There’s no better way to start the workweek than with good news and imagine the atmosphere that engulfed our agency when we received the best possible news!
Our Monday was marked by global recognition known as the “Oscar for PR” – we have won the prestigious IPRA Golden World Award for excellence in public relations in the NGO category for our conceived and executed PR strategy “Dr. Gabor Maté in the Balkans,” organized by the Novak Djokovic Foundation.
The International Public Relations Association (IPRA) has thus honored the outstanding work and contribution of our team in implementing effective communication efforts regarding collaboration with media across the Balkans, who recognized the importance of trauma, early childhood development, and mental health overall.
IPRA itself, with jury members composed of experienced and renowned PR professionals from around the world (Germany, UK, Croatia, Turkey, Philippines, Egypt, Bulgaria…), acknowledged the significance of topics such as trauma for the entire Balkan region, as well as the effort and knowledge demonstrated by our PR team.
The success of our PR strategy was marked by numerous media publications aimed at introducing the broader public to the work of Dr. Gabor Mate, as well as interviews conducted with both Dr. Gabor Mate and Jelena Djokovic, the Global Director of the Djokovic Foundation in leading regional media and public services. Their messages reached a wide audience across the Balkans, evidenced by over 600 media appearances in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and the rest of the region.
To sustain the project’s impact, we conceived and produced the podcast series “Conversations on Parenthood,” available on the Foundation’s YouTube channel for anyone interested in this important theme. The podcast features discussions on parenting challenges with Jelena Djokovic, Dr. Gabor Mate, and Smiljana Grujic, psychologist, psychotherapist, and program manager at the Novak Djokovic Foundation.
The campaign “Dr. Gabor Mate in the Balkans” spanned six months, during which we promoted through the media: seven exclusive premieres of the documentary “Wisdom of Trauma” in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis, Skopje, Podgorica, Sarajevo, and Ljubljana; seven expert panels, three lectures in Belgrade, Banja Luka, and Sarajevo, two full-day workshops in Belgrade and Ljubljana, and produced nine episodes of the podcast “Conversations on Parenthood,” which have garnered over 400,000 organic views.
And it wasn’t just Monday that was marked by our “golden medal” for effort and dedication; in the days, weeks, and months ahead, this recognition will continue to be our good news and reason to smile.
Winning the Golden IPRA Award is a testament to the quality of the Smart Vision PR team and our unwavering commitment to create positive impact through strategic communication. This prestigious accolade is an additional encouragement for us to strive to be even better, more creative, and bolder in our ideas.
