Nataša Šarčević is winner of the Mark Awards recognition in the CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER OF THE YEAR category. She tells Cord how much today’s marketing activities affect the company’s overall business results.
How would you describe the development of the marketing communications market in Serbia over the last year?
Communication has become dominantly two-way, because now consumers also have their own media through which they influence brands and the entire market. So communication is more intense, and every written or spoken word can affect the perception of the brand and must therefore be monitored 24/7.
How challenging is it today to manage the marketing communications of one of the largest companies in Serbia?
When there are no challenges, we marketers create them. It’s just so interesting to do this job, because that’s how we make it through small and big victories. Atlantic Stark has entered a cycle of large capital investments that will refresh and improve the portfolio of all product categories in the coming period. That’s why we have no shortage of challenges, and it’s a privilege to be a member of a team that plays such an important role for the future of Stark’s brands.
How would you describe the REMARKABLE brand today?
Remarkable is a brand that generates such strong emotions in consumers that it is difficult to replace it with any other similar product or service. The technical condition of exceptionality is to be unique in an area, and the task of good communication is to turn this uniqueness into something special and inspire commitment. When we have all that, we can expect business success. But today’s success is short-lived. For it to last, the brand must constantly research and work on itself, it must change and find a new way to complete the lives of its consumers. Štark’s brands, Smoki and Bananica, are the best proof that excellence is attainable, but also that it can be long-lasting.
To what extent do marketing activities today affect the company’s overall business results?
The condition for good business results is a strategy based on an in-depth analysis of market, trends and consumers, for which the marketing department is responsible. What distinguishes companies today in making strategic decisions is the way in which available information is used and transmitted to the internal and external public, and successful companies have found the right way for this.
If marketing is the helm of the company, why is it that when a crisis occurs, marketing budgets are cut first?
If marketing is the helmsman, then he will willingly cut the marketing budget because he has predicted waves too strong for his boat or the team he is leading. It is important to survive and wait for the right moment.
In a sea of similar campaigns and information, how to tell a different story and remain true to the brand?
I don’t think it’s necessary to be different, it’s just very important to guess the right need and clearly point it out. People today have too many choices, it is difficult to judge which ones are right, some like to experiment, when the risk is small… However, everyone appreciates a safe choice, and there is only one snack with a unique taste that has not gone wrong for 50 years.
What does the Mark Awards recognition mean to you and how will it affect your future career?
The Mark Awards is the most important recognition in my career so far and gives me wind in my sails to continue even more impressively. This recognition also shows how great the team of marketers and engineers I lead is. I love them a lot because they teach me, supplement and inspire me how to develop Štark for the next 100.