Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
Nikola Pešev is the media director at the agency New Moment Skopje for the markets of Macedonia and Kosovo. His father, Sašo Pešev, is the director of the agency. But this was not crucial for the fact that Nikola found himself in the job he is doing, he’s not in New Moment because it was probably the easiest place to get a job. He tested his talents in several fields and realized that he was most attracted to the profession he grew up with, following the work of his parents. It was a good decision for Nikola and for the communications industry, because he has so far shown all the professionalism and knowledge that he needs to do his job well. Nikola is a member and cofounder of IAB Macedonia.
MEDIA MARKETING: You are in the communications industry because it was easiest to find a job at New Moment Skopje because of the father leading the agency, because you love this job, or simply because you have to work something?
Nikola Pešev: It was a combination of deduction logic and the environment that was surrounding me while growing up that created the natural affinities towards communications and marketing industry in general. When it was time to focus my education in more specific areas I knew which industries and which jobs I will never do. I hate blood so anything related to blood and health was out of the question, I didn’t like natural science so also this area was out, I also spent one summer around computers to test my affinities for computer sciences which also didn’t work for me. So, everything was pointing out towards social studies and growing up around someone who works in TV and later advertising gave me a preview of what is to be expected in this industry and out of all possibilities this was by far most appealing to me as a profession.
MEDIA MARKETING: What should young leaders learn and apply from their older colleagues?
Nikola Pešev: Everything possible. Of course, not all of that will be good, applicable or relevant advice, but I strongly believe that we should use any relevant experience, even the most negative or irrelevant ones, as an useful information in our future decision making. Also given the dynamic of our industry we need to be always open to new possibilities.
MEDIA MARKETING: And what should they definitely discard from that legacy?
Nikola Pešev: The old belief that the manager – boss- “шеф” is the ultimate supreme force that we should be afraid of and agree with unopposed. I believe in teamwork and collaboration, and that the line of communication in a workplace needs to be as horizontal as much as possible, rather than the most often found – vertical format or vertical hierarchy. This means that we need to perceive each other as peers who are contributing towards common goals and objectives, part of the same team, not as manager VS employees.
MEDIA MARKETING: Is there a generational strife between you and your father Sašo pešev? Are there differences of opinion on certain communication projects and directions for agency development?
Nikola Pešev: There is a generational gap, but mainly just in number of years, in terms of different points of view, generational gap is not a factor in general.
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?
Nikola Pešev: Be brave. Be brave in changing the collaboration approach of your company and be brave in creating a working environment where all parties won’t be afraid to go outside of theirs comfort zone. The industry is so dynamic and fast evolving, that waiting to see the best practices and then implement them, your campaign will then probably be out of date and not efficient. The most radial, innovative and often the best ideas are hiding into the unknown.
MEDIA MARKETING: You are the director of the media department of New Moment in Skopje and Priština. Where does the media industry in Macedonia and Kosovo stand?
Nikola Pešev: Very challenging. It is challenging from various perspectives most important is the fact that these are small markets in developing countries, with insufficient client budgets and scare or no research with limited data. Most advanced media markets are centering everything around data, the planning is more and more data driven, since data is the foundation for finding the right audiences at the right time and place.
MEDIA MARKETING: What would you advise to your peers? To join you in this industry, or to try to find a better job?
Nikola Pešev: If you like fast evolving industry that is constantly changing and developing, this is your industry.
MEDIA MARKETING: How do you envision the future of media industry and media planning?
Nikola Pešev: Programmatic. I believe that the media industry has just entered the newest era, but we are not completely aware of it. This programmatic model is already taking big swing in digital media, where data is in the center of the planning/ buying/optimizing the campaigns. Media being data driven as much as possible is proving to be the most efficient media model. My belief is that this model will take over and not just all digital media but all media will eventually be bought programmatically. This is direction is already in place for the Video campaigns, where the TV and Digital platforms are planned, measured and optimized in a unified system with data for incremental reach and other advanced analytics. With this data driven approach, we will be finding and buying target audiences, rather than just media channel.
