Special edition newsletter
DIARY OF SUCCESS - People who drive the business world
Milena Avramović Bjelica and Tamara Bekčić, Chapter 4 - Relationships and successful communication are built on trust
Milena Avramović Bjelica and Tamara Bekčić (Photo: Nebojša Babić)
Even those who are not from the public relations field, if they ever had a need for PR consultations,
crisis communication, organization of events, CSR or social media campaigns, they must have heard of the Chapter 4 PR agency. They are holders of numerous awards in the field of communications, both domestic and foreign, for dozens of projects they designed and realized, and after 15 years of existence, they are our interlocutors in the eKapija special edition newsletter Diary of success for a reason. Could they have imagined such success when they founded the agency, what was the key success factor, how important communications are today and what are the greatest challenges in this field, Tamara Bekčić, general director and Milena Avramović-Bjelica, executive director - the founders of the Chapter 4 agency - spoke about for eKapija.
Tamara Bekčić: Yes, we have indeed designed and implemented dozens of successful projects in these 15 years, which have been awarded with the highest international, regional and domestic recognitions and awards. We were both in communications and agencies for a long time and it is only natural that, when we founded the agency, we hoped to work with clients and on projects that would be the best in the profession and that they will be awarded, but we could not have guessed that our Chapter 4 agency in Serbia would be declared agency of the year twice and once for the best PR network in the Central and Eastern European region. We also won the SABER Award in London,
and this and last year in Berlin we also won the European Excellence Award, the so-called European PR Oscar. We are proud of all the awards, and we are most proud of the Chapter 4 agency team and our clients. During the previous years, both of us received personal, international awards for our contribution to the PR profession. It`s the PRO PR Globe award, which is awarded under the auspices of the world`s largest professional organizations - PRCA, ICCO & IPRA and which represents a great honor, but also motivation for further success.
eKapija: What vision did you have when founding the agency and who were your role models?
Milena Avramović-Bjelica: We are part of the Chapter 4 group with headquarters in Vienna. Our Chapter 4 network operates all over Central and Eastern Europe and exchanges of knowledge and experiences with colleagues from our group are valuable to us, but also with colleagues from one of the world`s largest communication consulting agencies, Burson. Our vision has always been focused on commitment to companies and brands. We live in a world of daily changes. Through the services we developed, we try to help companies to overcome their communication challenges, to enable them to use innovative communication tools and to support their business growth. Of course, we can do all of this thanks to our employees, experts who have vast experience and knowledge in the fields from which our clients come. Severin Heinisch, our Austrian colleague, on whose initiative we founded the Chapter 4 network, has always been our role model in the professional and personal relationship with employees, clients, associates, and partners.
eKapija: What do you think has been the key success factor and how does Chapter 4 differ from the competition?
Tamara Bekčić: In its work, during the strategic planning of communication, counseling, or designing and implementing campaigns, Chapter 4 cultivates a tailor-made approach. It`s actually a personalized way of working, customized for each client individually, and which is based on their specific needs, plans and objectives. Strategic and creative consulting thus bears the stamp of the specificity of the client and the industry he comes from. Additionally, what makes a collaboration successful is a deep understanding of the client`s business and the team`s flexibility to respond quickly and efficiently.
(Photo: Chapter 4)
eKapija: How much have circumstances in the field of communications changed in the last 15 years? Is the awareness of the need for support in the field of communications greater than before?
Milena Avramović-Bjelica: The essence of good communication is in strategy and it is something that will never change. What changes are the tools and channels we use so that key messages reach the desired target audiences. It is true that due to the rapid development of technology, as well as the Internet and social networks, communication tools and channels have changed rapidly and that communications have become even more dynamic and important. It is certain that the awareness of the significance and importance of communications is at a much higher level today than it was 15 or 20 years ago. But there is also room to improve and clearly define communication in companies,
especially small and medium-sized, in order to be in line with the business goals.
eKapija: Different clients require different approaches. How well do you manage to adapt to them?
