Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Adnan Arnautlija
The three questions we ask all of our interviewees – what was 2015 like for them, what will it be remembered for, and what plans they have for 2016 – didn’t quite work for Nikola Vrdoljak, director of Agency 404 in Zagreb. He simply wrote an article, which doesn’t contain answers to each question as such, but does contain his personal view of what 2015 was like and what 2016 should be. At the end he listed five things that he believes will mark next year.
For Agency 404 the year 2015 was excellent, hard, laborious, feisty and brave. We started the year as a small and unknown agency in the market, and we are concluding it as a relatively large and recognized agency. We have earned all that solely by hard work.
This year we have achieved a significant increase in the number of clients, people and revenues. I am pleased that we won a large number of difficult pitches in competition with very good agencies. Clients appreciate our approach to the work and combination of communication and digital that has proved to be excellent, as well as absolutely necessary in the market.
In 2015 we managed to set up an agency that offers a wide range of services in the field of communications and digital and I believe that it can offer the best combination of the two. We will continue to develop services and products in this field because we are convinced that in 2016 the need for what we have to offer will be even more pronounced. We intend to continue to develop our capacities and work on our education in order to raise our services to a higher level. I believe that in the field of PR we brought something refreshing to the whole market with our “404” approach to projects and the introduction of a strong digital component. It is certain that we have contributed, at least a little, to the digitization of the whole PR market that is rapidly evolving. In 2016, we plan to significantly boost the analytical approach to everything we do in PR.
We have significantly expanded the range of digital services we offer. The department of digital advertising is able to produce even the most difficult campaigns, even though it’s been decided that everything must remain digital in origin in order to remain a part of the growing market.
Our social department now produces all kinds of content and successfully faces the most difficult challenges.
Our performance team is one of the best in the market and is achieving great results.
We partnered with two other agencies, thus significantly strengthening and expanding our offer. Broj 42 is focused on web design and development, while Seven of Nine is a mobile apps agency. Both agencies have great experience and excellent results behind them. The focus is on large and complex projects, and together we have already produced a whole range of such projects, and you can expect a lot more.
The number of people in 404 has doubled during the last year. We were joined by excellent people, who give me confidence that 2016 will be an excellent year. The breadth and diversity these new people bring to the agency will allow us breakthroughs in new areas.
In the year ahead, we plan to further increase our investment in people. We want everyone who works with us to love their job and enjoy it. We want them to develop professionally, but also personally. We have also supported and will continue to support the many initiatives that make our society better. We hope for even more trends such as cycling or running, we want to help society to be greener, we want more good and smart festivals and we want to support the digital society.
In 2015 we laid the foundations of a serious business story. In 2016, we expect a lot more. I look forward to the competition that the next year will bring.
Several things that I believe will mark 2016:
1. Everyone will become digital.
We can already see serious shifts in the creatives and in PR toward digitalization. In 2016 it will be impossible to win a pitch without a strong and integrated digital component.
2. Battle for talent.
Only a small number of future employees have the skills that we need, and the demand is high. Everyone is looking for creatives, communicators, designers and developers who understand the digital arena. In addition to the various agencies, there are startups as well as large companies.
We will all realize that if we want to be successful we have to go beyond our own markets. The crisis has shown us that we must do so, and a couple of good examples in the region has shown us that it can be done.
3. Further breaking down of borders between the creative, buying, digital, PR…
Borders are becoming ever more blurred, and the trend will continue.
4. New competition for marketing and PR budgets.
For some time now, media budgets have been turning toward platforms such as Facebook or Google. A similar thing is starting to happen in other areas as well. Various tools, technology companies, analysts, startups and even management consulting companies are preparing to fight for budgets that we once thought were reserved for agencies.
And finally, a small greeting card from 404.
Nikola Vrdoljak, 404 agency