A cup of coffee can be a perfectly ordinary part of a festival day, one we drink before the first screening, between two films, or while discussing what we have just watched with friends. For Grand kafa, over the past several years it has also become a space where young authors leave their own creative mark.
Through the Sve nas spaja platform, the brand has spent seven years finding new ways to bring a traditionally perceived category closer to a generation that does not separate coffee from contemporary culture, personal interests and the need for creative expression. Its partnership with the Sarajevo Film Festival has not remained limited to the brand’s presence at one of the region’s most important cultural events. Year after year, it has developed into a platform through which the ideas of young authors become part of the festival experience.
The story began in 2020, when the Festival was held online due to the epidemiological situation. Grand kafa then launched the Svaka šoljica krije svoju priču creative competition and invited consumers to share inspiring moments from their lives that began or unfolded over a cup of coffee. The large number of stories submitted showed that the sense of connection on which the category traditionally rests could also be transferred into the digital space.
In the years that followed, the focus shifted from stories to visual creativity. Young artists from across the region were invited to design a festival Grand kafa cup inspired by the theme Sve nas spaja i miris i ukus i uživanje u dobrom filmu. Over five years, five young creatives were selected, and their designs moved beyond the competition entries to become part of Grand kafa gift packages available during the Sarajevo Film Festival.
In this way, the cup became much more than a place for a logo. Each new edition brought a different authorial perspective on the meeting of coffee, film and the city, while the brand gradually built a recognizable continuity of collaboration with young talent.
This year, the competition took another step forward. Instead of designing a cup, young authors were tasked with writing an advertising script based on the theme Sve nas spaja. The selected script will not remain merely an idea presented to the jury, but will become a new Grand kafa commercial and part of the Sarajevo Film Festival 2027 campaign.
This step shows how the platform itself has developed alongside its participants. It began by collecting personal stories, continued with the design of an object that audiences could take home from the Festival, and then opened up space for an idea that will shape the brand’s next advertising campaign.
The growing number of entries from different parts of the region, together with the quality and diversity of the submitted work, is seen by Grand kafa as confirmation that the competition has grown beyond a single festival activation. Its value today lies not only in selecting the best work, but also in giving authors the opportunity to have their ideas produced, presented to a wider audience and connected with one of the region’s largest film events.
For Sven Žlof, Junior Brand Building Manager for Grand kafa in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the campaign’s greatest value lies in the fact that, over the years, it has moved beyond the framework of a conventional brand activation and become a platform where young creatives can showcase their talent, ideas and perspective on the world. The journey from the stories consumers shared with the brand, through the designs of festival coffee cups, to a script for a new commercial shows how the platform has developed alongside the generations for whom it is intended.
“Behind all of this stands a skilled and dedicated team, both within Grand kafa and across our partner agencies. Each of them brings their own expertise, but what matters most is the shared idea and the trust that, through teamwork, we are creating a space where tradition, contemporary culture and new creativity meet,” said Žlof.
The members of the Grand kafa marketing team who worked on the development and implementation of this year’s competition were Sven Žlof, Junior Brand Building Manager, Vanja Vukadin, Regional Brand Building Manager, Nina Panić, Senior Digital Marketing Specialist, and Anja Lovčević, Junior Digital Marketing Specialist.
The creative and production aspects of the project were carried out in collaboration with partner agencies. Pom Pom Communications was responsible for the design, Kreatorij developed the website, Altermedia handled BTL activities, while Stratkom was the agency responsible for public relations.
Seven years of developing the Sve nas spaja platform demonstrate how a long-term festival partnership can be built so that each new edition continues from the previous one while adding a different creative task. Stories opened up space for design, design led to a script, and the competition grew from an occasional activation into a place where young authors can see their idea make the journey from an entry to a tangible part of festival and brand communication.
