Audience attention has become one of the most sought-after, yet hardest-to-capture assets in the digital world. How much does it actually cost, what kind of content manages to retain it, and is all attention equally valuable? These were the questions connecting the presentations and discussions at the 14th edition of SoMo Borac powered by Aleph, held on October 23 at Tvornica kulture in Zagreb. The event brought together more than 1,000 professionals from the media, marketing, and advertising industries, while over 200 projects competed for awards in the SoMo Media and SoMo Advertising streams.
Andre Joel from Reddit discussed how the consumer journey toward a purchasing decision is changing. In his presentation, Conversations drive the new consumer decision journey, he focused on conversations within online communities and their influence on consumer decisions, as well as opportunities for brands to find a relevant place in those discussions. Ignazio Morello from Verne approached the topic from a different angle. Using Hegel’s analogy about hair loss, his presentation Hegel’s Hair. Choosing which attention is worth the cost raised the question of how to identify the kind of attention that is truly worth building.
Examples from regional practice also demonstrated how content that audiences want to follow is created. Tihana Dakić-Barichievich presented the story behind the launch and development of the GoLošinj project in her presentation Tko je pustio ovu ženu na internet?, while Katarina Bogdanović Kukla discussed the creation of Vibe Coding Show, a format combining technological experimentation, competition, reality-show dramaturgy, and digital platforms.
Through Spomenar, a digital archive of everyday life in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, Filip Filković Philatz connected nostalgia, algorithms, and artificial intelligence with the question of what captures audiences’ attention today. He also announced that he is working on a new documentary. The conference concluded with Nataša Vajagić, who used the Seksizam naš svagdašnji project to discuss how social media can contribute to recognizing sexist patterns and changing social attitudes.
The First SoMo Grand Prix Went to the Campaign “Vreme je za odgovore”
The evening program featured the awards ceremony in the SoMo Media and SoMo Advertising streams, along with several new additions to the competition. This year saw the introduction of the SoMo AI and SoMo Content Engagement categories, as well as the SoMo Grand Prix award for the best work in the SoMo Advertising stream.
The first SoMo Grand Prix was awarded to Ovation BBDO and Libresse for the campaign Vreme je za odgovore, created for Essity.
In the new SoMo AI category, dedicated to projects created with the help of artificial intelligence, the award went to Crnogochi, a project by Bild Studio and Crnogochi. The SoMo Content Engagement award, dedicated to organic content, went to Croatian Radiotelevision for the project HRT 100 – Moja domovina.
The complete overview of awarded projects in both competition streams is available on the official SoMo Borac website.
