After two years of close encounters with the violent part of our reality, we did not used to the cases of domestic violence. But, from this perspective, I would say that it left it to “lay overnight” and that at least what was written, finally, should flow, strip-naked.

The signing of the contract with the Council of Europe was preceded by an application on an open call, with the concept that we changed a few times, following the need of a campaign aimed to raise awareness about Free Legal Aid for women who are victims of gender-based violence.

Biljo, Majo, thanks!

There are several partners with whom we have realized this project.

Besides the Council of the EU and the European Union, which funded the project, the story included the SOS hotline Podgorica, the Women’s Rights Center, the Supreme Court, the Association of Judges of Montenegro and the former Ministry of Justice for Human and Minority Rights. However, we owe the greatest gratitude to Biljana Zeković and Maja Raičević, who mostly turned our meetings into useful webinars (lockdown, like many, forced us to communicate online), and which often ended with a lump in the throat.

The Fish on a dry land

The topic, although seemingly familiar to us, in reality, was completely uncharted territory. The lack of professional preparation for direct work with victims of violence has led us to work with women who are on the first lines of defense when violence occurs, which was the reason for this campaign.

The Seventh Circle of Hell preview

Dante says – the first Ring of the Seventh circle of hell is full of violent ones. And researches say – women are most often killed in their homes by the hands of current or former partners.

For better understanding, we joined available online support groups for victims of the violence. The patterns of behavior that we came up with when we were creating the persona, quickly began to emerge.

A lot of research on violence, manuals on free legal aid, and consultations with partners from the Judiciary to demystify the institute of free legal aid and the process that women go through when applying for FLA.

We have consulting women’s organizations until the last piece of the puzzle is fitted and until we have realized what are all the barriers in the minds and lives of women who do not report and those who report violence, to be in a position to be able to make a narrative with which to identify.

To identify – who?

Women. Those women who suffer or have suffered gender-based violence and who are in need of free legal aid. And the Public, because the goal was, in one way, or another, to draw attention to the problem. First of all, to open a conversation on a given topic.

“The results of the campaign are measured by the number of active cases only”

The statement of the Client on the day of signing the contract

Minor challenge: it is common, at least in our yard, that working with so many partners draws one crystal clear blocker – “political correctness”. It is unlikely that any agency is unfamiliar with the part of the brief that says: “we must be careful”. In contact with this, the brain of creatives automatically writes the footnote * invisible. It could be something with us. However, thanks to Aleksandar Trifunović for bringing me back to this exact moment in which we found ourselves during the making of the campaign.

Bild’s view on the world, as it always would be – we can hardly achieve results if we immerse ourselves in the usual and facade communications. In the way of that, they allowed us to, so to speak, play.

Despite the long list of partners, and appreciating the old saying 1200 heads – 100 minds”, we must say that we had great cooperation with the client, especially with the main team of the EU Council Office, Ivona, Marija and Evgenija. It is a team of women who have gathered partners like Maja and Bilja, with a decade-long background of commitment to this topic.

Working with people who care is the difference that counts.

Unbuttoning

We made several phases of the campaign to cover all the target groups we had in mind.

Focus groups and the research gave us an even closer insight into the amount of work that needs to be done on this topic and how much education is needed, especially for the young ones, who, unfortunately, were not the target group of this particular project. Clearly, that would require a new project and possibly a different approach.

The Strikers as the essence

If you have come to this point, it can be interesting to know that the whole campaign was lying ready in the drawer for over four months. Reason? Strike of the Lawyers. Which did not spare even the Free Legal Aid. It simply did not make sense to launch a campaign on a legal institute of which the defenders are an essential part. Among other things, one of the key reasons for not reporting violence is their material status – the victim’s economic dependence on the intimidator – which prevents them from hiring lawyers.

Literally, during the strike, women in need of FLA were left on their own. We have been told a few times in meetings with women’s organizations that a woman, alone in court has very little chance against the intimidators.

