showed that a large system is not necessarily an inert system. The Wizz Air client will be serviced through our agencies or a network of long-term partners, among which the AFIRMA agency first provided us support. We prepared the entire pitch in less than a dozen days. We also did a great job with a simulation of a crisis situation, for which we had 15 minutes. We went to Budapest to meet and introduce ourselves. I believe we have shown a level of seriousness, maturity in approach, and the willingness to take on this task.
Media Marketing: Bora Miljanović says that in the next three to five years Represent will be an agency that will help its clients become media. Companies in the region will have to realize that they need to tie their customers to themselves, and they will do so with their communication content, same as the Red Bull is doing right now for example. Are you already prepared to change the habits of your clients, and how will that process take place?
Jelena Mikić: We are already working both as an agency and as an editorial board. I believe the profession, that is us who deal with communication, we have to change first. Classical PR has been the same for decades, but technology development impels integration, new models, new ways of thinking because consumers, who are better informed and are looking for emotionally relevant content that would get them interested in something, are also changing. In 2015, we created The Content Studio, which today has 17 people and deals only with digital communications, and has a production and a small editorial department within it. This itself answers your question. In parallel, we created our portal Bizlife.rs, along with the magazine. So, we first turned to content production on our own, and then we convinced clients that this is the next step for them as well, and now we are already developing several client portals that will be similar to news portals. We would like to do something similar to what Red Bull does, because that’s what we are trying to do, but since this is a region that lags behind in everything, we are happy even with the little wins, and for us it is currently the 25 clients for whom we are only producing content, whether it be texts, films, infographics, animations or as I mentioned, portals.
Media Marketing: And what is your vision for the Represent System in the region in the next three years?
Jelena Mikić: To be the leading PR and digital agency in each of the countries where we operate – a synonym for trust, reliability and high quality customer service with a satisfied team that is constantly growing and learning. I am primarily in charge of Banja Luka and Skopje. Montenegro office has been successfully led by Ivana Čadjenović for years and I have to admit that their way of thinking and what they have achieved is what we would like to see in Bosnia and Macedonia. Represent Communications Beograd is a big, serious system, not only for regional but also European circumstances, and it will always be our “mother office”, our hub, our strength, a place where we learn and where we draw support from, but the idea is for every office to be completely autonomous. And of course – we are planning some Represent Communications agencies in the region by 2020!