Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
Matevž Berkopec is Social Media Manager at the New Moment Ljubljana. He is 27 years old. He works at New Moment, here and there he runs the projects of a non-governmental organization and he even has his own craft brewery, in which he leads marketing and sales. He worked for three years in Krka Tourism and left an excellent job when he realized he was ready for new challenges. He reads a lot about socially responsible companies that are, in his view, key to future business. A very interesting young man who is totally at home on social networks, where he spends nine hours a day. He’s also the editor and author on www.misliobpivu.si portal.
MEDIA MARKETING: You started your career client-side, but it soon got boring. Why?
Matevž Berkopec: Yes, that’s true. I’ve spent two and a half years on the client side. I always say that everything I know I’ve learned there. I got the opportunity to grow in marketing, and it turned out so that I landed in social networks. I can hardly say I became bored, but as a man who loves challenges, I felt compelled to make a step forward. Working for a corporation institutionalizes you over time – you have to deal with the internal processes that are exhausting. That’s what I tried to avoid. I deliberately looked for an agency job with many different challenges and thinking, and now I’m here, in the New Moment agency.
MEDIA MARKETING: What is it that agency work brings you? What attracts you the most?
Matevž Berkopec: Daily challenges and unpredictability are the most attractive. I’m still getting to know the whole system, because the rules of the game are different from those in large companies. The feeling of freedom I yearned for in my previous job is what impresses me the most in the agency. Having the opportunity to think outside the box, every idea having its own role, engaging with creative and educated people that open up new horizons for thinking… There’s also the opportunity to work with large companies, to make new acquaintances, to meet new people, and to expand my sociality that is important to building a business.
MEDIA MARKETING: Along with your regular job, you also lead a local NGO. What does it deal with, what is the mission of the organization and is that part of your socially responsible work, or is it something else?
Matevž Berkopec: I deal with the organization only occasionally. Rotaract club Novo Mesto is involved in helping, primarily through projects. We set up a project for which we collect funds, and then we share the funds as aid to those who need it. Under my leadership, we also organized a basketball tournament in which we collected the funds necessary for purchase of a wheelchair for a prospective disabled basketball player. In the end, we managed to raise so much money that we made the purchase and made somebody’s career better. According to my information, the guy now plays in the professional Italian disabled basketball league. Through similar projects we serve society and the community. In the present-day world, full of hate, we need community, and the changes for the better can be made by everyone, within themselves – we don’t need to look any further. Even a smile or a thank you can brighten someone’s day, accepting someone’s friendship can also make your day better. No one will take care for us if we don’t take care for the others. True, this is a weird logic in today’s world when all the advertisers are so industrially trying to create “prosperity” for us.
MDIA MARKETING: You also have your craft brewery. Why beer? Because you like drinking it, or just to try doing real business and having your own product?
Matevž Berkopec: That’s right. In addition to regular work in the agency, together with a colleague I also lead the Berwolf brewery in which we only make personalized beer. I take care of the marketing and sales. Life always takes you where you want to go, and so I ran into beer. I knew I wanted to have my own company and that’s how it happened that I’m now dealing with beer, although I never drank alcohol before I was 19. They say that nothing is impossible in life, and that dreams have to be unattainable so you could constantly progress. I want the brewery to be one to be the best, and I want it to be the fruit of joint efforts of the employees and the employer. I read a lot about socially responsible companies that in my opinion are key to business in the future.
MEDIA MARKETING: Let’s go back to your basic job in New Moment – social networks. They say you’re in your turf in that business. What does that mean?
Matevž Berkopec: For the past three years, I’ve been dealing primarily with social networks. Not just for fun and conversations, but for work as well. I’m attracted by the fact that work on them is a constant challenge, that they are practically changing overnight and that they need to be constantly watched. I want to produce quality content because there’s too much bad content already. There is much more focus on quantity than on quality. Only the number of likes is important, and not the people behind those likes. I tell everyone that it’s better to have less likes that are quality likes, to know your followers, to build loyalty. The biggest evil of social networks are various prize games designed to build some reach overnight, but which have no real effect. Good quality work on social networks requires effort and long-term vision, and only then you can be successful. The value of your brand is proportional to the content you produce. There are many companies that are aware of this and who are present on social networks with high-quality content, but there are also many whose social networks aren’t speaking in their favor.
MEDIA MARKETING: Could you set aside some campaign on social networks that you are really fond of?
Matevž Berkopec: I don’t have a favorite. I spend about 9 hours on social networks on a daily basis, and with such intensity you become immune to ads. I follow the quality of the content. I really like Instagram accounts of photographers, and I follow several vlogs. In short, I always look forward to quality content, regardless of the brand.
MEDIA MARKETING: What should young leaders learn and apply from their older colleagues?
Matevž Berkopec: First and foremost experience and composure. I have a lot of respect for educated people I can learn a lot from. The life path has brought me to exactly such people, with whom I work now and I’m grateful for that.
MEDIA MARKETING: And what should they definitely discard from that legacy?
Matevž Berkopec: We, the younger people, often look on valuable things differently and critically. If a young person is allowed to progress regardless of their critical attitude, then we are on the right track.
MEDIA MARKETING: When we talk about crazy and bold ideas, there’s a general opinion that the communications industry is gripped with fear. Agencies are afraid of losing a client, clients are afraid of losing business. How to overcome this fear, and how much can you, young people, contribute to overcome this situation?
Matevž Berkopec: Fear is a constant presence and will always be, because it is simply the defense mechanism of the body. A healthy measure of fear is even welcome if it doesn’t hinder you. I often fear in my own company whether the decision I made is right or not, but if I let my fear restrict me, I wouldn’t progress. There are no wrong decisions, we learn even from the bad ones, and with good ones we reap success. Fear today is the result of the consumer-based system that is based on it. The best known to us is the fear of becoming overweight, the fear of not losing the job, the fear of refugees … The society is held in check by fear, and that’s not good. The more fear there is, the more intolerance there will be, the more unwillingness to accept personal and business failures. That is why I advocate more courage. Whatever will be will be, we only live once, and at the end of the road we will always scorn ourselves for the things we didn’t even try to do.
MEDIA MARKETING: What would you advise to your peers? To join you in this industry, or to try to find a better job?
Matevž Berkopec: Everyone was created for something. If they are interested in a creative job, I certainly recommend my industry. The world and nature will always strive for balance (Jin and Yang) and everywhere there should be a person who wants to be there. Some are good creatives, others are good in implementing, the third ones prefer to be free … If a man is not happy about the work he is doing, they should be a bit more bold and find a thing that suits them. Energy is sent to man with a purpose, you just need to find that purpose but the path to is never straight.
MEDIA MARKETING: How do you envision the future of media industry, especially in terms of social networks and digital?
Matevž Berkopec: It’s hard to make predictions because this is a constantly changing industry. In the spirit of “hunting” information, I expect people to be increasingly aware of their privacy. It will be increasingly harder to get people’s data. Advertisers will need to find more refined ways of advertising. This is in some way already shown with products that are “sold” by vloggers and youtubers. We will turn to influencers and social networks. With live content it becomes clear that anything could happen in a moment. There’s a lot of work being done on bots that will one day replace humans in jobs. Artificial intelligence is penetrating the market, which will certainly have an impact on social networks and the behavior of users. In short, there are more than enough challenges.