Bottom line – Free Legal Aid is intended as a form of support for victims of violence, regardless of the content of their wallets.

Women reporting

One of the first things presented to us by women’s organizations is that women actually report violence.

The figures show that the Montenegrin authorities in charge annually receive 2000 applications of this type. The problem is insufficient information about the existence of the FLA that the system offers to them.

The institutions themselves, through which victim goes for help, do not inform them that they can use that right.

Hence the slogan #tellthewholestory (#ispričajpričudokraja)

The slogan is equally aimed to institutions, as a reminder to tell their part and inform victims about the free legal aid service as much as to women who suffer and do not report violence. The rest of the narrative is aimed, of course, to all women who find themselves in such a situation.

What we enjoyed

After we caught the attention with the teaser and reached the initial base of followers, we moved, for us, on the most meaningful part. Throwing the bait, as the old Montenegrins say.

The Bag

We designed a special bread bag. Two, in fact. With unique slogans. And we were waiting. One came up in the light, and, in the end, stole the region’s attention too.

And then the thing that we were most busy with.

Informative and educational posts, which, to our great joy, have met with reactions that we really did not expect. To be clear, #ispricajpričudokraja is not a campaign that has a budget at the level of commercial brands, it is not a campaign that jumps out of the bag of chips, so it needed extra attention.

The million reach on Instagram was fine feedback for us, but not half as important as the fact that we had a great number of saved posts. We are talking about posts that deal with the busting of the myths grounded in society, that start a conversation on the topic of what violence is, what free legal aid is, what it is for, how to get it and etc. This gave us both the good taste and the information that the campaign is useful to the people.

On the day of the campaign launch, femicide happened

The beginning of the campaign could hardly have been worse – femicide happened on the same day. The end of that day was wrapped up by sharing the post of women’s organizations, which called for the protest. A painful question arose – to whom should they tell it? However, the Council of Europe was strict – we should all tell the whole story. The turning of the head was not an option.

Lump in the throat

The end of the campaign was marked by femicide. The new one.

The Results

Besides the Basic courts in Montenegro, which recorded almost double the number of requests for the FLA compared to the same period last year, NGOs that were the main partners in the project and to which we often referred victims recorded a serious increase in requests for free legal aid.

The campaign echoed regionally, and in Montenegro – the generated value of advertising of the campaign is over € 60,000, which exceeds the budget available to us for the whole campaign.

CIM Forum Kotor brought good news to us

Thanks to the devoted work and the sharp eye of the jury, we were awarded the following prizes in Kotor:

• The agency of the year
• Creativity
• Best planning & creative usage of media

A big thanks to the CIM forum team.

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The team that signs the creation of the campaign is basically small and made of only a few members, but the team that presented the campaign makes a long list of great people. Because, Bild is all like that – when there is something that benefits the community, a large number of people are mobilized, both from the organization and outside, and everyone says we are the cult, can you blame them, really?

But I still need to mention some of them here: Marko, Darman, Milivoje, Jovana, Stefan, Nina, Aleksandra, Iva.

Finally, huge love for the women who supported the initial teaser campaign that was created for opening the conversation on the topic. Thus, they showed that there is someone to tell the story.

The campaign Ispričaj Priču Do Kraja goes on.

If you really came that far, we have nothing to say, five stars for you. And tell the whole story till the end. Always.

#IspričajPričuDoKraja

Incentives came at the right time, because our company can benefit from them in 2021. when we intend to continue with our development and investments – says Tarik Zaimovic, co-founder and CEO of Bild Studio. He compliments the work, positive energy and hope that the Ministry of science infuses into the IT community as a whole.
Innovative services bills that Parliament of Montenegro adopted in July are a breath of fresh air, because they address incentives for research development, says Zaimovic. He is at the helm of Bild Studio which specializes in the fields of enterprise software solutions, design and branding and other services for 10 years now – intended to kickstart digital transformation and workload of their clients.

