A Visionary is Needed for Branding Croatia

The celebration of 18 years of the Festival of Market Communications FESTO and 50 years of the Croatian Advertising Association took place today at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb.

During the celebration, two panel discussions were held on the topics of ‘Branding Croatia’ and ‘Researching for Success in Advertising’, as well as the awarding of prizes to TV stations for programs in 12 different categories and to those most deserving for the development of the advertising profession in Croatia. Renowned speakers, such as Nadan Vidošević, Božo Skoko, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science, Ljerka Puljić, CEO of Agrokor, Davor Bruketa, founder of the marketing agency Bruketa&Žinić, and others, discussed the best ways to present Croatia abroad and how to achieve this. The panel participants agreed that Croatia needs a common and clear strategy to become a brand. – To reach a common strategy, an agreement or consensus on key products and methods of promotion is necessary, which is very unlikely, or a visionary who will lead us, determine our advantages, and direct us towards some characteristic products, emphasizes Bruketa.

Croatia is a regional brand, a regional tourist power, and has traditional brands by which we are recognized. Through tourism and sports as its strongest assets, Croatia has already done much for its recognizability. – We must monetize that image in the region and then present ourselves in Europe, tell them who we actually are. If we do not become a communication subject that actively promotes itself, we will become an object whose image is created by external effects, believes Skoko. Skoko believes that planned branding is necessary, that is, to integrate the global public so that they are permanently interested in news about Croatia. Professor Đurđana Ozretić Došen presented international research showing that Croatia was marked as one of the biggest rising stars in 2006 and 2007, while in 2009 it was not even mentioned. – During that period, we attracted the attention of the global public, but we did not use it to create an image, concluded Došen.
 

Skoko stated that we will know we have developed a brand when stereotypes about Croatia and its people and products begin to appear in Europe. Ivan Mišetić from the Atlantic Group pointed out that there are already positive stereotypes about Croats in the region, as systematic, persistent, and well-organized. It is necessary to transfer this to the European level now. Mišetić believes that passion is key in creating large brands and companies. Vidošević stated that a key prerequisite for creating a regional brand, along with a top-quality product, is the amount of money that needs to be invested in promotion. – A minimum of one billion kuna is needed for advertising to create a regional brand, while the amount for a global brand would be at least ten times higher, said Vidošević, adding that due to the open economy, we are unable to build large brands. Vidošević sees our greatest advantage as traffic connectivity, which he would enhance, while he highlighted the lack of continuous action as the biggest problem for people in Croatia, which is necessary to create a brand. This was confirmed by Đurđana Došen, who said that branding is a marathon, not a sprint. – We need a brand around which the nation will mobilize, that is, to make a national job out of it. Do you think that great global brands were created by accident, said artist Dalibor Stošić.

Ljerka Puljić emphasized the importance of supporting and promoting domestic brands, which Agrokor has recognized. – That is why 70 percent of the products in Konzum are of domestic origin. In the long run, our strength can only be domestic producers. For global companies, global producers will always provide better conditions, says Puljić. She expressed her regret that domestic producers did not participate in Agrokor’s breakthrough into the regional market. – Some producers do not have a strategic orientation for such a leap. This would greatly help our performance in the regional market, and as it is, we had to turn to producers in the countries whose markets we entered, stated Puljić. (Zlatko Salahović)