Days of Communication 2024

When you say Rovinj to experts in the field of media and communications, with an inevitable smile on their face and the thought of the blue sea, sun, narrow cobblestone streets, and a refreshing drink in hand, surely our association with this hospitable city will also include regional gatherings of colleagues at conferences where we can first hear all the latest news from our industry.

That was the case in mid-April when we set off from Belgrade to the magical Istria and Rovinj for the Days of Communication festival, which breaks records and exceeds all our expectations every year, both in terms of organization and top-notch production, as well as in the selection of topics and speakers.

People

Ida Prester ruled the stage at the prestigious awards ceremony, once again confirming her excellent skills as a host, just like the regionally renowned journalist and author Galeb Nikačević and the charismatic host and singer Mirela Lela Laković – a brilliant hosting duo who guided us through panels, presentations, and lectures during the three days of the conference. But if you ask me personally, the main star was Antonija Mandić, who commanded the stage with incredible professionalism, knowledge, and a sense of humor.

As for the speakers, the most powerful impression on all attendees was made by the masterful Dan Ariely. We had previously searched for the works and words of the scientist at Duke University online, and in Rovinj, we heard firsthand from one of the leading experts in the field of behavioral economics, a triple best-selling author, and one of the most prominent TED speakers. His inspiring lecture can best be summarized by a sentence that is completely in line with the way our agency works and the team of great people I work with, which is: “Everything we do for our company, we actually do for the people we work with.”

Memory Research

The tenth anniversary of the “Days of Communication” in Rovinj was also marked by Moran Cerf, a world-renowned and recognized neuroscientist, and Marnick Vandebroek, an award-winning master of public speaking and storytelling. Cerf spoke about the unconscious and, as he put it, key consumer behavioral processes, revealing that science (and thus communication) in the next decade will focus on memory research and dream management. Vandebroek strongly emphasized the thesis “Stand Up to Stand Out,” confirming that it is much more important how we “pitch” a great idea and that we always do it in accordance with our own temperament, attitudes, values, and truths.

Language of Emotions

Reading about trends in communications, I often came across this one – THE POWER OF EMPATHY. Western experts believe that the public relations and communications industry in 2024 will be guided by empathy as the central principle of successful strategies. This was confirmed to us in Rovinj by Eugene Cheong, one of the pioneers of the Asian Creative Revolution and a big shot at Ogilvy: “Our job is to convey emotion, not just present facts. To communicate with human beings, we must master the language of emotions.”

Panels

I particularly enjoyed following the panel of members of the Woman.Comm club (of which I proudly belong) – Marine Bolanče, Ivone Jurilj, Manuele Šole, and Irene Miličević Vukoje about the readiness of the communication industry and all of us as individuals to face a series of obstacles, which unfortunately still exist, for women in our industry.

“The Business of Ideas” was an equally inspiring panel that shed light on one of the biggest challenges in our industry – how to convince clients to accept innovative and creative ideas, and how to show (and prove) to them that success comes only when we, the client, and the agency, collaborate, understand each other, and trust each other. Equally important are the collaborations within teams, especially between creatives and account managers, as our dear colleagues brilliantly emphasized because “an idea is 0 if you don’t sell it.” The veterans of the agency world – Zvezdana Žujo, Lazar Sakan, Nikola Žinić, Dušan Drakalski, Maro Pitarević, and Janez Rakušček – shared excellent advice and experiences with us.

The awards ceremonies for the best achievements, although exhausting at times (there were an incredible 518 projects submitted!), were a valuable experience. It was the best insight into what colleagues in the region are doing, what ideas colleagues from the region have the courage to propose, and companies have the courage to approve, implement, and announce to the world. Some projects made us happy, some made us think, some completely thrilled us. Thank you all for inspiring us in Rovinj to think outside the box, be more creative, and perhaps a little bolder.

After 163 speakers and performers, more than 70 program contents at 7 festival locations, inspiring and unexpected lectures at midnight and on the beach, I simply can’t help but wonder – what could the organizers of the Days of Communication 2025 surprise us with?

But I am sure they will, and I can’t wait to witness and participate in that new, creative “chaos” in Rovinj.