“If this bill that the Ministry proposes is implemented the right way, it will be the best help our IT industry has ever had, since I can remember. It’s comprehensive and offers IT companies the opportunity to grow, develop and innovate. Also, it gives a good initial position to the newcomers and it is crucial in their early phases”, says Zaimovic.

Bills for everyone

The best thing about the bill is that it’s not only for IT companies, but for those from other industries, as well. Zaimovic says that they can now create an added value with zero costs, with help from IT.

“This document gives them the opportunity to spare a portion of their income tax and invest in new technologies. And that’s how we create this big space for local investments by big corporations which in the end can result in a completely new ecosystem suitable for progressive development”.

Zaimovic emphasizes that entrepreneurs and all those who’d like to become one must seize an opportunity.

“The only thing that worries me is the state Montenegrin IT industry is in. It’s not developed properly. And if foreign competitors come and get the same chance – I’m afraid that this fragile structure will collapse.”
He says he understands that EU laws forbid protectionism and that Montenegro can’t adopt the bill that discriminates against anyone.

“But, I think it’s crucial to solve all the problems we have at the moment and we have to strengthen the market before opening it. Only that way can we eliminate possible fatal risks.”

Internal reform and education

Zaimovic says that the foreign companies are not developing our IT industry. On the contrary – they develop the IT industry in the countries of their origin.
“Main incomes and profits stay in their homeland, while on the other side they “take away” our best people we spent so many years on creating. High-quality staff is the key to developing any industry”, says Zaimovic.
Staff deficiency represents the biggest barrier at the moment. 
“As it shows, our education system is flawed. It’s outdated, it doesn’t follow supply and demand and it’s not capable to cover the basic requirements of the IT industry. By quantity, nor quality”. 

That makes the education and training of students companies’ problems to solve, because they have to do it by themselves.

“Like every other education, we talk about slow and extremely expensive processes. We can even talk about creating the unfair competition environment, which is not something we want to be part of. Especially since we operate with limited and valuable resources.”

He is optimistic, though, and believes that IT companies will come together and start joining forces. He sees it as a way to improve business, people and community altogether. 
Developed countries rely on advanced technology
History tells us that the most advanced civilizations were the ones who followed the progress of technology.

“The same stands today. I can say with certainty that there’s no developed country that doesn’t rely on technology in every aspect. Those things are interconnected. Tech will and does change, not only what we do, but who we are. I am sure it’s going to affect our identity, privacy, ownership, consumer habits, free time, our personal and professional development, how we meet new people and treat them.”

Unfortunately, in his opinion, people in Montenegro still don’t realize the potential of the IT industry.

“Here in Montenegro, we don’t have big export-oriented corporations that are competitive in the regional and global market. The biggest employer in the IT industry is the state and it’s hard to get those jobs, especially for small enterprises.”

Zaimovic says that the research and analysis show that Montenegro isn’t the first choice for investors and companies that look for outsourcing. 
“They are bypassing us because we have the least number of developers compared to the number of employees in the labour market. Also, we have the least number of IT companies in the region, especially if we talk about the percentages in the Eastern Europe. We still lack thorough and regular, strategic, research to paint the whole picture as it is.”

In addition to that, Zaimovic says that the region and Eastern Europe offer lots of big fairs, conferences, business incubators, co-working spaces, IT internships, competitions, organizations and associations that promote and develop their countries’ IT landscape.

“If we intend to advance at a high pace, I think the best way to do it is by implementing IT solutions into all industry sectors. For example: if we digitize public administration, we’d have centralised system with better information flow.”

And in his opinion, information is a key to developing anything. 

“That means we’d be finishing our daily tasks faster, companies would make more, public administration could be far more efficient. All of that combined, in the end, could affect our quality of life. And that’s just one example on how tech is important.”

