V+O Communication Serbia, part of the SEC Newgate network, won the IPRA Golden World Award 2026 for the repositioning and rebranding campaign for ZiJin Hotel Belgrade. The project was awarded in the Industrials category, while the agency is also the only winner from Serbia this year.
The award comes at a time when changing the hotel brand required more than a new name and visual identity. The Falkensteiner hotel was transitioning to the ZiJin Hotel Belgrade brand, while the communications task was to preserve the trust of guests, partners and other important stakeholders, without reputational issues during the transition.
The strategy included reputation management, direct communication with key stakeholders and content on social media. The campaign also included a cultural concept that connected Serbia and China through art.
In the first six months, the hotel recorded more than 4.3 million views across Meta platforms, maintained high occupancy and improved its rating on Booking to 9.5. The rebranding was carried out without reputational escalations or negative media coverage.
For V+O Communication Serbia, this is the second consecutive award at the IPRA Golden World Awards. The agency also won the same recognition last year.
“This recognition holds special significance for us because it confirms that thoughtful reputation and communications management can play a key role in different business and social circumstances. We are particularly proud to have won the IPRA Golden World Award for the second year in a row and that our project is the only one from Serbia awarded this year. This is the result of the trust of our clients, the dedication of our team and the partnerships we build on long-term results,” said Natalija Racković, General Manager of V+O Communication in Serbia.
IPRA, or the International Public Relations Association, awards campaigns evaluated by an international jury according to their strategic approach, creativity, communications management and achieved impact.
