In the new issue, find out how to launch and brand a product

In breaking into the market and claiming its share of the pie, whether it is about launching a new product or service, among the numerous steps entrepreneurs face is one demanding yet indispensable task: successful branding. Younger generations of entrepreneurs, understanding the openness of the market, aim high from the early stages of their business, targeting the global arena, but the more experienced know that the domestic market can be equally challenging for the placement of a new brand. But where to even start? How (and to whom) to place a new brand without failing after one season?

In an age of rapid information dissemination, which marketing tools to use, and what to avoid? A good business idea and a quality product or service are no longer sufficient for survival in the market – to affirm a new brand, it is necessary to tell potential customers and clients the entire story, precisely the one they want to hear. Furthermore, although entrepreneurs today have all possible tools and resources at their disposal for launching a brand, the fact that it is crucial to manage those resources appropriately makes the market competition for companies of all sizes more intense than ever.

Fortunately, entrepreneurs do not have to go through this entire process alone. Marketing and branding experts are there to lend a hand, which is why Donatella Pauković has outlined the necessary steps for creating and affirming a new brand, as well as common mistakes to keep in mind.

Additionally, the budget of the Republic of Croatia for 2024 is planned with three percent higher revenues and 11.2 percent higher expenditures. The budget deficit is expected to be 1.9 percent of GDP. Particularly noticeable is the projected wage mass, which is 32 percent higher than in 2023. How much will the rights that will be approved this year regarding salaries in the public and state sectors burden budgets in the coming years? This was the question with which editor-in-chief Miodrag Šajatović began the interview with Finance Minister Marko Primorac, which we present in the new issue.

They say we live in a century with the least wars. But just when we calculated and concluded that, wars ignite contagiously like beacons in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. And while the Middle Eastern conflict seems (politically) further away, the EU has deeply engaged in war with Russia (the fact that Russia is practically part of the Middle Eastern war, consequently also the EU, is another story). About a year ago, NATO gathered European defense ministers in Stockholm to agree on the scope of military aid to Ukraine. It was agreed then that fresh money would be made available to Kyiv (rumor has it that a ‘trifle’ of around 10 billion euros ended up in war profiteers’ pockets, but that is not something to be publicly discussed, and it is not the topic anyway) and ammunition would be delivered.

According to some estimates, Europe was then producing around 300,000 155-millimeter artillery shells per year, which the Ukrainian army consumed in three months. To meet demand, replenish its own stocks, and prepare for a long and extensive war against Russia, the European Union began organizing a war economy despite the fact that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius vehemently opposed it, stating that he ‘definitely does not accept the concept of a war economy because the EU and Germany are not at war, and a war economy would imply subordinating everything to the production of weapons and ammunition’. All about the war economy is written by Gordana Gelenčer.

In the new issue read also the corporate story about Petrokemija, what funds from the NPOO are spent on in tourism, and we bring you a conversation about toxic corporate culture. Along with all this, there is also a feature on Waste Management.