Cash reserves key to overcoming the crisis

COVID-19 crisis is a challenge Bild Studio faces with no radical cuts in wages and workforce. Not a single person has been laid off.
“In the first four months of 2020. we hit records, never seen in the history of the company. But, since we mainly work with foreign partners we had problems, because they are very cautious and financially responsible. Some of them left us because the crisis affected their business greatly, some of the contracts are postponed.”

Luckily for Bild Studio, Zaimovic says that they have learned the lesson: a company must have cash reserves.

“It’s one of our priorities since day one and it helped us get through this. The most important thing is that we didn’t have to lay anyone off, nor did we lower the wages. But we have the reason to worry. We project that we could be back on track early 2021. and we are preparing for it.”

Zaimovic talks about four phases his company went through since the inception. 

“We’ve been building the company at first. Back then, we were into websites, graphic design and hosting for the domestic market. We had clients from all industries, state and NGOs. We even worked in the gambling industry.
Four years later, the second phase marked expansion to foreign markets when they got their first big client.
“During that period, we grew from 15 to 45 people and we’ve broadened our services to marketing, consulting, UX&UI. We went through many transformations during our growth phase, so after abandoning the full-service “BADGE” we decided to devote ourselves to specializing in enterprise software development and mobile apps. Our focus today is on creating a safe and healthy environment for our staff to grow and successfully do their job.”

90% of their services, Bild Studio provides to foreign markets, focused on Scandinavia, Benelux and USA.

“We employ 80 young people at the moment. All of them see the potential for personal and team growth in our team. Bild Studio has always been a good incubator for those who enter the IT industry or they want to perfect their skills. In our continuous internship programmes we managed to keep up with the pace and we are very proud that we still produce young IT professionals.”

Answering the question – how can new bills help their business processes, Zaimovic says that they are still not 100% sure, but that they have ideas on how to use the incentives.

Do you know the size of Montenegrin state budget? Do you know where the taxpayers money goes to and how it is distributed?

If your answer is no, than we have a contra-argument that’s only a few clicks away. Brand new, improved and updated portal called mojnovac.me contains all of the data that might interest you. It is the haven of monitoring all of the state’s spending, in detail, divided into municipalities and categories. Users are facing modern infographics, split by revenue and expenditure. 

It is all a part of the project “Promoting financial responsibility in Montenegro”, financed by United Kingdom embassy. Upgrade has been funded by the European union, our partners from Institut Alternativa were in charge of implementation and this is their take on the project:

“Our goal was to give users the opportunity to better understand state budget and to make all the information available in just one click. Budget visualisation enables simple check on how the state made money and how the money was spent, and it also shows how the institutions used it – during which program. You can access capital projects using interactive map of Montenegro, which contains all the data concerning every single one of them. “

Making the process of money distribution by state more transparent is where we come in, because it had to be digital. Development was coordinated by our team made of C# developers, designers and project managers. Project was initiated in 2016. And it’s been constantly upgraded since. Today, we have contemporary product, which is modern in terms of design and easy to use. One of the most complex elements that was integrated at the end was to update the content in terms of capital budget of municipalities and then split it to programs. Paving our way to the unique design we used: 

Server: Windows Server 2012

Web Server: IIS 8

Database: SQL Server 2014

Application structure: Client Server application RESTFull 

Backend: ASP .NET C#

Frontend: JavaScript, Angular.js framework, HTML/CSS, Kendo UI, Grunt

What seems as a simple task, in its form is very complex. Or, how we like to say – we had a ton of work. Infographics, interactive map, design, redesign, search option have been created so the user can get the information he needs – fast. It was Institut Alternativa who gathered the data from state institutions. Our job was to deal with it. Here’s the example of how tough it was: every single budget sheet contains 200+ pages and backup dates to nine years. Data entry had to be done by hand.

But, we made it. And anybody who wonders “Where’s the money”, can get the instant answer, to analyze and make comparisons. 
Even that is not all. Everything we’ve done so far is a part of the project which we are proud of, done in two cycles. There is more to come, more to improve and we are ready to use new modules and level up the game in terms of user experience.

