Twelve years alongside the Sarajevo Film Festival is no small thing. That is twelve years in which the Festival changed, Sarajevo changed, the audience changed, while one partnership grew together with them. And there is something beautiful, and even something to be proud of, when after so many years a brand no longer has to explain why it is there.
For Mastercard, the Sarajevo Film Festival has long been more than a place where the brand appears for a few days in August. Over the years, the partnership expanded together with the Festival, from ticket-purchasing benefits and special experiences for audiences to support for the film industry, the local creative scene and Sarajevo’s cultural heritage.
That is perhaps why the best way to read this year’s campaign is precisely through the space it opened up for people. Space to access film more easily. To come to Sarajevo because of the Festival. To discover the city beyond the cinemas. To make sure that stories that are otherwise less often at the centre of attention also have their place on the red carpet.
The campaign was creatively led by McCann Sarajevo, which handled the localisation and creative adaptation of the concept, production of materials for digital and OOH channels, as well as the execution of the event and BTL activities. Val grupa was responsible for the communication strategy, PR and media relations, with strategic support for the regional dimension of the project, WPP Media for the media campaign, while Minted advisory provided support for the regional PR dimension of the project.
For the past three years, the creative framework of this partnership has been carried by the platform “A Red Carpet Wide Enough for Everyone”. The starting point was one of the most recognisable symbols of the Sarajevo Film Festival, but here the Red carpet was not viewed only as a place of glamour and film stars. It was transformed into a space for all people, voices, stories and perspectives, as a metaphor for a Festival that is not limited only to film screenings.
Sarajevo entered the campaign literally through its red carpet. Not its graphic interpretation, but the authentic Sarajevo Film Festival carpet, one of the symbols audiences immediately recognise. In combination with the global visual identity of Mastercard, it took on a new role: it became the thread connecting the entire story, from easier access to the Festival and Priceless Experiences to support for gender equality, local culture and the city’s creative scene.
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For Mastercard cardholders, that story began even before arriving at the festival venues. They were given 24-hour early access to online ticket sales and a 20% discount on purchases made through the Festival’s official website or mobile app. A fast lane for contactless payment was also introduced at the Sarajevo Film Festival Main Box Office, with the aim of making ticket purchases simpler and faster.
And for some, the Red carpet began long before Sarajevo. Through Priceless Experiences and specially designed Opening and Closing Night packages, Mastercard gave guests from the region a reason to travel to Sarajevo specifically because of the Festival. In this way, the festival experience was no longer intended only for audiences already in the city. It became a reason to travel, to come and to encounter Sarajevo during its liveliest days.
But the Red carpet was not open only to audiences. The partnership continued to support those who create and change film as well. For the sixth consecutive year, Mastercard stood behind the Special Award for Promoting Gender Equality, while one of the Festival’s most memorable evenings was the screening of Welcome to Sarajevo at the Open Air Cinema, hosted by Mastercard. That evening, Woody Harrelson received the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
The festival story thus expanded from film towards the local creative scene and cultural heritage. While the Festival filled the city with guests, Mastercard returned part of that attention to Sarajevo, its creatives, small businesses and local brands through a pop-up concept, as well as to its music through Damir Imamović’s summer concerts at Svrzo’s House. That space connects the city’s tradition and contemporary culture in a special way, so this activity also remained within the broader idea of connecting the Festival with Sarajevo beyond the cinemas themselves.
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All activities were brought together through OOH and digital advertising, PR, social media and branded content, so the platform was present before the Festival began and throughout the festival week itself. For Mastercard’s clients and partners, the experience was rounded off with a reception in the Botanical Garden of the National Museum, designed as a journey through Sarajevo through film, music, local tradition and gastronomy.
The campaign’s impact was tracked through paid media indicators, media and PR visibility, engagement on digital channels and direct user reactions to the experiences and benefits.The campaign reached 1,482,820 people out of a total audience of 1.66 million, representing a reach rate of 89%.
However, part of the impact that cannot be reduced only to media indicators came from people who travelled to Sarajevo because of the Festival through Priceless Experiences. Milena Leben, one of the users, described her experience as follows:
“The Sarajevo Film Festival and the city delighted us. It was especially memorable to experience Sarajevo’s energy, the packed streets and the atmosphere the Festival brings to the city – it is an experience that is difficult to describe in words; it simply has to be lived.”
Saša Mešter, Marketing and Communications Director at Mastercard for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, sees the partnership precisely through the possibility of expanding its value with new experiences year after year.
“For 12 years, we have been building a partnership with the Sarajevo Film Festival that continuously gains new value. This year, we wanted to open the Festival even further to audiences from the region through Priceless Experiences, while at the same time remaining true to what makes this partnership special – support for film, culture, gender equality and the community in which the Festival takes place. We are grateful to the Sarajevo Film Festival for the trust and partnership that allows us to create new and special festival experiences together, as well as to our agency partners for their contribution to another successful edition of the campaign,” he said.
The teams behind the project:
Mastercard tim:
Ena Hodžić, Senior Marketing Specialist
Saša Mešter, direktor marketinga i komunikacija u kompaniji Mastercard za Bosnu i Hercegovinu, Srbiju i Crnu Goru.
McCann Sarajevo:
Enisa Haznadarević, Project Manager
Enisa Mandra Sadiković, Digital Lead
Srđan Jevtić, Designer
Srđan Duletić, Event/BTL Manager
Val grupa:
Ana Subašić, Senior Advisor, Team Lead
Stella Antunović, Senior Advisor
Elvedina Klempić, Advisor
WPP Media:
Jovan Popović, Senior Activation Specialist
Srđan Šurkalović, Associate Director
Tijana Pavlović, Digital Account Manager
Angela Calin, Cross Channel Planner
Simona Gorea, Digital Lead
Alina Sanda, Media Account Manager
Minted advisory:
Milena Laković, Founder & CEO
Milena Kovačević, Senior Communications Expert
