Once a year, Sarajevo seems to forget about sleep. The lights stay on longer, familiar streets lead to new places, and among screenings, encounters and conversations, that special version of Sarajevo emerges, one brought to life only by Festival days.
During the Sarajevo Film Festival, brands also become part of the city’s rhythm. Some stand out boldly, others much more subtly, through a detail, gesture or experience that fits naturally into the festival atmosphere. The best campaigns do not try to overpower Sarajevo. They listen to it, recognize its character and add something of their own.
Last year, we at Media Marketing launched this series with the idea of documenting the creative work developed around the Festival and preserving it beyond its conclusion. We wanted to show how agencies and companies became part of the Festival days through their ideas and left a mark that lasts longer than the red carpet.
This year, we return for the same reason, but to a new Sarajevo. Because the Festival awakens the city anew each time, and the city, in return, shows how much room it has for a good idea.
Great cinematic love stories change from generation to generation, but for this year’s edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, Argeta started from a much simpler and more everyday pairing: bread and Argeta. It became the foundation of the campaign Argeta Loves the Sarajevo Film Festival. A Love Story Like in the Movies., through which the brand connected its long-standing festival presence with retail more strongly for the first time.
After more than 15 years of partnership, Argeta wanted to extend the festival story beyond the seven days of the Festival and the festival venues themselves. That is why a special 3 x 95-gram festival pack of Argeta was created, available exclusively in Bingo stores, accompanied by a prize draw inspired by the cinematic experience.
The creative concept was developed by the agency LUNA TBWA. Promedia Group was responsible for communication support, Chapter4 handled public and media relations, while Altermedia took charge of the production and execution of festival activities. Bingo was the campaign’s retail partner, while the Sarajevo Film Festival was its festival partner.
At the center of the key visual was a heart-shaped loaf of bread, while Argeta’s recognizable orange connected the different parts of the campaign. The same visual language was applied to the special packaging, banners and in-store materials, as well as the design of Argeta’s spaces and events during the Festival. In this way, the love expressed in the central message did not remain merely a communication motif, but became something that could be seen on the streets, experienced at festival venues and taken home.
The campaign began on 7 August with the presentation of the festival pack and prize draw in Bingo stores. By scanning the QR code on the packaging, consumers could enter the prize draw, with prizes including television sets and three home cinema systems. The activation was supported by communication in the media and across digital channels, collaborations with content creators and additional visibility at points of sale.
With the start of the Festival, the campaign moved from stores into the heart of the city’s events. Argeta Lounge at Festival Square welcomed visitors every day with creative workshops connecting food, art and the themes of Argeta’s Spread Good program. The workshops were led by chefs, artists and content creators, while visitors could also take part in the Argeta quiz throughout the day.
In front of the Youth Theatre, Argeta Junior Corner offered the youngest visitors and their parents seven days of workshops, games, creative activities and time with the Junior Duck mascot. The Argeta Party was organized for the media, business partners, distributors, key customers and friends of the brand, with the Academia by Nermin Hodžić team preparing the food and Alektik Quartet providing the evening’s music.
The individual activities were connected through digital channels, creator content, an Argeta video shown before film screenings, and a presence in the official program and festival journal. In this way, the campaign lived simultaneously in stores, on the streets of Sarajevo, at festival venues, in the media and across digital channels.
The campaign’s performance was tracked through sales of the special pack, interest in the prize draw and visits to the campaign page, media coverage, digital content, and attendance at workshops and other activities. Consumers could first encounter the campaign in a Bingo store, then across digital channels and before a film screening, and finally experience it at the Festival itself.
Mirsada Kadribašić, Senior Brand Building Manager for Argeta at Atlantic Grupa, points out that after more than 15 years of partnership, one of the main challenges each year is finding a new way to keep the collaboration with the Sarajevo Film Festival relevant to consumers. This year’s campaign therefore connected retail and sales with the experiences Argeta created at festival venues, while all activities were united by the message Argeta Loves the Sarajevo Film Festival. A Love Story Like in the Movies. “We are particularly proud that the execution required close collaboration between our internal team, the Sarajevo Film Festival, our Bingo partner, the agencies and all the collaborators who turned one idea into an experience that lived both at the Festival and beyond it,” she said.
Alongside Mirsada Kadribašić, the Atlantic Grupa and Argeta team included Eva Bizjak, responsible for the execution of digital advertising, Simona Koren, Head of Global Brand Management, Živa Deu, Head of Digital Strategy, and Ajla-Ena Burnazović, responsible for coordinating the campaign with the Festival.
