Nearly two decades of experience in journalism, public administration, and strategic communications have shaped the professional career of Mirjana Ivanović, founder and CEO of Montenegro-based PR Consultancy Hub. Before establishing her own agency, she worked as a media and communications adviser in public administration, including in the offices of the Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister of Montenegro. She also gained professional experience through cooperation with the UK Government Communication Service and international organizations such as UNDP, OSCE, and the European Union.
She served as Secretary General of SEECOM (South East Europe Communications Network) and, as a certified adult education trainer, contributed to the development of two professional education programmes in the field of public relations. Her agency, which specializes in strategic communications, public relations, media relations, and public affairs, became a member of the international IPREX network this year. She is also a recipient of the PRO PR Globe People Achievement Awards recognition.
In an interview with Media Marketing, she discusses how well political decision-makers truly understand public relations, why institutional transparency should not be equated with media visibility, and where the line lies between political trust and professional competence. She also reflects on the impact of artificial intelligence on the communications profession, the responsibility of communications professionals in decision-making processes, and the experiences that have shaped her professional development.
How would you assess the political public’s understanding of public relations today? Are they willing to accept and follow the advice of experts, or do they tend to rely more on their own judgment?
I think awareness of the importance of public relations is much greater today than it was a decade ago, but I am not sure that understanding of the profession has increased to the same extent. In political circles, public relations is still too often equated with media appearances, press releases, or managing political image. However, strategic communications involve understanding the public, identifying risks, building trust, and integrating a communications perspective into the decision-making process.
In my experience, the willingness of decision-makers to accept professional advice varies greatly from person to person. There are those who understand its value, even when they do not like what they hear, but also those who expect advisers to confirm their own views.
One of the greatest challenges of our profession is precisely that good advice is not always what the client wants to hear. Sometimes we have to say that the problem lies not in communication, but in the decision itself. Public relations cannot repair the consequences of poor decisions in the long term, but it can help good decisions be better understood and difficult ones be explained transparently and more readily accepted by the public.
Before establishing your agency, you were involved in communication processes within public administration. What should decision-makers in public administration know in order to improve communication processes and transparency?
First and foremost, that transparency is not the same as visibility. An institution can issue press releases every day and maintain a media presence, while citizens still do not understand what it does, why it makes certain decisions, or how those decisions affect their lives.
From my many years of experience in public administration, I have learned that the quality of institutional communication largely depends on how well the leadership understands and supports it. Communication must not be the final step, when a decision has already been made and someone needs to write a press release, but an integral part of the process from the very beginning.
Institutions do not communicate for their own sake, but for the citizens. Information must therefore be timely, understandable, and useful. It is equally important to develop two-way communication, listen to citizens, answer questions, and be prepared to make changes.
Transparency is not a communications campaign, but the way an institution operates. If it is not part of the institutional culture, no strategy can compensate for its absence.
Montenegro still has no regulations governing artificial intelligence, although AI is already present, more so in the private sector than in the public sector. What are your professional views on artificial intelligence? To what extent does it represent a threat, and to what extent is it a source of everyday support?
I see artificial intelligence as a powerful tool that is already changing the way we work, analyze information, and communicate. The question is no longer whether we will use it, but how we will use it.
In public relations, its possibilities are enormous, ranging from data analysis and media monitoring to research and the preparation of communication materials. Tasks that previously took us hours can now be completed much more quickly.
However, speed does not automatically mean quality. Artificial intelligence can produce convincing but completely inaccurate content, misinterpret context, or be misused to spread disinformation and manipulate public opinion.
That is why I believe critical thinking, ethics, and professional responsibility will become even more important. Artificial intelligence can help us work faster, but responsibility for what we do must always remain with humans. I do not believe it will replace high-quality communications professionals, but it will certainly change the competencies expected of them.
In your opinion, what should someone who wants to work in public relations in public administration know today? What skills should they possess? We know that sometimes people, not only in Montenegro but also across the region, hire individuals for positions such as spokespersons or public relations advisers based not on experience and knowledge, but on political affiliation.
It is important to distinguish political trust from professional competence. It is understandable that political officials want associates they can trust, but trust cannot replace knowledge, experience, and professional skills.
A communications professional in public administration must understand how institutions function, decision-making processes, and accountability to citizens. They must be familiar with the media, digital communications, crisis communication, and strategic planning, while also possessing analytical skills, integrity, and the courage to present a well-argued position that a decision-maker may not like.
It is particularly important to understand the difference between promoting a political official and communicating on behalf of an institution. Institutions belong to citizens, and their communication must be based on the public interest, professionalism, and continuity, regardless of political changes.
That is why I consider the professionalization of institutional communications an important part of public administration reform.
What does receiving the PRO PR Globe People Achievement Awards recognition mean to you?
This recognition holds special value because it comes from within the profession itself and represents an acknowledgment of the professional path I have been building for almost two decades.
I began my career in journalism, then spent years working in public administration before deciding to establish my own agency. Each stage gave me a different perspective. Journalism taught me to ask questions and recognize what matters to the public, working in institutions taught me to understand the complexity of decision-making, and entrepreneurship taught me how important responsibility, adaptability, and continuous development are.
I also see this recognition as motivation for what I still want to achieve. I am particularly pleased that it comes at a time when, through PR Consultancy Hub, we are demonstrating that even from a small market, we can develop high-quality communications services and be part of the international professional community, especially considering that the agency became a member of IPREX this year.
Nevertheless, what remains in the long term is the trust of the people you work with and the results you achieve together.
If you were not doing this job, what would you be doing?
Honestly, it is difficult for me to imagine what else I would be doing, because one of the greatest beauties of public relations is precisely that this job allows me to constantly explore different fields, get to know new industries, people, and topics. One day you are working in one sector, the next in a completely different one, and every new project requires you to learn, research, and understand something that may previously have been unfamiliar to you. That is exactly why I do not feel as though I am constantly doing the same job. I think that if I had to choose something else, I would again look for a profession that offers me that diversity, creative freedom, and the opportunity to keep learning. The best part is that, regardless of how many years of experience you have, there is always a new field to discover, a topic to explore, or a challenge to overcome.
