The communications profession today demands much more from its people than the ability to find the right words at the right moment. Speed is expected, but so is thoughtfulness. There is a need to understand new technologies, as well as the ability to translate business objectives into relevant and authentic stories. The role of communicators is increasingly moving to the tables where strategic decisions are made, while the boundaries between communications, business and technology are becoming less and less visible.
Vanja Vagić has witnessed these changes first-hand. As Corporate Affairs Director for Pet Nutrition South Europe at Mars, she is responsible for 17 markets across Southern Europe. After beginning her career in journalism at Croatian Radiotelevision, she built her experience at T-Mobile and Nestlé, before going on to lead communications projects at both regional and international levels in recent years, including markets stretching from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean and teams operating across more than 50 countries.
In an interview with our portal, she speaks about the biggest challenges facing the modern communications industry, the role of artificial intelligence in everyday work, the differences between Southern European markets, the line between news and paid content, and why, had she not chosen communications as a profession, she might be running a small hotel by the sea today.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the communications industry today?
The communications industry today faces several key challenges. The first is the speed of response – communication is expected to be almost instantaneous, while at the same time being thoughtful and accurate. The second is the constant monitoring and adoption of new trends, channels and tools, especially artificial intelligence, which is significantly changing the way we work.
The third challenge, and one that is personally very important to me, is the need for increasingly deeper business and strategic knowledge. In my case, communications are part of the leadership team, which means that communications professionals today need to understand the business, strategy and the broader organisational context much better than before.
How do Southern European markets differ the most, and how are those differences reflected in practice?
I always say that I have the privilege of covering one of the most beautiful geographies, but at the same time one of the most dynamic ones – Southern Europe, where each market has its own specific characteristics. Although all countries share a love for pets, they differ in terms of cultural habits, economic circumstances and available budgets, which is why we adapt our strategies to the local context.
In practice, this often means that in smaller markets we strive to achieve more with less, relying on creativity, focus and flawless project execution, while larger markets have the opportunity to invest in a broader range of activities and campaigns. The key to success lies in consistency, creativity and top-quality execution, combined with the smart localisation of global messages so that they remain relevant and authentic in every market.
How much have artificial intelligence tools changed the way you work, and where do you use them the most?
To a great extent. Artificial intelligence has significantly changed the way we work, especially in communications, where it has accelerated processes and enabled greater efficiency in everyday tasks.
On a personal level, I am actively involved in the work of Mars’ global AI team, where we work on the development and implementation of AI solutions in business processes. We see artificial intelligence as a key driver of the transformation of communications functions, as it improves the quality of insights, speed of work and cost efficiency, while delivering a better return on investment.
Our work is focused on three key areas. The first is communications campaigns, where we explore how AI can support content creation, the assessment of potential risks, ensuring a consistent tone of communication, the development of video content, as well as the monitoring and reporting of results. The second area is Public Affairs, where we see significant potential for the use of AI tools in monitoring issues and regulatory developments, mapping key stakeholders and preparing briefings.
The third area relates to the internal implementation and adoption of AI tools. Here, our focus is on informing employees about the opportunities AI brings, increasing levels of engagement and trust in new technologies, as well as organising educational programmes and training that will help them develop the skills needed for the efficient and responsible use of AI tools in their everyday work.
What is news to you, and what is paid content?
For us, almost everything we communicate is news, because in our organisation paid content falls within the domain of marketing rather than communications. That is why we strive to find a relevant and interesting angle in every topic that may be of interest to the media. This is especially important in markets where we operate with limited resources.
Fortunately, we work in a very inspiring category. Mars Petcare encompasses all aspects of pet care – from nutrition, treats and care products, through veterinary hospitals, to scientific and research centres. The topics are truly inexhaustible, and additional value comes from the fact that our research centre, Waltham, continuously conducts studies and develops new insights into the relationship between people and animals.
As a family-owned company, Mars is guided by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with the way we do business today. That is why we strive to ensure that our stories are not merely promotional, but that through them we provide useful information, educate and inspire. We focus on topics such as pet welfare and protection, responsible pet ownership and the importance of adoption, as well as broader social issues.
For example, as part of promoting pet-friendly practices, we recently conducted research into how much employees value the possibility of bringing their pets to the workplace, as well as the impact pets have on people’s mental health and wellbeing.
That is why the line between news and the content we communicate is often not rigid – our goal is for every activity to bring audiences some new value, an interesting insight or useful information, rather than simply promoting a product.
If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?
I always knew that I would work in communications, and that is what I studied for, and I have been working in this field since my very first working day more than 20 years ago.
Still, I often think that in another life I would do something more physically active, probably connected with sports. As a “Plan B” in this life, I see myself in the tourism sector – at a later stage of my career, for example, running a small hotel by the sea.
