Something new in the east
Through a cross-media campaign, Goldbach Media is giving the Croatian people a voice and boosting sales of the daily newspaper Jutarnji list. The campaign is making waves across the country and is a major success in terms of PR—and democracy.
We listen to you," promises the Zagreb-based, nationally published daily newspaper Jutarnji list (German: Morgenblatt) to its readers. This is something completely new for Croats. The concerns of the people have never been particularly relevant in this communist country. Until now. However, nobody had thought of a milestone for democracy when the Croatian media company Europress Holding (EPH) commissioned a sensational cross-media campaign for its largest daily newspaper Jutarnji list from the Goldbach Media Group in spring 2009. EPH wanted a cross-media campaign from a single source that would touch people in Croatia and mobilize readers. It was to be placed in print media, on television, on the Internet and on the mobile channel and include editorial articles, above- and below-the-line advertising, outdoor campaigns and events.
Project manager Stefan Halter, Head of Crossmedia at Goldbach Media Group, focused on two key questions when developing the campaign: What are the needs of the Croatian population? And: What is the role of a newspaper in a country like Croatia? Only if people see a newspaper as their mouthpiece will they identify with it and remain loyal readers. These considerations gave rise to the "MoyaHrvatska - My Croatia" campaign. It enables all residents of the country to make suggestions for improving their living conditions in front of the camera and thus stand up for a more liveable Croatia. And all under the label of Jutarnji list.
Hope for a better life
In order to encourage as many people as possible to get involved, EPH promised to disseminate relevant proposals to the public and to campaign vehemently for their realization - a novelty, not only in the Croatian media landscape. The close cooperation between the advertising department and editors is also new. "In most cases, the goals of the promotion department do not coincide with those of the editorial team," says Halter. "Instead of working together, they often argue about whose interests are more important. With this interdisciplinary project, however, everyone is pulling in the same direction."
The campaign runs in several phases: In October, Jutarnji list reported in its print and online editions about a casting in Zagreb, which was about suggestions for improving the country. Although the background to the casting is secret, anyone living in Croatia can take part. This arouses curiosity: the newspaper's phones are already ringing off the hook in the morning, with hundreds of people applying to take part. "We had to change the rented casting location because it was far too small," says Halter. "And the very next day, we couldn't accept any more participants." Well-known personalities from the country, such as basketball superstar Vlado Sola, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire presenter Tarik Filopovic and Croatia's head of government Jadranka Kosor, also register for the casting. She appears at the audition surrounded by security guards. "The editorial team and management of Jutarnji list were initially unsure whether they should use the country's political leader for the campaign," reports Halter. "But then they realized that nothing better could have happened." Rumors about the casting spread like wildfire, with rival newspaper Vecernji list (German: Abendblatt) completely in the dark and fueling speculation.
Finally having your say
During the casting, 300 people are selected to be photographed and filmed by the My Croatia team in a large Zagreb cinema the following Saturday. The speakers stand in front of a waving Croatian flag as they make their statements and succinctly summarize in one sentence what needs to change in Croatia: "We need a better healthcare system", "More women in business", "The 2026 FIFA World Cup in Croatia" or "Stop firing teachers - we need education". The recording of all the statements takes a total of twelve hours. The next day, Jutarnji list reports on the filming on a double page in its high-reach Sunday edition and reveals the idea behind the campaign.
One day later, Stefan Halter and Jutarnji list select twelve participants from the casting. They are the testimonials for the TV commercials, which are broadcast nationwide in prime time on the country's biggest TV stations RTL and Nova just under a week later. At the same time, Jutarnji list begins with articles on all facets of the campaign, with coverage running for several weeks. The advertising campaign will run in parallel on television and in newspapers: advertisements will be placed in EPH's entire print portfolio to draw attention to "MoyaHrvatska - My Croatia". The advertisements are flanked by editorial articles. In one issue, Jutarnji list also announces that it will broadcast the TV commercial with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor in the evening during prime time. In this spot, Kosor calls for people to listen carefully to what they have to say and praises the campaign.
Achieving a lot with the masses
A few days later, Jutarnji list reports on the contributions to the discussion on Mojahrvatska.jutarnji.hrThe website set up especially for the campaign. There, interested parties can watch the TV spots, read all the statements, create rankings and vote on the wishes of their fellow citizens. In addition, those who did not have the opportunity to comment on the state of the country during the casting can make their demands and suggestions for Croatia on the website. "These opportunities are being actively used," says Halter. "The website has had 100,000 visits between October and today, and users have formulated around 500 suggestions." But isn't something else missing? Exactly: the cross-media package now also includes social media. Of course, "MoyaHrvatska - My Croatia" has a Facebook page and also participates in Twitter twittering via @Jutarnji. There are currently around 15,600 fans on the Facebook page and the newspaper's Twitter account has over 2,000 followers.
The next step in the project at the beginning of 2010 will be to select the ten most relevant demands from the population from all the proposals submitted. "People will be able to vote electronically on which ten ideas are the most important and urgent for them," says Halter. The package of wishes will later be processed in the Jutarnji list. It will also be passed on to the Croatian government with a request to take the concerns into account and implement the proposals. Jutarnji list and Goldbach have not decided in advance how long this phase will last. "As with all other phases, we will make it dependent on how the Croats react and participate, as well as on what opportunities we see for journalistic coverage of the events," says Halter. It will be interesting to see what the tabloid will actually achieve in the country. The campaign has already achieved two things: it has shaken up the Croats and given them hope that they can improve their living conditions through their own efforts. And Jutarnji list is on everyone's lips.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm
Online
The TV spots and background reports on the campaign on YouTube: www.youtube.com, keyword "Jutarnji list"
The campaign on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mojahrvatska?v=wall
Project manager Stefan Halter, Head of Crossmedia at Goldbach Media Group, focused on two key questions when developing the campaign: What are the needs of the Croatian population? And: What is the role of a newspaper in a country like Croatia? Only if people see a newspaper as their mouthpiece will they identify with it and remain loyal readers. These considerations gave rise to the "MoyaHrvatska - My Croatia" campaign. It enables all residents of the country to make suggestions for improving their living conditions in front of the camera and thus stand up for a more liveable Croatia. And all under the label of Jutarnji list.
