Research of Macedonian brands' emotional value

Ranking of Macedonian brands according to their emotional value is the aim of the research within project "Brands4ever", carried out for the first time in Macedonia.

"The brand's value should be presented in public, leading to increase of awareness and improvement of its image and perception among consumers", said "Brands4ever" project manager Ana Kjovkarova at Tuesday's press conference.

According to her, the research project emerges at the Macedonian market in a time when domestic brands focus exclusively on the financial aspect, neglecting the power of their emotional value.

Project "Brands4ever" has acquired support from the Agency for Promotion of Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Macedonia, saying it would be beneficial for SMEs.

The research of the companies' emotional value should produce a numerical value for each brand in Macedonia.

Macedonia is a brand, its unique value needs to be defined, Laurencic tells MIA

Skopje, 8 April 2012 (MIA) - It could be said that Macedonia is a brand, however it needs to be completely defined in order to identify the country's uniqueness. The process of branding is long and it takes years, but the hardest part comes after you've created the brand i.e. to maintain it, to meet expectations, says the CEO and creative director of advertising agency "Idea Plus Communications", Ivo Laurencic in an interview with MIA.

Ivo Laurencic is the man responsible for laying the foundations of advertising in Macedonia in the early 1990s.

"Yes, it could be said that Macedonia is a brand, but it's not defined. What's the uniqueness in brand's communication - cultural heritage, food or maybe wine and we can also mention handball and basketball recently. What identifies Macedonia the best, what makes her special. The brand cannot be everything, it must be focused," says the advertising guru.

Laurencic - one of the pioneers of advertising not only in Macedonia, but also in the region and beyond, deems that a great progress has been made in Macedonia in the field of communications in general, not only in marketing and advertising, since its early days till now.

Macedonia, he says, stands side by side with neighbouring countries and others all around the world according the the quality and production of advertisements. There are excellent campaigns in the world, but there are also average and/or less than average campaigns. "The situation is the same in Macedonia."

"Let's not forget, Macedonia is a small market, global or regional campaigns are adapted quite often. This means that there is a limited space for creative and production achievements of our teams. And even in such circumstances, the results are great. Macedonia is not lagging behind neither in production nor in technical aspect. However, people must be trained, to be further educated. Success doesn't come on its own, he stresses.

Despite being an advertising mastermind, film lies in Laurencic's heart. Since he knows the cinematic expression in creating a successful ad i.e. an advertising campaign as an separate aesthetic form, it allows him to think in big pictures.

Earlier this year, he received a life achievement award by Buba Mara Radio on its 15th jubilee. "The award means a lot to me, because my work in this country was recognised, beyond my commercial works," he notes.

Asked about his future challenges, Laurencic says he would love to brand the Macedonian pepper or perhaps to pen a book titled Skopje Downtown... "Commitment to and persistence in what you do," he says when asked to reveal life's greatest wisdom.

Source: http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?mId=38&vId=92883860&lId=2&title=MACEDONIA+-+MISCELLANEOUS

EBRD supports modernisation of Macedonian branded food producer

The EBRD is continuing to support the development of the private sector in the Western Balkans with a €2.5 million loan to one of the leading branded food producers in Macedonia – Vitaminka, the EBRD's Resident Office in Skopje said on Wednesday.
Vitaminka is one of the largest agribusiness companies in Macedonia, producing a wide array of branded food products under its own name as well as for other private labels - chocolate confectionary, crisp snacks, powdered products and additives, ketchup, mayonnaise and soft cookies. The company exports over 40 per cent of its products, primarily to Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.
The proceeds of the EBRD loan will be used to finance the purchase of production and packaging equipment as well as for the implementation of modern energy efficiency measures at Vitaminka.
The project will enable Vitaminka to minimise operating costs and strengthen its competitiveness, as well as increase the production capacity for some of its most popular products.
"We are pleased to continue our cooperation with Vitaminka and to support the company’s development strategy and further growth. The new loan will help Vitaminka to increase the production volume of powdered drinks and crisp snacks, in order to meet the growing demand for these products and to improve its energy efficiency" said Elena Urumovska, Head of EBRD Skopje Resident Office.
"The EBRD financing will support our company’s development strategy for the coming years. Vitaminka’s objectives include expanding and modernising production capacities and product assortment, as well as raising energy efficiency standards in our company, improving productivity and working conditions in some of our production plants," said Simon Naumoski, President of the Management Board of Vitaminka.
In 2007 the EBRD provided a €4 million loan to Vitaminka to finance its investment programme that included procurement of the new production line for soft cookies and packaging equipment.
To date the EBRD has invested close to €950 million in the Macedonian economy through projects in the corporate, financial, infrastructure and energy sectors. The EBRD funds have attracted additional investments worth €1 billion from other sources.In the agribusiness sector alone, the EBRD has directly committed more than €7 billion in over 450 projects across central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States since 1991.