HOW WE SURVIVED 2021 WEEKEND MEDIA FESTIVAL

If we had to list one event that was a must show this summer, it would be the Weekend Media Festival in Rovinj.

As the year 2020. decided not to attend this strongest festival in the region, we arranged business and private meetings with colleagues and friends weeks before, hoping to be able to meet them given the always rich and interesting festival program. If nothing else, we have learned to use alternative business solutions in these challenging times.

We took a good rest beforehand, because we know how challenging and fun the day and night pace is – the hosts raise it to a higher level every year.

And they didn’t let us down!

Since it has been, fore a decade now, one of the strongest festivals of its kind in the region, every year it delivers top and increasingly relevant experts from the world of media, marketing, communications, technological innovations and trends. A three-day all-day program that takes place within the complex of the Tobacco Factory in Rovinj, Croatia, goes on at 5 locations simultaneously. There are so many options, that it was often difficult for us to decide which lecture, panel or presentation to go to without missing anything. (When it comes to new trends, we have fully experienced the FOMO!)

So many topics were covered. There was something for everyone: from IT, AI, gaming, cooking, influencer culture, storytelling, TV and the film industry, podcasts … and even if you didn’t know what it was all about, you had to be inspired. Networking took place spontaneously: it was difficult not to meet someone you know before the next lecture and not to stop and exchange impressions about new informations of theory and practice. The coffee breaks were productive too!

Tik Tok, don’t stop!

We started the Weekend with a lecture that seemed like an easy introduction, but ended with unquestionable respect for the new generations of influential businessmen. Namely, it would never occur to us to assume what the possibilities of Tik Tok are and how we can easily (although systematically) use this application to promote a brand or a service.

Dario Marčac, a young entrepreneur and TikToker, reassured us with the argument that Tik Tok is the fastest growing social network in the world, and that it is increasingly used for marketing purposes. Through a very solid knowhow case study he presented (serious) brands that decided to take this step, that you would never connect to this social network. Their results are enviable, and we wondered: are we getting old or are the trends changing so fast that today you inevitably have to be both fast and brave at the same time?

We dare you to follow Dario and learn a lot from him!

Addiction

German psychiatrist, psychologist and neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer spoke very systematically about the (bad) effects of our gadgets in his lecture “The Epidemic of Smartphones: A Threat to Health, Education and Society”. Aware of everything, and yet in complete deliberate delusion, we nodded: there was talk of the negative effects on health, development, communication (!), learning, and thus the future of society in general. What an irony! He presented his research results that show how learning from a book is more productive than learning with the help of a computer, how available technologies interfere with concentration and reduce the effective time of information acquisition. Children are mentioned as the most vulnerable group. But, as Marshall Mcluhan would say “… every extension, be it skin, arms or legs, affects the social structure.” So after the lecture, as “adults” and thinking about it, we immediately reached for – our mobile phone.

How to create (wonders) in difficult times?

Award-winning American CBS sports content producer Pete Radovich amazed us by moderating “Sport – The Best Reality TV in the World”. This is not the first time he has participated in the Weekend, every year his lectures are more and more vivid and motivating.

He talked to his interesting guests about football, fans and, from his own experience, recent marketing solutions, that touch people with emotional messages and concepts. He shared with us some of his exclusive promotional sports video campaigns created during the pandemic – this expert of Croatian origin reminded us how it is indeed possible to create even in impossible conditions!

Check out his recent work “Stand By Me” SBLV Tease.

And now a little about the audio sphere…

 “Why did the podcast become so sexy?” was the name of this charming panel about and by the most listened-to podcasters in the region. How to run it, what to talk about, what not to talk about and whether a podcast can be monetized, were just some of the topics.

This otherwise casual format, with sometimes not-so-casual themes, is becoming increasingly appealing to those who may be saturated with the visual or simply use the time to learn and have fun while doing something else. The more we listened (!), it was clear that this was an neglected medium whose numerous possibilities set new criteria in communication. Although it functions as a private platform broadcast from a small room, the podcast is becoming very important for vox populi, cultural and political topics and targeted marketing. They convinced us that it is very sexy, although we knew nothing about it.

Week End

And finally, the proof of how eager we are to communicate was the traditional “Panel about nothing”. I almost don’t know what to write about it, but I have to mention it! I challenge you to imagine the topic and the course of the discussion yourself, because that’s what it looked like: a relaxed conversation without moderation, topics that fly, as well as our time in Rovinj.

We have listed only a few reviews, listing them all would require a longer post, but summaries, as well as additional content, can be found on the official website of the Weekend Media Festival.

Although the pandemic has reduced the possibilities of communication, the intensity and the creativity of the performance leveled up! Everyone seemed so vivid, there was a lot of laughter, even on serious topics. Hoping that next year will bring us the “creative normal”, we are looking forward to new business collaborations and projects, as well as the results that we will present to colleagues and friends at the same event in 2022!

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