Tamara Bekčić: Through constant learning, by following the market, industry trends and everything that is important for the industry the clients come from. Knowing the needs and business goals of each client is essential and defining an adequate communication strategy which will help the business objectives to be understood by the target public they are intended for. And therefore, through good, planned communication, business objectives are achieved.
eKapija: The power of PR is also spoken about by Bill Gates` famous sentence about it, that, in case he had only 1 dollar left, he would invest that dollar in PR. Precisely because of this kind of public relations influence, have you ever had any situations in your professional experience, in which you have been approached for services by a client whose products or services conflict with your principles and maybe because of those reasons you refused to cooperate?
Milena Avramović-Bjelica: We did not have such a case, I think our professional orientation exclusively towards transparent and ethical business contributes to this. It happened that due to the volume of business with existing clients, we were unable to respond to a new tender, and that the deadlines for preparing and delivering the necessary offer were short.
eKapija: Often, large companies opt to have their own PR expert, but they still sometimes need additional services. What are the situations where an agency, such as Chapter 4, certainly exceeds the powers of one or a small number of PR people within the company?
Tamara Bekčić: The ideal situation is for companies to have their own in-house communications departments and hire an external PR agency. However, in practice, these situations are not common. Anyway, it is the agency that follows everything that happens not only in the industry the company comes from, but also observes the whole market and provides advice how to adapt the strategy to the changes that occur. When we talk about strategy, various campaigns, communication trainings, events, internal communication... I think that the knowledge, experience and insights that the teams in the agencies have are extremely important to the companies and that`s why we are proud of the long-term partnerships and understanding we have with our clients. In the management boards of some companies today there are people in charge of communications. In my opinion, this should be the practice of every company.
eKapija: Many in various industries state that the Covid 19 pandemic has been the most challenging period? Is it the same in the field of communications? Or maybe it`s this period today, when communication channels are increasingly diverse and their technologies change very quickly?
it was of crucial importance to inform the employees above all, and then ensure accurate, timely and transparent communication with all stakeholders. That period was probably the most demanding in our industry, because a lot of things depended on decisions at the state level and businesses had to adapt to the newly created situation. As I mentioned before, technology was there to accelerate and assist communicators, and that is the case even today and to an ever-increasing extent.
Tamara Bekčić: The biggest success is that we have a quality and stable team thanks to which we successfully advise clients who are with us for many years already and the trust we`ve been able to build with both clients and associates. I believe those are the two most important factors to work for 15 years in an extremely unstable and often unpredictable market like Serbia.
eKapija: For crisis communications, and sometimes for other areas of PR also, it would seem that there are no working hours. How do you manage to balance your private life with the needs and demands of your clients?
Milena Avramović-Bjelica:Honestly, it`s not easy, but since we established the agency, we have one principle that we try to adhere to, and that is to organize the work in such a way that it is finished during working hours. Of course, if there are some specific situations, as you mentioned, we are at the disposal of our clients 24/7. But actually most of the time there is no need for it and it is easier to reconcile business and family.
eKapija: When you founded the company, we`re assuming Chapter 4 had two employees? How big is your agency`s team today and how do you retain quality staff? Employee turnover is a particular problem in communications agencies.
Tamara Bekčić: When we founded the agency, we had three employees and all three of us are still in the agency. And then, over time, the scope of the business grew, so the team expanded as well. This kind of gradual growth is healthy and sustainable for us. We believe that we are one of the agencies on the market with the lowest turnover of people. Our team currently consists of 10 senior consultants who, with their knowledge and experience, can support all the activities of clients, and as I mentioned, the defined working hours, working conditions, respecting all the differences among us, respect for the opinion and commitment of each team member and the atmosphere that we as a team create every day make us feel good during working hours.
Milena Avramović-Bjelica: Our industry, as well as others, faces a serious challenge of talent
and how to find adequate staff who is ready to learn constantly, to develop, to know how to seize opportunities, markets stories, cultivates reputation, strengthens media ties and in general that wants and knows how to establish a lasting relationship with clients and different publics. Relationship is everything in PR, and it is built on trust. Anyone who wants to do PR has to think strategically, to be able to see the bigger picture, to know where to search for information, to be a team player, to pay attention to details. It is important to nurture your creativity, but also to be ready to constantly develop and watch senior colleagues, their accomplishments and yet to learn from their mistakes. It is equally important to work and behave according to ethical rules, to communicate clearly, truthfully and transparently.
eKapija: What are the future plans for Chapter 4 and where do you see your agency in the next 15 years?
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"DIARY OF SUCCESS - People who drive the business world"
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