Marijana Kovačević: the advertising industry of Montenegro functions, in the framework of the given opportunities, in line with global standards. The given opportunities, above all, relate to the size of the market that can be a challenge. That exactly is our advantage.

Interviewed by: Ekrem Dupanović

At this year’s creativity in advertising event BalCannes, the advertising agency McCann Podgorica achieved its greatest success so far. The campaign for breast cancer prevention called “Do not be late” was included in the top 25 campaigns in the region.

BalCannes, advertising industry of Montenegro and the plans for the coming year were the topics of our conversation with Marijana Kovačević, Managing Director at McCann Podgorica.

You created one of the 25 best campaigns in the region. Did you expect this success at BalCannes?

To be completely honest, we were hoping for, but we did not expect this kind of recognition. We knew that we had a great campaign, but we were well aware of the strong competition. We are pleased that our work was recognized in the region, especially given the fact that we applied with one of our works for the first time and that we are the first agency in Montenegro whose campaign was selected among the top 25 regional campaigns. It is important that we included McCann Podgorica at the regional creative map and confirmed our quality and potential. This success is an incentive to be among the best next year as well.

How do you assess the advertising industry of Montenegro and the readiness of Montenegrin companies to accept advertising as a necessary activity in their business operations?

The advertising industry of Montenegro functions, in the framework of the given opportunities, in line with global standards. The given opportunities, above all, relate to the size of the market that can be a challenge. That exactly is our advantage. Montenegro is a small market and information about brands is shared among consumers easily and quickly. We can conclude that the market is increasingly developing and that there is a growing awareness of marketing and advertising. The result of such thinking is that companies increasingly view advertising as an investment, not an expense.

What are, in your opinion, the main competitive advantages of McCann Podgorica?

Above all, differentiation, quality of service and local, tailor made approach in line with the world standards of know-how. On the one hand, we are part of the worldwide network of McCann Worldgroup, which allows us to be among the first to have the ability to access their latest know-how standards. At the same time, we are part of one of the leading communication systems in Southeast Europe, McCann Grupa, which allows us to best respond to the high demands of customers who are increasingly viewing the region as a whole. In translation, we really do act locally, but think globally.

Are you currently working on a significant campaign?

To us, all the campaigns are equally important and we commit to every campaign with our maximum capacity. Our clients are among the global and regional leaders, so we are working on important projects all the time. The most current job now is a big campaign that celebrates the anniversary of Komercijalna Banka AD Budva, i.e. a celebration of twenty years of operations of the bank on the Montenegrin market.

We are in the period when business plans for the next year are prepared. What are your expectations?

Each year brings its own challenges. Global trends and economic parameters will affect the goals of clients locally. In our agency, as in previous years, we expect a good anticipation of the strategies through which we will continue the trend of positive results of our clients.