Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Asja Dupanović
Uroš Svenšek is so multifaceted and versatile that his knowledge could not be broken into one of the standard advertising titles. His business card, therefore, simply states “digital expert”. Despite his youth, from a playful creative, Uroš can easily turn into an experienced strategic adviser and skillfully steer between the various roles in the projects of Slovenian Agency of the year 2019. Among the logos on his “to do” list are Argeta, Volkswagen, Unicef, Pivovarna Union, Donat Mg, Petrol, Ljubljanske mlekarne and others. Uroš knows everything about music, almost everything about football and almost nothing about cooking. Despite not being his only occupation, social media is still his passion. As a social media manager, he efficiently executed a prize draw in which the prize was just a toothpick, and is the first man to empirically prove that people “share, cooperate, like” practically anything.
MM: What attracted you to work in advertising? How did you get started?
Uroš Svenšek: During high school, we had a rock band for which I wrote some songs. One of them had 50,000 views on YouTube, which seemed incredible to me and was an indisputable indicator that I have to do something creative in my life. At that time, in an interview with Aljoša Bagola, I read that advertising is a creative profession, so I enrolled to study marketing communications and eventually got the first student internship at Pristop agency. Only a few years later, our drummer revealed to me that he bought the views on YouTube.
MM: In the Slovenian Agency of the Year, they consider you to be the young leader of the Adriatic region’s communications industry. How do you feel about that?
Uroš Svenšek: I do not know what to say. When receiving compliments, I usually blush, look into the ground and try to change the topic. Next question?
MM: Where did you gain the knowledge which helps you in successfully solving the creative challenges of the agency work?
Uroš Svenšek: Most of my challenges of an agency job are in one way or another connected with the digital world. During the five years of studies, we did not have a single lecture on digital marketing at the university, but then I was thrown into three digital projects on the first day of my work in an agency. I thus acquired digital skills quickly, just as one learns kitesurfing on Brač. The kitesurfing school functions in such a way that they take you to the middle of the sea between Brač and Hvar islands, throw you into the water with all the gear and take off. In short, my winning formulas were, and still are googling, learning from my own mistakes and imitating those who are better than me.
MM: How did it feel being on the stage of this year’s SOF as part of a team proclaimed the most creative in the past one year? This is the first such title for the agency. Is it your first too?
Uroš Svenšek: I was surprised. I expected one of the usual suspects to win. I have a fairly cynical attitude towards the advertising festivals so, in principle, I do not care about the awards. I care about good work, so I am especially pleased when the awards go to good projects, ours or of other agencies. On the stage, I was proud and happy for the agency, because I know that the title of an Agency of the year means better visibility, greater trust, more work and even better projects.
MM: With the advent of smartphones, the average person’s attention dropped to just a few seconds. How do we make the best use of this short time?
Uroš Svenšek: By giving the person a reason to share our content among his friends. When it comes to digital, everyone will continue to talk about trends and novelties, but if we look at the best digital campaigns around the world, they actually use basic functions. They always have. They are so good because they were able to achieve viral potential. They are so good because they could get someone to click on SHARE. I believe in this thought: “People do not share something to make you as a brand look good. They share things that make them look good / cool / smart. ”
MM: What kind of projects do you prefer working on?
Uroš Svenšek: The best is when we manage to incorporate and strategically justify “content marketing” into the core of the project. When content is in the forefront and the brand promoted indirectly, it is much easier to create entertaining and useful content and, consequently, much easier to get “sharable” moments. we recently launched the Union Radler 0.0 campaign, where we have succeeded just that. This is definitely my favourite project this year.
MM: What is it that the young generation brings to the advertising industry, do you feel more freedom than your senior colleagues?
Uroš Svenšek: I think it’s easier to produce crazy and brave ideas if you’re young, inexperienced and naïve, not burdened by weather the idea is impossible to implement, too expensive, if it reaches KPIs or not, if it is in line with the strategy, in accordance with the values of the brand, etc. It seems to me that the longer you spend working in advertising, the more fears accommodate themselves in your bones, so you start sticking to the established and tested patterns ever more. It is known that we become more and more conservative over the years, probably it is the same in advertising. My just invented, very generalized and over-the-thumb theory thus claims that, If we wish to create crazy and brave ideas, the thinking about the ideas should be left to the young. Young people who will be more “crazy” and, exactly for this reason, more courageous
MM: How do you see the future of advertising?
Uroš Svenšek: I think the future of advertising lies in personalization. The age of smartphones has brought brands to the position of competing not only with other brands, but with everyone who has a smartphone. Let’s take the example of Facebook. The brand fights for the attention of the user with the posts made by friends, classmates, relatives, one’s favourite restaurant, favourite sports club, favourite music group, favourite celebrities, as well as videos of cute animals, tempting recipes and sensational news. If we are not very relevant, people will detect it and skip us in one second. We can only be of great relevance with personalization.
MM: What is your biggest passion outside the agency?
Uros Svenšek: Play Station 4.
