Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Asja Dupanović
Mihailo Čaloski is an Account Manager of Ovation BBDO Skopje. He has been a part of this agency since 2016, when he joined it’s team straight after finishing school. His curiosity for business and persistence aimed at completing a project helped him advance through the ranks and three years later he is solely responsible for clients such as Diners, Bimilk and Mars. The MBA program at the School for Business and Economics of the University of Ljubljana is his newest challenge. He is an avid Liverpool fan. Much to his liking, the team secured a spot in the Champions League final, so everyone in the agency rejoices.
MM: Why did you join an advertising agency right after school? What attracted you to this industry?
Mihailo Čaloski: As a senior in college with a major in Marketing I was looking for an internship which would give me a real-life experience and where I could put my knowledge to use. I had the fortune to get an internship at Ovation BBDO Macedonia, a company which gave me the opportunity to work with some of the biggest international clients in the region, as well as some local companies with a big growth potential. The opportunity to give my insight and input with these kinds of clients, the dynamics of the industry and its community, were enough incentive for me to be a part of the Ovation team, which still is the case, even after three years.
MM: You are very young but already in charge of some of the of the agency’s biggest clients. How big is the responsibility of managing their budgets?
Mihailo Čaloski: To be honest, when I was thrust into the responsibility of managing big clients, I didn’t feel any pressure. Things were happening so fast; the pace of the assignments was so fast that I didn’t have the time to look around and consider the responsibilities I had. Now when I look back, I can see under what kind of pressure I was back then. I was walking around with my notebook, making notes, I would wake up in the middle of the night to check which tasks were completed, which still due… The responsibility with these kinds of clients is bigger for sure, but I am more focused on using all of the advantages of a young person as well as on the things I can bring to the table, instead on the pressure which comes with the clients’ budgets.
MM: What is your specialty in the agency and what is the most challenging thing you encounter in the ecosystem known as “agency life”?
Mihailo Čaloski: My colleagues claim that my strong suits are taking over responsibility, team work and a continuous stream of positive energy. I can testify for the first two, the third one I really hope is true. I truly believe that positive energy is the driving force for the success of any project. My biggest challenge is creating complete strategies for product launches. I enjoy pre-launch analytics, figuring out the positioning of a product and creating integral campaigns for these products
MM: What is the main requirement for personal and professional growth?
Mihailo Čaloski: A thirst for knowledge, self-improvement, and, above everything else, commitment and dedication to achieving your goals.
MM: What is the main the client-agency relationship lacks in order to be optimal?
Mihailo Čaloski: The first thing that comes to mind is the lack of strategic work and planning in some cases. That is something I would like to see more of in the future. Planning and implementation through phases and predefined steps are becoming very rare, everything looks more like a chaotic chase of tight deadlines. I believe there is, this, room for improvement on both sides. The other thing our relationship lacks is the ability to actively listen to each other. In this industry, everybody is a great orator who wishes to be heard, but the message is sometimes not that well received on the other end. The biggest problems that can harm the client-agency relationships arise out of miscommunication caused by the lack of listening.
MM: What was the biggest lesson you learned by working for the agency?
Mihailo Čaloski: Always focus on quality instead of focusing on time.
MM: Would you recommend your peers to join the advertising industry of Macedonia? What is it that you most like about it?
Mihailo Čaloski: Absolutely, yes. There is no better way to develop yourself as a marketer than working on different projects and clients, small and big, local and international, new and those already established in the market. The best thing about this business is the dynamic of the environment. To put it simply – it is never boring around here.
MM: What is the main advantage of young people in this industry? Are you braver and freer in expressing your ideas in comparison to older generations? And can you even express yourself enough with all of the predefined procedures in place?
Mihailo Čaloski: Marketing is a field where young people always have the opportunity to express themselves, the main reasons being that more or less they are the driving force behind all of the current trends imposed by the industry. In the digital era, this is more evident then ever before, and we have an opportunity for out of the box actions which are requested by clients on a daily basis. I truly believe that the basis for innovation of a marketing agency lies in the quality of their young workforce. As far as expressing yourself is concerned, I work in an agency where there are no boundaries put on one’s ideas. I can’t talk for other agencies, but I wasn’t in a situation where I had some kind of obstacle or procedure that would prevent me for presenting a solution that I thought would be sustainable and appropriate for a certain client.
MM: What is your passion outside of the agency?
Mihailo Čaloski: I’m a football maniac and an avid fan of Liverpool.
