In the past year, agencies were expected to be a step ahead of everything – fast, flexible, bold, yet at the same time cautious. Paradoxical at first glance, but in practice almost every key decision came down to risk assessment and the courage not to take the path of least resistance.
The speed of the industry has also been reflected in the quality of projects, both regionally and globally. Many were reduced to the pursuit of one “big idea of the year,” while continuity of work was left aside. And creativity that is not measured by festival fridge magnets or an occasional office trophy, but by real value for the other side and for society, is the only kind that ultimately makes sense. That value most often does not emerge in pitches, but in trust built day by day and in solutions sought together.
Such a way of working and building everyday trust gradually grows into team culture. Not the kind described on a website, but the one lived between deadlines, meetings, and yes – coffee breaks that still have their secure place.
We spoke with the 404 team about what creative risk looks like today, client partnerships, and trust that goes beyond a transactional relationship: Frano Mubrina (Creative Director), Maida Stupac (HR Director / People & Culture Lead), and Marko Beljan (Account Director).
- Which idea in 2025 made you get up from the table and say, “Okay, this is the reason I still do this job”?
The idea that has always driven us is growth – both of the company and of ourselves as individuals in what we do. There is no stronger motivation than the moment when you feel that growth in your own hands and heart, through what you create every day. That is precisely why we continue to do this job: the courage to take on everyday challenges, to solve problems day by day. - What was your biggest creative risk this year, and did it pay off in the way you expected… or in a way you could not have predicted?
For us, the everyday risk is failing to deliver value to the other side in the process. When it comes to forecasting, we always expect that not everything will go according to plan and that we will need to roll up our sleeves and find solutions along the way in order to be creative and effective, and so that what we are working on makes sense for the other side. If we look at the past year with that mindset, everything made sense, and we are very happy that we did not give up on that path for a single second. - Which creative weakness does the industry in the region persistently hide, and what would you do if someone appointed you to “expose” it during 2026?
The industry often gravitates toward “fridge magnet” ideas – those that remain only for festival submissions, but not for effective creativity.
Maida Stupac – HR Director / People & Culture Lead
- Which new skill, habit, or ritual in the team this year could you label as “born in the Adriatic industry,” as something that exists nowhere else?
We do not know what was born, but we are certain that coffee breaks and after-work socializing have not gone extinct.
Marko Beljan – Account Director / Client Service Lead
- What is the most unexpected sentence you heard from a client this year, and how did it change your brief, campaign, or relationship?
The most striking sentence this year was not related to a brief or a budget, but to the relationship: “What a partner we have on this project!” The moment a client stops seeing you as an agency and starts calling you a partner, it is clear that the relationship is no longer transactional. It means there is trust, that you are included in strategic decisions, and that your work is not seen as a cost, but as an investment. That kind of agency footprint is exactly what we strive for.
Fran Mubrin, Maida Stupac, Marko Beljan
- If someone offered you the chance to start 2026 with one single “act of courage”- professional, creative, or human – that would completely push you out of your comfort zone and move the industry one step forward… which act would you choose and why that one?
Courage is the ability to continuously create quality, meaningful things and remain creative despite the fear and challenges that come to us every day. For that reason, the act of courage we would choose in 2026 would be to consistently reject mediocrity and the status quo in any way you can imagine.
