Alma Quattro’s three decades of successful operations are the result of following trends, dedication to clients and building a new communication channel, says CEO Sanja Pešić
In this year marking a significant jubilee, we spoke with Alma Quattro CEO Sanja Pešić about OOH media advertising, the past and future of billboards, the relationship between employees and the company, and between the company and its clients, as well as plans for further development.
It was back in 1994 that you installed the first backlit billboard in front of Belgrade’s Central Post Office. How would you summarise everything done by 2024, as the year marking your 30th anniversary?
— The best way to summarise the first 30 years is to reflect on all those clients who have advertised with us. Many clients remain in our network, which testifies to both our longevity and theirs.
The tens of thousands of advertising messages, business successes and campaign results that we have realised cannot be enumerated, but they certainly speak to our dedication to the business and to building a new communication channel that did not exist in our region 30 years ago. We have witnessed changes to governments, mayors, laws, regulations, taxes and rules, street protests, city and park renovations, the construction of new settlements, and yet the faces of our media have remained the same, with only the campaigns changing in large numbers.
We know our clients and they know us, and, most importantly, we have built a relationship of mutual trust
That first advertising panel still stands in front of the Central Post Office, only now it is technologically enhanced and is an electronic display. The essence remains the same, and that is to convey our clients’ messages about the products and services they advertise.
The Alma Quattro team has grown together with the agency and is responsible for all the successes of these 30 years?
— A successful team does not need changing. We know our clients and they know us, and, most importantly, we have built a relationship of mutual trust. The relationship between employees and the company, as well as between the company and its clients, should be fluid, like water, reaching everywhere and achieving everything. When we understand each other at the level of values, then our mutual cooperation is to the satisfaction of both parties. We have established with many clients the kind of cooperation that transcends strictly business relationships. This is one of the key elements of our work.
Like Switzerland’s APG SGA group, of which Alma Quattro is part, you do everything for the long term and with thoughtfulness. So, speaking of long-term goals, where do you see your agency in a few years?
— When looking to the future, we always ensure, on one hand, that all plans are long-term and that the development of the company, people and our network is sustainable, while on the other hand we focus on the present moment and the trends being dictated, as well as on staying relevant. We look to the future with optimism. The billboard has existed as such for over 150 years, and we have reason to believe it will always have its function and place in the advertising market. The growth of spending on OOH media in overall market consumption indicates that this medium has become more important than ever, and predictions and studies conducted 20 and 30 years ago have proven accurate— we spend a good part of our active lives outside our homes, moving along daily routes that always bring us into contact with billboards displaying our clients’ messages. The billboard remains a predominantly visually perceptive medium and is the right place for the creative advertising industry to showcase itself through clear and attractive messages. We follow all innovations and changes because we will be here in the future, which has already arrived.