More than 200 leading PR professionals from over 40 countries gathered on Friday at the Metropol Palace Hotel in Belgrade for a gala evening where the prestigious IPRA GWA (International Public Relations Association Golden World Awards), known as the “PR Oscars,” were awarded.
A total of 80 awards were given in 38 categories. Campaigns from Croatia received 11 awards for nine different campaigns. Notable winners include 404 Agency, A1, Abeceda Komunikacije, CTA Komunikacije, Hrvatski Telekom, and Millenium Promocija. With these awards, the number of global recognitions for Croatian PR since 2015, which includes 16 previous IPRA GWA awards, has risen to 27.
Prior to the gala, the PR Summit titled “Trust is PRiority” was held, focusing on topics such as the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the growing distrust in public discourse. Among the panelists was Krešimir Macan, who contributed to discussions on the challenges faced by the PR industry in the age of rapid technological advancement.
CTA Wins Global Contribution Award and Two IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence
“We are proud to have used both campaigns to popularize socially important topics such as forest fire prevention and waste separation in an educational way that is accessible to all age groups. This is the sixth leading global PR award in nearly six years of our agency’s existence and the greatest recognition of our work by the industry. This is also our 20th award in total for CTA Komunikacije,” said Gordan Turković, CEO of CTA Komunikacije, at the award ceremony held in Belgrade.
The campaign „Nemar je prva iskra“was awarded the special Global Contribution Award for 2024, in addition to being one of the 79 winners, as the project best aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, it targeted Goal 15 – Life on Land, which includes protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, managing forests, combating desertification, halting land degradation, and preserving biodiversity.
„Nemar je prva iskra“ is an integrated fire prevention campaign designed for Hrvatske Šume (Croatian Forests) and was first conducted in 2023. The primary goal was to raise public awareness of the role individual negligence plays in preserving forests, property, and human lives from the devastating effects of fires. “Prevent fire before it starts” was an additional message, along with TV spots addressing common fire triggers such as unattended flames, discarded cigarette butts, and glass. The digital campaign generated over 1.2 million views. It had already won the Grand Prix of the Croatian Public Relations Association (HUOJ) earlier this year.
In addition to “Negligence is the First Spark,” CTA Komunikacije also won two IPRA Grand Prix Awards for the campaign “Separate, It’s Easy.” The winning categories were Launch of a New Service – Agency and Integration of Traditional and New Media – Agency. The local campaign was created for the client Čistoća d.o.o. Split and had already won six domestic and regional awards, including SoMo Borac, two BalCanneses, IdejaX, MIXX, and the HUOJ Grand Prix.
„Separate, it’s Easy“ was an informative campaign aimed at promoting the new waste separation system using semi-underground containers in the city of Split. Though the Odvoji, razdvoji video spot was just one part of the broader campaign, its positive reception led the characters from the ad to become part of the graffiti scene on Vukovarska Street in Split. The campaign’s creativity was also recognized at the Greencajt festival. Its originality in both online and offline segments set it apart, and you can view some of the campaign highlights in a video application link.
The award-winning content for both campaigns was created by the CTA team, including Valentina Mezdić, Nina Sivić-Cug, Lara Paša, Ana-Marija Crnica Živković, Hana Kajari, Marin Zdelar, Petar Tanta, and Gordan Turković, with support from collaborators Vojko V, Sara Bernat, 2Dizajnera, DD Video Lab, and Vertigo Media.
The Golden World Awards for Excellence is the most prestigious PR award globally, granted by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) since 1990 to promote excellence and ethics in public relations. Its significance is underscored by a jury composed of experts from around the world, including Austria, Bulgaria, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, along with the diversity of applications received annually.
Manjgura Wins Global PR Oscar Trophy Plate
The Manjgura agency won the GWA Trophy Plate in the public sector category for the campaign “Justice Served: Historic Rise of Judges’ Salaries.” This was a multi-month campaign in 2023/2024 during which Manjgura provided communication support to the Croatian Judges’ Association for a project that culminated in the largest salary increase for judges in modern Croatian history. The campaign team included founder and director Krešimir Macan, senior advisor Anamarija Hrvoić Đurić, and junior advisor Dora Novak.
Krešimir Macan,_Dora Novak,_Kolinda Kolar,_Helena Frigo Bomeštar,_Anamarija Hrvoić Đurić
Manjgura’s third award for their work with the Croatian Judges’ Association follows two Polaris awards for political communication earlier this year in London. This latest win brings Manjgura’s 2024 total to four prestigious recognitions, including gold at the Grand PRix of the Croatian Public Relations Association for the conference “Sales Mindset: The Wolf Strikes Again,” which featured Jordan Belfort, known as the Wolf of Wall Street, as the keynote speaker.
This year has been significant for Croatia and the regional PR scene. At the beginning of the year, Nataša Pavlović Bujas, owner of Blumen Group, took over as President of IPRA, while the final judging for the IPRA GWA was held in Zagreb, hosted by Manjgura. The regional IPRA chapter, Alpe-Balkan-Adria Chapter (ABA Chapter), was also founded, bringing together PR professionals from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia to promote ethical standards and strengthen professional collaboration within the region. Among the founders of the ABA Chapter are Nataša Pavlović Bujas, Marina Bolanča, Krešimir Macan, Jelena Pavićević, Dejan Verčič, Dobrila Močević, Bojana Stanković, Irena Miličević Vukoja, Milica Slijepčević, and Ivan Jakšić.
IPRA, founded in 1955, represents the leading global network of PR professionals with a mission to advance ethical practices and trusted communication in public relations. One of its key activities is the annual global competition that encourages excellence in the PR industry. Established in 1990, the IPRA GWA recognizes outstanding achievements of communication professionals worldwide.