Hope for a better life
In order to encourage as many people as possible to get involved, EPH promised to disseminate relevant proposals to the public and to campaign vehemently for their realization - a novelty, not only in the Croatian media landscape. The close cooperation between the advertising department and editors is also new. "In most cases, the goals of the promotion department do not coincide with those of the editorial team," says Halter. "Instead of working together, they often argue about whose interests are more important. With this interdisciplinary project, however, everyone is pulling in the same direction."
The campaign runs in several phases: In October, Jutarnji list reported in its print and online editions about a casting in Zagreb, which was about suggestions for improving the country. Although the background to the casting is secret, anyone living in Croatia can take part. This arouses curiosity: the newspaper's phones are already ringing off the hook in the morning, with hundreds of people applying to take part. "We had to change the rented casting location because it was far too small," says Halter. "And the very next day, we couldn't accept any more participants." Well-known personalities from the country, such as basketball superstar Vlado Sola, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire presenter Tarik Filopovic and Croatia's head of government Jadranka Kosor, also register for the casting. She appears at the audition surrounded by security guards. "The editorial team and management of Jutarnji list were initially unsure whether they should use the country's political leader for the campaign," reports Halter. "But then they realized that nothing better could have happened." Rumors about the casting spread like wildfire, with rival newspaper Vecernji list (German: Abendblatt) completely in the dark and fueling speculation.
Finally having your say
During the casting, 300 people are selected to be photographed and filmed by the My Croatia team in a large Zagreb cinema the following Saturday. The speakers stand in front of a waving Croatian flag as they make their statements and succinctly summarize in one sentence what needs to change in Croatia: "We need a better healthcare system", "More women in business", "The 2026 FIFA World Cup in Croatia" or "Stop firing teachers - we need education". The recording of all the statements takes a total of twelve hours. The next day, Jutarnji list reports on the filming on a double page in its high-reach Sunday edition and reveals the idea behind the campaign.
One day later, Stefan Halter and Jutarnji list select twelve participants from the casting. They are the testimonials for the TV commercials, which are broadcast nationwide in prime time on the country's biggest TV stations RTL and Nova just under a week later. At the same time, Jutarnji list begins with articles on all facets of the campaign, with coverage running for several weeks. The advertising campaign will run in parallel on television and in newspapers: advertisements will be placed in EPH's entire print portfolio to draw attention to "MoyaHrvatska - My Croatia". The advertisements are flanked by editorial articles. In one issue, Jutarnji list also announces that it will broadcast the TV commercial with Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor in the evening during prime time. In this spot, Kosor calls for people to listen carefully to what they have to say and praises the campaign.
Achieving a lot with the masses
A few days later, Jutarnji list reports on the contributions to the discussion on Mojahrvatska.jutarnji.hrThe website set up especially for the campaign. There, interested parties can watch the TV spots, read all the statements, create rankings and vote on the wishes of their fellow citizens. In addition, those who did not have the opportunity to comment on the state of the country during the casting can make their demands and suggestions for Croatia on the website. "These opportunities are being actively used," says Halter. "The website has had 100,000 visits between October and today, and users have formulated around 500 suggestions." But isn't something else missing? Exactly: the cross-media package now also includes social media. Of course, "MoyaHrvatska - My Croatia" has a Facebook page and also participates in Twitter twittering via @Jutarnji. There are currently around 15,600 fans on the Facebook page and the newspaper's Twitter account has over 2,000 followers.
The next step in the project at the beginning of 2010 will be to select the ten most relevant demands from the population from all the proposals submitted. "People will be able to vote electronically on which ten ideas are the most important and urgent for them," says Halter. The package of wishes will later be processed in the Jutarnji list. It will also be passed on to the Croatian government with a request to take the concerns into account and implement the proposals. Jutarnji list and Goldbach have not decided in advance how long this phase will last. "As with all other phases, we will make it dependent on how the Croats react and participate, as well as on what opportunities we see for journalistic coverage of the events," says Halter. It will be interesting to see what the tabloid will actually achieve in the country. The campaign has already achieved two things: it has shaken up the Croats and given them hope that they can improve their living conditions through their own efforts. And Jutarnji list is on everyone's lips.
Anne-Friederike Wilhelm
Online
The TV spots and background reports on the campaign on YouTube: www.youtube.com, keyword "Jutarnji list"
The campaign on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mojahrvatska?v=wall
Eastern expansion at Goldbach Media
The Küsnacht-based media company Goldbach Media has been strengthening its commitment in Eastern Europe for some time now: in March 2008, the company took over online marketers in Slovenia and Croatia, and in December 2008 Goldbach acquired a majority stake in Falk Interactive LLC in St. Petersburg, Russia. The integrated cross-media campaign for Jutarnji list is a further move in the context of this eastward expansion.
The Küsnacht-based media company Goldbach Media has been strengthening its commitment in Eastern Europe for some time now: in March 2008, the company took over online marketers in Slovenia and Croatia, and in December 2008 Goldbach acquired a majority stake in Falk Interactive LLC in St. Petersburg, Russia. The integrated cross-media campaign for Jutarnji list is a further move in the context of this eastward expansion.
