Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
Anja Bauer Minkara is the Director and Senior Brand Consultant for Brandoctor Agency who recently entered the global REBRAND Hall of Fame, and is also a part of the Bruketa&Žinić OM agency group. She graduated from the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Philosophy, earning a BA in English Language and Literature, and earned her master’s degree at Bournemouth University in Great Britain, in the field of Marketing Communications.
In 2004 she founded the first Croatian branding agency, Brandoctor, where she works today as Director and Senior Brand Consultant. She has worked on big and small brands alike. Some of the projects she highlights are: Karlovačko pivo (Karlovačka pivovara), Grawe Hrvatska, Auto Zubak, Oryx, Stina vino, Bio&Bio, Froddo, Juicy, Juicy Fruits (Jamnica), Osječko pivo (Osječka pivovara), San Gurmano (MIH), Sladonia (Sladorana Županja), Bold for Men (Bold, USA), Lantea Grupa and Je*s (Jeger). Brandoctor has received multiple awards in one of the most prestigious global competitions in the field of branding, the ReBrand100 Global Awards (USA), as well as other awards, including Art Directors Club New York, Red Dot, European Design Awards and Design Week London.
A top quality education and many years of experience in her professional field allow Anja to have a keen insight into the overall state of the advertising industry. “There has been a fundamental change; what holds true in every other industry is also true for us. Women before were mostly stay-at-home moms, raising children and waiting for their husbands, while today they are equal, they go to work, earn money, and, if possible, enjoy what they do.”
Asked about the advantages of women, in relation to men, that have brought them to a dominant position in advertising, Anja says, “Women have finally been given a chance to show what they can do. Women are more subtle, they have a more developed sense of empathy and therefore are better at identifying the feelings and thoughts of other people – in this case consumers – which is why they are able to define a brand strategy that is better connected with the desires of the consumer.”
Equally interesting is Anja’s response to the question as to how she found herself in the advertising industry. “After graduating in English language and literature I taught English language, but somehow I couldn’t ‘find myself’ in that line of work, and since I couldn’t actively engage in writing – which was my greatest desire – I decided to enroll in MA studies that combine creative and strategic thinking, and marketing communications appealed to me the most. I earned my master’s degree at Bournemouth University in Great Britain, and during my studies I had already decided to try out advertising. The only thing I couldn’t decide on was whether to go with copywriting or strategic planning. However, after I had read enough about strategic planning, it became clear to me that it better suited my preferences. I like the strategic and analytical approach to any challenge, and I wanted something that would combine those two sides: creativity and strategy. I love advertising because of the psychological insight into the consumer mind – enriching the brand with a story that is natural for the brand and at the same time connected with the desires of the consumer. Later on I went from strategic planning to branding, because I wanted to make greater changes in brands. Strategic planning is necessarily tied to communication, while branding and rebranding mean telling a new story about a brand, after which you generally go towards creating a new name and new visual identity, and only then, communication.”
FINALLY, A CHANCE: “Women have finally been given a chance to show what they can do. Women are more subtle, they have a more developed sense of empathy and are therefore better at identifying the feelings and thoughts of other people – in this case consumers – which is why they are able to define a brand strategy that is better connected with the desires of the consumer.”
Anja’s career path was, if not exciting, then at least interesting and encouraging. “In 2002 I had landed a job as strategic planner with BBDO Zagreb, which fulfilled my great desire to work in advertising. However, I decided to return to the UK. I worked in marketing for Audi in Birmingham, which was not a totally smart move because the job was not very creative, but it was good for character building. I realized I would be happiest if I could achieve my ambitions in Croatia. After I returned, I decided it would be a good idea to work on the client side for a while so I tried my luck in the marketing department of the then HTNET, where it was interesting to work on bringing online advertising closer to companies. After that I went to VIPnet where I got a taste of what it is like to work as a Brand Manager in a strong corporate structure, and although interesting, it wasn’t for me. I remember people asking me about some mobile phone models and how many we had in stock, and I had no idea about that, but I was full of ideas about rebranding.”
Interests and passion of course have a defining influence on our professional future. “Then, after changing three jobs, I decided it was time to work on the only thing that truly interests me, and that was to become a brand consultant. Together with Moe Minkara, Davor Bruketa and Nikola Žinić I opened Brandoctor in 2004, the first specialized branding agency in this region.”
Asked about her favorite project, Anja finds it difficult to decide. “I cannot single out any particular project. I would say I get joy from the changes implemented on a brand.”
As an example of an unusual job Anja mentions a branding for a bulletproof car glass, developed for a Lebanese client. “The product was sold globally under the production name Stopgun 12, because it was a 12 millimeter thick car glass. Because of the frequent carjacking at gunpoint, it was crucial to raise people’s awareness in a more emotional way. That is why we proposed the name Hijack Byejack, which communicates a greeting and a safe escape from criminals – hijackers. The client understood the humor and symbolism behind the name and, fortunately, accepted it. The redesign itself enforces the idea and, along with the name, powerfully communicates to the consumer.”
This conversation of course wouldn’t be complete without Croatia’s wines. “We at Brandoctor love doing wine branding, and besides creating a brand strategy for the Orebić wine Korta Katarina a couple of years ago, we also recently worked on a brand for a wine from Brač, which was a real challenge because the Croatian island of Brač is not well known for its wines, so we had to create an authentic story for Brač. We determined that apart from being globally known for its rocks (stina), Brač was also known for its artists such as Tin Ujević, Vladimir Nazor, Ivan Rendić and Ignjat Job. The most logical name was Stina, combined with a story of inspiration. The label done by Bruketa&Žinić OM is completely white and invites everyone to creatively express themselves.”
What is Anja’s assessment of the state of the regional advertising industry today? “Everyone, of course, is affected by the recession in the region, including the advertising industry. There are, however, many clients still struggling in this time of crisis, so some of them even decide to launch new brands. A time of recession is precisely the time to enhance the strength of your brand, because if the brand lies still it will not get better.
Our greatest desire and challenge is to export our knowledge and experience abroad – we have already worked on projects for the UK, US, Middle East and Austrian markets – and we make an effort to do this as frequently as possible.”
And how to respond to the challenges of social networks? “We advise our clients to step up their presence on social networks. Social networks are becoming increasingly mainstream, because they allow micro-targeting and one-on-one communication. We also profile our answer to the question of what awaits our profession in the future in this direction. The future lies in engaging individuals one-on-one, regardless of the medium. Advertisers will have a lot more information on individuals, which will result in custom-made products, which is something I especially look forward to.”
Anja is always busy, always working on multiple projects at the same time, so it is quite logical to conclude this conversation with a question about free time. Is there enough of it and how does she spend it? “Since I have a young son, I spend most of my time off with him. The rest of my free time I spend listening to music and watching movies. The most relaxing pastimes for me are reading and writing. I love to read, mostly fiction, and to write about anything that comes to mind. When I was finishing high school I wrote poetry, while now I write some short stories and, of course, the Brandoctor blog.”