In five days, the 12th Branding Conference will be held in Sarajevo’s Skenderija under the slogan Brand New Humanity. The Branding Conference has consistently been a significant day for branding in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over the past eleven editions, some of the biggest names in the local, regional, and global communication industry have graced its stage.
The Branding Conference is organized by the Via Media agency. As Igor Arih once said, “An agency that lacks its own brands doesn’t deserve clients.” Via Media has created several of its own brands, but according to Vesna Beganović, the Branding Conference is their favorite. Vesna describes it as a brand that fulfills its promises.
“For our team, the Branding Conference is an event we live and work on with our hearts. It’s a project where we set our own challenges, test creativity, and merge it with technology to create a unique experience for all attendees. The conference doesn’t prioritize financial results but instead focuses on a much more meaningful contribution to professional development and networking. We motivate the communication industry to assess our progress in Bosnia and Herzegovina and inspire each other to improve. A strong market also means a strong Via Media. Our goal is always to give our best and put effective creativity at the service of results,” Vesna Beganović shared in a 2018 interview with Media Marketing. She added that for her, the Branding Conference signifies knowing she’s done everything possible to make the Bosnian advertising scene part of global trends, oriented toward the future, and developing new generations of professionals.
From Dr. Ante Domazet, a professor at the Sarajevo School of Economics who was the first speaker at the inaugural Branding Conference in 2011, to Riccardo Fregoso, Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu Creative Italy, one of the stars set to take the stage of the 12th Branding Conference, the event has hosted numerous distinguished names locally, regionally, and globally. Here are just a few: Srđan Šaper, Emina Ganić, Dragan Bjelogrlić, Davor Bruketa, Mitja Tuškej, Paul Caiozzo (co-founder of Supernatural and one of the most awarded creatives in global advertising), Marina Čulić Fischer, Damir Brčić, Luka Duboković, Almir Filsar, Tahaab Rais (the world’s most awarded strategist with 800 awards, including over 300 Effies), Karium Rashid, Ivana Galić, David Balfour (one of the 100 most influential people in the industry), Thomas Trautmann (neuromarketing expert), Vladimir Dimovski, and Denise Lee Yohn (a leading figure in building and positioning top global brands and a TEDx San Diego director).
Most speakers announced their participation by stating, “I want to be part of this event!”
The Branding Conference has been unique each year, with its own slogan. I can’t remember all of them, but here are a few I recall: the first edition boasted “Either You’re a Brand or You’re Not,” the second: “Whose Brand Index is Bigger,” the third: “Who Are the Real Fighters,” the fifth: “Brandolution,” the seventh: “Brand New Jungle,” the eleventh: “Brand New Game,” and the upcoming twelfth: “Brand New Humanity.”
Honestly, we don’t have a developed culture for organizing or attending conferences and other forms of education. We don’t like to learn because, well, we already know everything. Learning is, for us, a waste of time. If you walk through major events (conferences and festivals) across the region, you’ll encounter few advertisers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as most aren’t interested. But they should be.
Many have recorded their memories and experiences from previous Branding Conferences. Today, I’ve chosen a reflection by Nermin Nina Kasupović, who shared this after the ninth Branding Conference: “Everything that happened at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be described in one word: MAGNIFICENT. If you truly believe in the future of this industry, it’s high time to support such projects that place us alongside communication powerhouses. Start celebrating the success of people around us because, ultimately, that’s our collective success as a community.”
Via Media’s Gift to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Advertising Industry
This Friday, November 15th, trade your office for the Mirza Delibašić Hall; it’ll be worth it. Spend a workday with the most influential advertisers and creatives from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the region. Connect with colleagues, exchange some insights, and recharge your batteries. Opportunities like this for networking and strengthening the industry don’t come often, and they inspire us.
Three days ago, we were all surprised by an email from Haris Mujanović, CEO of Via Media, sent to all agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, announcing that Via Media is again offering free participation to representatives of all marketing agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, contributing to industry development. This marks a shift in relationships and an invitation to collectively build Bosnia and Herzegovina’s advertising market!
