Milivoj Đorđić: "The future of agencies is in networking!"
Milivoj Đorđić, General Manager of the Adria region at smartpoint adria, recently spoke for Marketing mreža magazine about the agency's transformation and future. Smartpoint agency has been active in the Serbian market since 2010.
During the COVID-19 crisis, you successfully transitioned from primarily an event agency to a digital one. What did this transformation entail, and why did you decide to take this significant step?
The digital business at smartpoint has been steadily growing since 2016, when we acquired our first major clients and had the opportunity to showcase our capabilities in this area.
The COVID-19 crisis only accelerated this growth and prompted the agency to envision a broader perspective and future, especially after discussions with industry giants like Google and Meta. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the transformation required swift reactions, adaptation to new market models and conditions, the implementation of new processes within the agency, as well as the education of existing employees and the recruitment of new experts.
How did this transformation impact your employees? Did some decide to leave the agency, and how did you address this?
Given that, in addition to the event business, the BTL business (in-store promotions, brand promotions, etc.) was also under pressure, we provided colleagues from the BTL team with opportunities for additional education and transition to the digital team.
Within the digital team, we established a structure that prioritizes speed, reactivity, and adaptability to enable us to respond effectively to changes and client requests. The transition to a new business sphere necessitated additional education, training, and the recruitment of new staff.
What are the real costs of major business transformations for an agency? How much are the investments, and what are the benefits?
We made significant investments in building our teams in the previous period, not only in the digital team, which comprises the largest number of employees within the agency, but also in new teams such as strategy, creative, and content, which closely collaborate with the digital team.
Last year, we initiated a talent development program with one of our colleagues that yielded excellent results. This year, we plan to expand this program to several more colleagues. Agencies must invest in their people and have faith in the process. While this approach may not yield immediate results, it will inevitably build a robust team that delivers excellent outcomes over the long term.
Read the full interview in Marketing mreža magazine.