Vesna has been an excellent player in the marketing field for years and is always ready for great challenges.
Interviewed by: Elma Zećo
Photos: Irfan Redžović
Her parents wanted her to become a doctor, but she enrolled in architecture and history of art. However, that is not the road she took to the end, rather becoming a respectable marketing expert.
“As by nature I’ve always been naughty and disobedient, I didn’t follow my parents’ advice, as they are of the opinion that doctors will always be respected and have a lot of work. Even today they don’t entirely understand what it is that I do, they just know that I ‘make advertisements’ (laughs). Even though architecture was my choice and love, a series of circumstances and unfortunate events interrupted that path. Marketing is a coincidence in my career that has had me waking up happily and rushing to work for 25 years”, says Vesna Beganović in the beginning of her interview for Furaj.ba.
Creative spirit
You have built one of the most well-known marketing agencies in B&H with your husband Berin Tuzlić. Which strategy did you use for Via Media to find its place on the market?
– We’re equally crazy individually, and together we are a combination of rational and creative, strong personalities, of positive and creative spirit. We really enjoy what we’ve built, not in position or status, but in results which are the fruits of our dedicated labor. For us, success is not a permanent category, we’re in a constant process of creation and searching for innovative and progressive ideas, which will help our team develop and the agency grow. Berin is a very creative person who inspires me and supports me, even when no one else understands why I’ve made some decision or why I’m choosing the challenging strategy. We don’t follow other tried-out models, we’re focused on what fulfills us, where we can constantly learn and develop. We choose clients who we can develop a strategic partnership with and who trust that we can achieve great results together. Via Media is oriented towards efficient creativity which gives results.
On May 1, Via Media celebrated its first anniversary of work in Dubai. What prompted you to take this step, and what did you gain from it?
– Now I can say with certainty that entering the UAE market was a good strategic decision. Our office in Dubai is inspirational and clients are happy to come to us, because apart from welcoming them to a modernly furnished interior, they can feel a different spirit and energy. Via Media Dubai is a UAE company, which has the opportunities of a dynamic, progressive market that stimulates development. Access to knowledge, clients and innovations enables us to always be at the source of new technological innovations, trends, as well as the best events that are in world focus. I recently participated at the Annual Investment Meeting 2018, the biggest investment forum, where we talked to investors about investing in B&H in the fields of tourism, IT and organic food production.
Road to success
Knowledge, consistency and innovation are important for success. Being aware of your own limitations, recognizing opportunities and selecting a quality team who you can share a vision with and accomplish the set goals with are also important factors for success.
How do you deal with the competition over there, and who are currently your biggest clients?
– In the UAE market, only the best and strongest players with the most innovative approach and great ideas are present. It’s a real playing field for our team, which constantly pushes and motivates you to be exceptional to even be able to grab a piece of the cake. We position ourselves with European know-how, rich experience as a “creativity technology behavior agency”. In a short period, we established cooperation with clients who value experience and knowledge, but where ideas and creativity come first. We partnered up with Dubai Lynx, the biggest festival of creativity in the Middle East, where we presented innovative methods of surveying in the domain of consumer psychology in making creative campaigns. By 2020, we expect to have a strong agency which can offer support and readily greet EXPO in 2020. In addition, we’re currently working on a few campaigns where I can single out Dubai Properties, Dubai London Clinic, AUSE, the biggest R&D project, and we recently started working with brands such as Juicy, Jana and Podravka, who are present in the GCC region where, I hope, they will build strong brands.
What is your greatest business goal in Dubai?
– To work on development project Dubai10X for 2030, and to be active members of the Smart Dubai project, to win awards in the UAE market, but also to bring investors who will invest in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Crisis situations
“A crisis is a passing period where ideas need to be found that can sustain and strengthen you. During the biggest crisis, our Branding Conference was born, which apart from regional, is starting to be of international character. You can see for yourselves on June 1.”
Do you miss anything from Sarajevo?
– Currently I spend one month in Dubai, and one month in Sarajevo. That’s how I want to live. I miss the Via Media team and the energy that we have in Sarajevo the most. Even though we communicate every day, physical presence is important when we’re celebrating our success. I’m aware that our team is ready for world „games“, so I’d just like to make that happen faster. Apart from the B&H team, I miss the cool morning air and the beautiful nature that we have.
Which business people are a must-follow on social media?
– In the United Arab Emirates, business communication is standard on communication channels such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Instagram. It’s not necessary to follow people who are globally famous, but people who are significant for our interests, who motivate us and can play an important role in our development. Today, I have the opportunity to communicate directly with the future heir in Dubai and some members of the royal family, and I made contact via social networks.
My life in Dubai
“I have a dynamic life, just the way it suits me. Openness and knowledge exchange are a normal business culture. Each day there are so many educational happenings, organized networking evens, as well as the opportunity to meet world experts, and presentations of amazing projects. A lot of foreigners live in this country, multiculturalism is a real treasure. When you’re at a meeting, there are people from all continents at one table. My role at Via Media Dubai is COH, i.e. Chief Officer of Happiness. I’m in charge of gathering people who think outside the box, who are inventive and innovative.
A strong and dedicated mother
You were born in Bihać. What was your childhood on the Una River like?
– Unreal, like a fairy tale, children don’t live like that anymore. Spending all day outsides, climbing trees, torn knees, mischief and children’s games, sledding until your clothes would freeze. A very important part of raising children in Bihać is the dedication to ecology. Children are taught from a small age to guard the Una River and they’re real „eco cops“. Bihać is a city which has a child „eco mayor“. Una is part of our identity, so I also grew up as a fighter for the protection of rivers and the environment.
What are the advantages of past times compared to today?
– I don’t live in the past and I don’t look back on times that have passed. I like to call myself a person from the future. I live by the rule: everything that happened half an hour ago is the past. We just have to learn from mistakes and help others not make them. People have to make an effort to learn, that’s how they can take the maximum for themselves in the time they live in and be able to make the future even better.
You have three children. Are you a strict parent?
– Yes, I admit it. While they were growing up I imposed rules: order, work and discipline. Apart from that, they had complete freedom of choice of interests, hobbies, surroundings. At 16, they started a life of independence, they had to take care of their own monthly budget that they have at their disposal. They spent a number of years abroad, on two continents. I made an effort so that everything they got, they had to deserve. They grew into satisfied, independent and stable people who chose completely different paths, but who understand each other well and support each other. Apart from them, we take care of another boy, who is now of legal age and we’re happy that we were motivators in his life so that he became a healthy individual.
What do you always want for them?
– To believe that everything is possible and to do what they love.
