HRManjgura.hr – In a Year With Little to Hope for, They Grew 100%
Zagreb, 9.2.2021. – PR agencija Manjgura. Anamarija Hrvoić Đurić, Katarina Leko, Maja Pekeč. Photo: Luka Stanzl/PIXSELL
The PR agency Manjgura achieved record-breaking results with its abilities and skills in problem solving, which was their daily practice even before the COVID-19 crisis.
Even though the communication industry has also been hit by a crisis caused by the pandemic over the last year, it is no secret that the services of versed communications experts were in some segments more in demand than before.
One of the leading domestic PR agencies, Manjgura, ended 2020 with good results and revenue growth. The success in a year “that had no intention to succeed” is due to, they say in Manjgura – the expertise of the agency, known as a dynamic work environment, that surprised many with the variety of everyday challenges and necessary competencies.
As the director of Manjgura Katarina Leko points out, the world seemed to have stopped, but things still had to work – now in crisis conditions which, instead of occasional situations, grew into everyday business life.
“Looking for ways to continue our business as successfully as possible under the new circumstances, and with aggravated planning and challenges in everyday work processes, today everyone has to constantly communicate with the market and stakeholders.
For a year now, ways have been sought to remain present in the public space; to convey important and current messages to customers, partners, suppliers and investors; to encourage the public and help those in need, but also to reposition brands and address the market in the circumstances of the ‘new normal’.
With reinforcements in the senior team, organizational and managerial changes in the agency, we were able to respond to the increased demand for the services we provide, but also expand the offer of integrated services in communication management“, says Leko.
Crisis Communication as the Key Advantage
In previous years, Manjgura was mostly associated with political campaigns, but today most of the clientele comes from the health sector, tourism and advising strategic investors.
Even during the year in which Manjgura marked down record-breaking results, with 100% revenue growth, the turnover predominantly came from the private sector, and only about 10% of turnover was generated in the public sector.
As an agency specializing in crisis communication, Leko points out, Manjgura did not have to specifically adapt to the workmode of planning and operating from one day to the next, because the business of problem solving is part of regular activities for clients.
Executive Director Anamarija Hrvoić Đurić explains that some of the everyday tools, such as organizing events for the public and the media, have disappeared overnight, and achieving the set goals required creativity.
“For us, the organization of events in previous years was more an exception than a rule, so we largely continued our regular business, but also expanded the circle of clients who needed a different approach to communication”, says Anamarija.
She adds that other tools have been given priority, so the agency launched a number of thematic communities on Viber in order to put focus on accelerated communication and exchange of information with people in the field.
“From a number of local chat communities to the large project Total Croatia Travel Info, where we provided thousands of tourists with updated information every day, thanks to which they could come to Croatia undisturbed, our Viber chat bot was the first tourist chat bot in Croatia“, says Hrvoić Đurić. Part of the engagement is always focused on socially useful projects such as Croatia Against Cancer.
“With ‘Rakoborci’ patients’ associations, we conducted a campaign that resulted in the adoption of a long-term national strategy that should save tens of thousands of lives that are currently destined to be lost due to cancer”, explains Katarina Leko.
Senior consultant Maja Pekeč came to Manjgura with a 15 years of experience in the public sector, breaking the myth of the usual rule of agency people gaining experience in the agency, then transferring to the ranks of the client.
“If we follow pre-defined patterns and do not allow a departure from the usual, we cannot expect a different result“, says Pekeč.
“We are often unaware of this rule, both clients and agencies“, she continues. “Since I can look at the client-agency relationship from both perspectives, I know that we can offer clients solutions that are often, I would dare to say, pioneering because such an approach is exactly what I missed when I was a client”.
A Team That Understands and Keeps Pace
Although Manjgura’s team usually has about ten people, they are always looking for new colleagues. “Always, even when we don’t have an open position. You happen to recognize talent, a set of character and professional qualities, and see an opportunity to develop or launch a project or collaboration with that person that you have long desired”, Leko points out.
“We do not run away from the fact that we work a lot, but smartly and creatively. In small companies, every contribution is seen, and few omissions remain hidden, which is why the value system and responsibility towards work are especially important to us,” adds Leko.
“We work in almost every sector, so even though each of us is an expert with our own, specific ‘superpowers’“, she continues, “we can only demonstrate them with a team that we get along with and that keeps pace“.
The article was originally published in Poslovni dnevnik.
Tags: public relations, Manjgura, PR, PR agency, coronavirus, corona
