Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Adnan Arnautlija
16th PRO PR Conference opened yesterday at the Mona Hotel’s congress center at Zlatibor, Serbia. This international event, initiated with the idea of gathering eminent experts from the field of public relations and guided by the motto of networking in motion, is traditionally a guest of a different country from the region every year, so this year’s host was Zlatibor, the attractive mountain resort in the Republic of Serbia.
At the opening of the conference guests were welcomed by Vladimir Živanović, director of the Tourist Board Zlatibor, which is the host and partner of this year’s PRO PR Conference, who also pointed out that Zlatibor is a tourist resort of Serbia and that he is very pleased that such a conference has come to Zlatibor.
Danijel Koletić, president of the organizing committee of the PRO PR Conference, took over and pointed to the rapid changes in the world of public relations, the ethical challenges and the transformation of communication habits within different generations, underlining the transformative power of PR industry to change perceptions.
The first lecture was held by Maja Jovanovic from the Novak Djokovic Foundation, who pointed out that children are the ones who will build the future, and outlined the ways in which the Foundation she represents helps build that future through supporting the youngest members of society. The stage was then taken by Olga Podoinitsyna, board member at VTB Capital, who shared with the audience the importance of corporate authenticity, especially in B2B communication in today’s digital age.
CEO at Lude Ribe & AHK Consulting Ana Keglović Horvat took the Conference participants deeper into the topic of GDPR, stressing the implications which failure to comply with it could bring to the unprepared businesses. She underlined that the purpose of GDPR was to ease life for the user, rather than for the company, and shared a number of practical tips on how to avoid not only crises, but also potentially draconian fines.
CCO & Director (Slovenia) & Chief Business Development (Adriatic) at Publicis One, Toni Tomašek, in his lecture focused on the changes that Digital brings to PR, and above all the location where users are today and where brands are not invited – their own personal channels. However, there is a way to get behind these walls without breaking them down, and the key is in the content that users will be happy to open their door to. Tomašek shared a range of case studies on exactly such content, underlining that brilliant results come from cooperation of PR and marketing departments.
The participants of the PRO PR Conference also had the opportunity to hear a wealth of information about the specificities of the market (or rather markets) in Africa in a lecture held by Robyn de Villiers, president and CEO of Burson Cohn & Wolfe and one of the leading women of the communications industry in Africa. Robyn tore down some of the myths and stereotypes about the continent which is home to six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world. She also shared a number of actionable tips on how to do business in this highly diversified market. A couple of those tips that we would highlight are: localization of all levels of business (from communication to organizational structure), and “not choosing sides” when operating in a market where changes are often abrupt and unexpected.
The program of the first day concluded with a panel on radio and PR today, which discussed the challenges that this traditional media faces in the age of voice activated devices and fragmentation of audience, but also the potentials that the digital age can bring. Discussing radio were Silvija Londero, Director and Editor-in-Chief at Media Servis, Arnela Lojo, PR Manager and Spokesperson at RSG Media Group, and Predrag Anđelković, CEO S Media, with moderator John Shield, Corporate Communications Director at BBC.
In addition to lectures by experts from the region, tomorrow’s program will include Biagio Carrano, Founder and Director of eastCOM Consulting from Italy, Sophie Brendel, Director of Marketing and Communications at Victoria and Albert Museum from the United Kingdom, Sean Gardner, co-founder of Huffington Post, and Fiona Czerniawska, co-founder of Source Global Research from the UK.