On Tuesday, May 17th The Chamber of Commerce organized a lecture in Podgorica “Influencer in marketing”.

It might be hard to believe, but there are still some companies which rely on traditional marketing, a method that ceased to be successful a decade ago. With the introduction of new technologies, marketing is changing rapidly, presenting a new way of reaching customers.  

Progress in technology brought us a new way in which we interact and communicate with potential customers. The unique style of communication is more personal and results in innovative professions and jobs that will help a brand reach a more extensive customer base.  

It is no secret that nowadays, social media is an essential part of people’s everyday lives. Communication plays out through a variety of social media channels; we look for breaking news, brands and stores on our favourite social media platforms. Therefore, it is no wonder that influencers have a significant role in digital marketing since they have a tremendous impact on their followers base following, whether on the web or social media. 

Although they advertise, influencers also speak from experience. They tend to be the first ones to try a product or service, upon which they talk about it in a refreshingly honest way. And what is a better way to engage more people than to speak from experience? 

Research shows us that businesses or brands which rely on influencer marketing, gain impressive returns. 
Therefore, who’s to say we cannot speak of influencers as a completely new profession on the labour market.

So, what does it mean to be an Influencer in Montenegro?
Adriana Vešović- @zombijana known as Zombiana Bones through social media known as Zombiana Bones, had social platforms turn to her advantage as she made her portfolio through social networks. It is not only the work style her illustrations communicate to the audience, rather she tells us about herself and the way she thinks about the world. 

Nataša Gardašević – @njezvanova, Kana Tomašević – @kana_tomasevic, Milena Pajović – @milena_p_ and Kristina Mihailović  executive director of the Association Parents, all talked about the advantages and disadvantages of being an influencer in Montenegro and how many companies recognize the importance of this profession. It has become apparent today that consumers are looking for information online before they decide to buy a product. Due to this, advertising no longer comes down to a story about product characteristics. Instead, it is about customer satisfaction. That is why influencers and bloggers play a crucial role in this business since the recommendation of a particular brand is more effective than the advertisement itself.

Recently, it became evident that brands are rapidly learning about the advantages of cooperation with influencers. We cannot say we are not glad to have witnessed the shift. 

The most crucial tip we heard during the lecture went along these lines – if you want to be successful in this line of work, you need to love what you are doing, create a strategy for future cooperation and always share your private life with the online community. It appears that this is the only way you can engage with followers and gain their trust. 

When you receive your first business offer, make sure professionalism and dedication make a top priority on your to-do list. 

On Wednesday, May 9th, the IPC Technopolis, organized a conference “Go Digital” as part of the project “Female Youth 4 ICT”. One of the lecturers was Aleksandra Bošković, CEO of Bild Studio. The panel was also leaded by:  Nada Rakocevic (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Montenegro), Mirjana Begovic (Ministry of Public Administration of Montenegro), Sanja Simonović (M: tel) and doc. Dr. Ivana Ognjanović (UDG) and Nataša Mijatović who successfully lead the panel discussion. 
The purpose of this project is to educate and motivate young girls from Montenegro, Bosnia, and Hercegovina to start their career in the IT industry through the good practices and transferring of knowledge and skills from the European partners.

During the panel discussion, we addressed the fact that the times are changing and a lot of IT companies are taking further steps to organize internships and other forms of education that will attract more female employees and help them to find a job promptly. 

Special attention was paid to the opportunities women in the IT sector have for advancement in their careers since it is not unusual for women to find themselves in middle management positions, while the top management positions are still “reserved” for men.

We also talked about many benefits offered by the IT profession, such as remote work, international working experience without leaving the comfort of your own home, constant improvement and access to the global labour market. The basis of a successful career is learning, keeping up with trends and their successful implementation. Building a successful career takes time, effort, and patience. If you’re willing to sacrifice some free time, and you are eager to get out of your comfort zone, you will succeed.

