2.7 million people use the internet in Croatia,
1.4 million Facebook users in Croatia,
over 7 million Facebook accounts in the region….

All those who understand these figures have already jumped in and are swimming! As nobody is all-knowing and omniscient, not even the smart ones (particularly as regards a field in which nobody in their right mind can track the speed at which the changes are happening!), they have hired experts that they can learn from, set aside serious budgets and are now reaping the benefits. Check out some of those successful cases in practice.

For the past year Saša Škorić has been a digital manager at the Omnicom Media Group (OMG). Almost all of his prior jobs have been connected to the development of the internet businesses and new technologies’ market. Prior to his arrival in OMG, he worked on the online strategy development for the MTV in the former Yugoslavia region. He had also been Oglasnik Group’s online director for three years; however, his longest spell was as the head of Portali Group at Vipnet, where for five years he had worked on developing the company’s web portfolio. At the first edition of the IdejaX festival, he chaired over the jury that decided on the winners of Croatia’s first MIXX awards for the best digital campaigns and specific campaign elements.

In 2008 Anđela Buljan Šiber launched the development of the full service digital advertising agency within the McCann Erickson Group, under the name McCann Digipark. Nowadays, McCann Digipark is the leading and most awarded agency in its field of work. Before that, Anđela was at McCann Erickson, in charge of the strategy and business expansion – at the time when the company adopted the digital orientation. She received her B.A. in psychology and M.A. in consumer behavior. She continues to educate herself by studying behavioral patterns in the digital era.

Various national creativity-related festivals and evaluations have to cope with not only the ongoing crisis but also the “small amount” of national markets as well as all the restrictions that such a downside brings. At the same time, each of the countries in the region is specific, not only in the way it categorizes different works but also in the way they select the best works in each of the category. These specific characteristics will be presented through the works that have been awarded at the national festivals in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia. However, mutual differences are not the only thing shared by the said markets; even more interesting are the similarities connecting them. Are these similarities attractive enough and is it the right time for a regional creativity festival?