Business conferences often begin with the same promise: strong names on stage, relevant topics, networking and content worth making room for in the calendar. KIOSK Branding Conference set itself a somewhat more difficult task. If it was going to talk about branding, it had to show through its own example what it means to build a brand the audience trusts before they have even seen its first edition.
That is why K67 did not serve here as decoration or as a nostalgic reference to a design we all recognise. Its modularity, functionality and ability to last far beyond the time in which it was created gave KIOSK a framework for thinking about its own identity. How do you create a conference that will not live for just one day? How do you connect partnerships, content, visual language and the audience experience so that every decision belongs to the same story? And perhaps even more importantly, what do you remove when something exists only because we are used to conferences looking that way?
The answers could be seen in the details. Instead of generic sponsorship placements, partners became part of the concept itself. Instead of leaflets that most often do not survive the walk to the exit, KIOSK created its own newspaper. Instead of trying to make the event as large as possible, the focus remained on the concept, the experience and attention to things the audience may not name individually, but will certainly feel.
That approach brought KIOSK Branding Conference gold at this year’s IdejaX in the Corporate Communications category and recognition at the MIXX Awards Croatia in the Campaign Effectiveness category. The awards confirmed the result, but the more interesting part of the story lies in what came before them: ten months during which trust had to be built in an event the audience had not yet had the chance to experience.
That is where the more interesting part of the KIOSK story actually begins: in the decisions that preceded the first edition, in the things they consciously left out and in the way they treated their own project just as seriously as they would treat a client’s brand.
A conference about branding has to prove its own brand before the first speaker walks onto the stage. What did the audience have to believe before you sold the first ticket?
They had to believe in everything we had been building and communicating for ten months ahead of the conference. The audience had to recognise that we were not here for the short term, that we knew what we were doing and that we were entering the project with the most sincere intentions. Our goal was to revive the Zagreb scene and bring a European standard to the capital, and to do so during the “quiet” part of the year when everything seemingly freezes, while the marketing sector is actually working intensively and looking for inspiration for everything that comes next. We proved that we master the story we are selling: from organising a complex event, brand strategy and the creative concept to selecting speakers, putting together the entire programme, executing all sponsorship and partnership activations and so on. Sold-out seats and industry awards confirm that we delivered on everything we announced and set a high bar for ourselves for future editions, and the next one is getting closer – 19 February 2027.
K67 belongs to the region’s collective memory. How did you turn that recognisability into a contemporary brand without relying solely on nostalgia?
We did not use the K67 kiosk for a retro moment or purely as a trend… For us, K67 represents much more: it symbolises brands that last, that are consistent and at the same time relevant. Brands driven by culture that grow and change together with the society that defines them. Its modularity and functionality were, and remain, our primary inspiration for everything we are building through KIOSK.
How did you turn the initial ambition to create a different kind of conference into a series of concrete creative decisions that the audience may not notice individually, but experiences as a whole? Which of those decisions shaped KIOSK the most?
From the start, KIOSK Branding Conference was conceived as a showcase of our KIOSK brand, which will bring new developments and activities to Zagreb in the long term and, we hope, more broadly across Europe as well. From the very beginning, we have approached everything strategically: we build a community through visitors, collaborations with partners and speakers with whom we remain in contact after the event as well, while at the same time showing everything we are capable of doing, both for ourselves and, in the future, for clients. Everything we do has its clear reason, role and place on the timeline. We do not jump on short-term trends or chase clicks, but build a sustainable brand for the long term.
When you are simultaneously the project owners, the creative team and your own client, who decides in the process that an idea is finished?
The seven of us function really well, despite all our other professional and private obligations. We are extremely transparent and open: we hold regular online meetings every week, communicate daily via WhatsApp/ClickUp, and also organise in-person workshops. Soon we are also going on a teambuilding trip to Belgium for the Us By Night conference, to get inspired and maybe bring a speaker or two to the KIOSK stage as well, hehe. And when we cannot agree, I, as the founder and creative director, make the final decision… which is logical. But in 99% of cases, we agree because our vision, positioning and goal have been clear from day one. When everyone shares the same ambition and everyone understands where it is leading, everything becomes much easier.
What did you consciously leave out of KIOSK precisely because it has become an expected part of almost every business conference?
A lot… from roll-up banners and generic sponsorship placements to tote bags full of advertising leaflets that immediately end up in the bin. Instead of leaflets, we published our own KIOSK newspaper as a homage to the kiosk, placing sponsorship ads in a meaningful context. We also designed a high-quality bag that people genuinely want to carry to an actual kiosk and so on. We also did not sell empty square metres or accept just anyone as a partner. We selected those that fit the concept of the first edition and offered them turnkey solutions, functioning as a small studio that develops creative solutions and handles their execution in full. In the end, we are not chasing numbers or mass scale. We focus on the strength of the concept and attention to detail, because what matters most to us is that people recognise that dedication and feel they are getting real value for their money.
