The operations of Abeceda Communications are grounded in experience, knowhow, strategic reflection, creativity, fostering relationships with clients and familiarity with tools and the market, but apart from all that, at this agency they also believe it is extremely important to be different and courageous
To ensure success, each Abeceda project is the result of deep analysis of the market, industry and competition, as well as previous activities. Only then do they begin creating a proposal, which usually also involves our interlocutor, Mrs Bolanča, because she thereby shows just how much she cares.
The communications industry has changed massively since Abeceda Communications was founded, yet you haven’t lost your passion and dedication to the job. Do you still approach every project with enthusiasm and a sense of joy?
— The only constant is change, said Petar Preradović long ago, and incredibly he was right. That which might be difficult for some is the most beautiful for me. There is no routine with this job. Every day is different; every project is some new story.
I find that dynamic wonderful. It will perhaps sound strange to some, but I am truly in love with my job. The possibility to create and bring about change drives me, and nothing is difficult for me when it comes to communication. And when I say nothing is difficult for me, I really mean it. And I genuinely don’t think love for one’s work is reserved exclusively for the creative industries… I think that love is a prerequisite for success. Growth and development only comes to something you love and to which you are truly dedicated.
You like to say that every client is your most beloved client. Do you really succeed in dedicating yourself to each of them completely; to serving their expectations and needs, and doing so on all three markets where you operate?
— Long ago, at some business coach workshop, my personality was described as ’caring’. It simply couldn’t happen that a friend of mine would tell me that she’s taking her son for some medical examination and that I wouldn’t send her a message on the morning of that appointment saying ’don’t worry, everything will be fine’. That’s just the way I am. I take the same approach to my work. I don’t have any special formula or advice for that. I just conduct myself in accordance with my values, and there the fact that I care prevails.
I’ve passed on my love for the job – that aspect of caring and leading clients in such a way as to ensure they can always depend on us – to my team
We have very low client attrition at the agency, under 10%. Last year’s NPS showed a score of 9.8, meaning we only have 0.2 left to fix. I’ve passed on my love for the job – that aspect of caring and leading clients in such a way as to ensure they can always depend on us – to my team, so we all function in the same way.
Could it be said that you are continuously pushing the boundaries and raising the bar?
— We are a strategically creative agency. Strategic because we are very well-acquainted with the functioning of business models. This is where we are given our greatest strength by the breadth of our clients, who hail from various industries, as well as the fact that they come from different markets. Creative because communication has to be innovative, interesting, offering some new direction in order to be appealing and accepted by the audience.
Today, when we have an entire array of different media, so that every person is their own media outlet with their social media profile; when everything has become so fast; when artificial intelligence “threatens” to take our jobs, right now is when the human factor and creativity are the most important. Machines have no empathy! That’s a quality reserved only for humans. It is from this starting principle that we create communication that is effective, attracts attention and yields results. And that is the very purpose of communication. I am extremely grateful to my clients, particularly when we first start working with them, for giving us the confidence to step outside the box and stride forward.