Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Mila Martinović
Today Zagreb (Monday, 21 March 2016) gets a new meeting point for the industries of communication, marketing, media and business. It’s called Picnic, and its first event brings guests from Silicon Valley to share why Silicon Valley emerged in California and what you have to do to jump onto the high-speed train.
One of those who will share their experiences with everyone who comes to the first Picnic is Russell Siegelman, a Silicon Valley veteran of 20 years, an investor and company director and a professor at one of the most prestigious US universities, Stanford.
On the occasion of the first Picnic in Zagreb, we spoke with Nikola Vrdoljak, director of the agency 404 and Tomo Ricov, director of Pepermint, the initiators of this new meeting point for people from the communications industry, marketing, media and business.
Media Marketing: Why Picnic?
Nikola Vrdoljak: For a long time we’ve been thinking and talking about how we lack quality professional gatherings during the year. The industry is developing rapidly and we think it’s necessary to push certain topics in order to be in step with the market development.
We want to explore the trends and opportunities, learn from the best, listen to inspiring lectures, exchange opinions, talk about problems, and all in an atmosphere of fun and networking.
Tomo Ricov: We chose the name Picnic because we want it to be an informal place for debate, learning and inspiration. And first of all, good fun.
Media Marketing: Who and what is behind Picnic?
Nikola Vrdoljak: The agencies behind Picnic are 404 and Pepermint – the team that jointly organizes the Weekend Media Festival, the largest regional gathering of the communications industry.
Media Marketing: What makes the first Picnic special?
Tomo Ricov: It’s special because we are hosting a great team from America – Russell Siegelman who has been working in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years. He was Bill Gates’ right-hand man at Microsoft, he has invested in more than 40 technology start-up companies, he teaches at Stanford and I’m sure we can learn a lot from him. He will be accompanied by a large group of students on the MBA program at Stanford and Yale, the most prestigious business schools in the world.
In addition to the opportunity to hear how they do it in the US, we have also prepared a short presentation of some of the best Croatian startups. The brilliant lectures will of course be followed by a great party. The interest in Picnic is huge, and I’m sure we’re going to have a very good time.
Media Marketing: Given that the first Picnic is in the beacon of Silicon Valley, what would be your comment on the regional startup scene?
Nikola Vrdoljak: Silicon Valley is much more than a startup scene. All that is happening and developing there has a direct impact on everything we do. The media, and therefore marketing, were among the first to be affected by digitalization, and are undergoing remarkable change. As far as startup businesses go, the regional startup scene is very vibrant and we can see significant progress in the last year or two. I believe this trend will continue.
Media Marketing: What topics will you cover in future editions of the Picnic?
Nikola Vrdoljak: The format will always be the same, and that is that we will have lectures and fun, and the principle for choosing the themes will be what we think is missing, or what would have the greatest impact on our industry. In preparing the themes and content we will of course coordinate with colleagues from HURA, HUOJ, digiHURA, IAB, and all colleagues who want to contribute to opening up high-quality debates in our profession.
Media Marketing: Everyone is wondering, so I have to ask, what is the connection between the Picnic and the Weekend Media Festival?
Tomo Ricov: The link is that the project is led by the same team that leads the Weekend. We realized that there is a too big of a gap between the Weekends, a whole year, and we are all hungry for debates, education, socializing and networking. Hence the Picnic. Interest in the first Picnic has exceeded all our expectations and is the best confirmation that we need these kind of meetings.