Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
Today we bring you the letter we received from Vanda Kučera, Director of Corporate Affairs at I&F McCann Group. This is her answer to the letter we sent to the addresses of two dozen agencies that operate in the entire region (creative, media and research agencies), with a request to tell us something about the problems that national associations of the advertising industries of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia could resolve through regional cooperation, which was recently initiated at their meeting in Belgrade.
Vanda Kučera, Director of Corporate Affairs at I&F McCann Group Belgrade:
“I believe that the very fact that this meeting was organized and held speaks much in support of the fact that the industry is getting organized in order to further regulate the markets in the region, and that the role of associations in this is very important.
Regulation of the market, just like any other change, is a process, and demands time and good will of all sides included in it – and good will, I would say, is already there. All we need now is time, patience and perseverance.
Differences in the functioning of individual markets in the region are in a way a normal thing – regardless how much the convergence and harmonization of our markets is desired. Simply put, conditions are different in different markets – from the way the clients operate, what their needs are, what their budgets are, how much developed individual agency services are, to the financial conditions – the value of our work is simply different. Actually, this aspect and diversity of supply are present in any market individually, let alone in different markets … This is the case everywhere in the world, and so in our region as well. On the other hand, what we have in common is that all agencies, and in general all those who provide services in any segment of the creation and implementation of market communications, and who want to do business, are trying to do that at a high level and it is very visible in our region. There are many hard working, talented, capable people, agencies and advertisers.
We, as a group of agencies, are active and engaged in improving the image and work of our profession in all markets in the region where we are present and where there are professional and/or business associations, which, I’m sure, is another part of the answer to these questions. So, first of all, each of us should be devoted to developing and fostering good business and ethical standards (within their agencies), and then it is necessary to communicate this further, to expand and develop it through active work and engagement in associations, because they represent the “round table” which should and can resolve numerous things related to the standards in the profession. On the other hand, when the I&F McCann Group is concerned, the fact that we are part of a worldwide chain of McCann Worldgroup, gives us the ability to continuously learn from the far more developed markets, markets that are already in the process of mutual regulation. In this regard, for example, in October last year I was at a meeting of national associations (as a guest, without the possibility of active participation in terms of decision-making, but as a participant in the discussion), of the members of EACA, in Brussels. There were a dozen national associations from Western and Eastern Europe. Believe me, most of the things that the representatives of these associations stated as the problems and issues that would have to be addressed at a broader level (read this as the regional level when we are concerned), are precisely those topics that we’re dealing with now in some form – of course, on a different level, because these markets are larger and much richer, so all somehow seems easier.
In this sense, what we at I&F McCann Group believe – and we speak on behalf of the member agencies of our group – is that what needs to be done both through the associations and individually at a regional level is: exchange of knowledge, information and experience in all segments; association of creativity (which we do in some way), because creativity is our common denominator and a serious tool that has a serious economic potential (including in exports, which has been proven in other markets); constant discussion about standards of service quality; improving the image of our industry in the minds of all public that is relevant to us, from the widest one consisting of consumers, through the media to individual industries that are involved in our business (clients, suppliers).
We have to work on securing our profession the proper place on the list of industries, to return to it her true value, from having it talked about more through shares and knowledge in the public, to improving the financial value of our work – simply to be better paid for what we do, and that our work is more respected. In all these endeavors, self-regulation is certainly one of the good roads. By this I mean primarily the focus on making what we produce and what we present to the public be in accordance with the ethics in advertising and communication; that the messages we send are ethical (ie. Code of Ethics in advertising); make an effort to conduct pitch processes more professionally – there are guides for pitches, they just need to be presented more often and adhered to as much as possible. Through quality processes in work with clients, we need to make the conditions that price is no longer the deciding factor for choosing some team. If any of the markets in the region doesn’t have this document, we will gladly share it. This process is equally the responsibility of the agencies and the clients, so it only needs to be approached in the right way, and there is a way.
But it’s also important that we are aware that we can’t expect that everything can be harmonized, and that this harmonization will not be a quick and easy process. It is important that we have started it and sat at the same table.
Market is a game. The Champions League finals in Milan this year saw a match between two completely different teams from the same country, even the same city … and both fought for goals and the victory with the same dedication and professionality, although the estimated values of the teams are dramatically different.