Commitment, enthusiasm, lifelong-learning and hard work is the only way to get a good job and allow yourself to work anytime from anywhere.

It was challenging to make a decision since every team had terrific and innovative ideas, which are designed to help local communities. However, we needed to make a decision, and the prize was awarded to a team of girls that created an application for people with diabetes disease.  

IT Technopolis has provided valuable prizes,  not only for winners but for all other participants, which we believe, motivated all participants to not give up on great ideas, but to improve. And who knows, maybe in future some of those patents that stemmed from this project will change the world.  

We are delighted to have had the opportunity to share some truly inspiring stories and inspire women to switch their career and move into IT.

This type of conference is the ideal manner to inspire and encourage women who are uncertain of their careers, or they are willing to become a part of the IT profession.

Once again, we are grateful to IPC Tehnopolis for the opportunity to meet successful businesswomen and to discuss the importance of women and their contribution to the IT industry.

When one woman helps another, wonderful things follow.
Greetings from our team!

On Friday, 14th of December, we received the award “Care for Employees” for 2018 in the category of small enterprises. The award ceremony was organized by the Employers’ Union of Montenegro (UPCG) for examples of good practice in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (DOP).

We are delighted to be recognized as a company that values their employees and believes they are the core of its existence. We hope to meet the expectations of the community in the coming years.

Infofest, or Festival of Informational Technology Achievements, is a central ICT event of international character in the region. In addition to the discussion panels and presentations, the festival’s program includes thematic conferences, lectures, exhibitions, consultations, and seminars.

During the festival, representatives of Bild Studio participated in the panel “ICT Sector in Montenegro” organized by the Association for Information and Communication Technologies of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro. During the presentation block of the program, attended by Montenegrin IT companies, Boško Kartal, a business development associate, and I presented Bild Studio at its best. We had the opportunity to present to the audience the current and previously successfully realized projects, the awards we received, and what makes Bild Studio so unique. And if you are to take us on our word, and you should, the strength of Bild Studio is in its people.

In addition to the presentation program, we attended the panel themed “Inspiring Women in ICT”, within the Erasmus+ project “Support to Young Women from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro in Entrepreneurship, Employment, and Leadership in IT”. This project aims to educate and develop the entrepreneurial spirit of young girls from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, prompting them to bravely step out on and begin their career in the ICT sector through practice, informal education and transfer of knowledge and skills by the European partners.

During the panel, participants spoke about their experiences in the ICT sector and the reasons for choosing this career path. Among the participants were Aleksandra Bošković, executive director, and Amra Jukić back-end engineer, representatives of Bild Studio.

Events like Infofest are an opportunity to introduce to the general public the policy of our agency and to inspire colleagues from other companies, as well as the youth who is at the beginning of their careers. We will be pleased to support this and the similar events in the future.

On the World Tourism Day, the National Tourism Organization of Montenegro organized a lecture and workshop on the topic “Tourism and digital transformation”. Curious to see what this is about, Boško Kartal, a business development associate, and I went to a lecture and workshop that was hosted by Nicholas Hall, founder of Digital Tourism Think Tank (#DTTT), and one of the world’s leading experts in the tourismindustry.

During the lecture, we had the opportunity to hear how one of the tourism industry leaders sees the future of this industry, but also to pick up a few tips and complete the knowledge. It is indisputable that digital platforms are undermining the way tourism is taking place today. They affect the way destinations attract tourists, the way in which the product develops, collect data, access markets, and attract visitors.

So armed, and divided into groups, we participated in the workshop. After a brief presentation of the presentation, our group presented the advantages and authenticity of Montenegro as a tourist destination in front of the audience. We have come to use the natural beauty, the hospitality of the local population, its adventurous spirit and how to promote it.

We rejoice that thanks to the learned tricks of Nicholas Hall we will be able to improve the cooperation with our clients and partners.

Foto: Sergej Zabijako