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Vladimir Kovac, manager of Webiz project – I never stop chasing my dreams
Source: eKapija
Tuesday, 06.06.2017.
15:57
Tuesday, 06.06.2017.
15:57
Comments
(Vladimir Kovac) Vladimir Kovac, founder and manager of the Webiz project, had a “plan to be a director” even as a child. He wants to visit New York, sports help him think more clearly and he says that “when you have a team which shares your dreams, the sky's the limit”.
The Webiz project has lasted for nearly six years, and today it encompasses the Webiz conference, which started it all, as well as Webiz education, a program meant for the business world, realized in Zrenjanin, Subotica and Zlatibor. We talked to Vladimir Kovac about how he found himself in the world of online communication, his Webiz experience, trends in digital marketing, but also what he does when he's not working, if he has time to travel, what he reads...
He was born in 1981 in Zrenjanin, where he finished his primary and secondary education.
– I had a great childhood, kind of typical for the 1980s. I used to play all day with my sister and the children from the street... A carefree time, which, I believe, we all miss today – our interviewee says, reminiscing about how he used to earn his pocket money as a boy by washing his neighbors' cars.
When it comes to education, he knew what he wanted quite early.
– When I was 13-14, I decided to enroll at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade. Economics attracted me as there were a few economists in the family, whose stories about their work I used to enjoy as a child. To be honest, I had a plan to be a director as a small child already.
He considers his freshman activities within the students' organization at the Faculty of Economics to be his first “serious job”.
– I believe that it is very important for young people to start living away from their parents, whether by studying in another town or finding their first job, so as to grow up and mature. Independence is important for people to develop responsibility to others, to their obligations and, finally, to themselves.
Up till 2005, the list of his positions within students' organizations kept on growing – Students' Association of Belgrade, Health Support Association of Students of Belgrade...
– That's when I founded my first non-governmental organization, which dealt in marketing of students' organizations. Once I had finished my studies (yes, I took some time to graduate) and completed my army service, I got employed as accountant executive at a small marketing agency in 2009. Then I worked as an expert adviser at Hemofarm, but I only stayed there for a short time due to various circumstances, which later turned out to be very good for me – Kovac says.
After this corporate experience, he became seriously interested in digital marketing.
– I started a few web and digital marketing projects on my own. Since 2012, I've been CEO at the marketing and consulting company Creative Media Art. Aside from that, I've been running the NGO Webit for three years now, and I've been Chairman of the Executive Board of Zrenjanin ICT Cluster since last December.
No Limits
The first internet conference he attended, which intrigued him and incited him to enter this world, took place in 2007.
– The conference in question was BizBuzz in Niska Banja, the biggest and most famous internet business conference at the time. That's when I first saw and heard big names like Miloje Sekulic, Dragan Varagic, Ivan Minic... I though it would be great to organize something like that in my home town of Zrenjanin. It took years to realize this idea, but all the elements first needed to come together, which happened when I arrived to Creative Media Art, a company which respects and supports taking the initiative and having good ideas. When you add to this a great team of people who share your dream, the sky's the limit.
The Webiz conference is meant for the young who are beginning their professional careers and who see their future in IT and digital industry, our interviewee reminds. Webiz education is meant for business people looking to enhance the results of their companies in the field of online business, digital marketing and communications.
– Small and medium enterprises, as well as entrepreneurs, are the target group. It is they who should be the driving force of the development of a healthy economy and we believe that they need to be educated and up to date with modern business trends, especially digital business trends. A large number of those who attend our educational programs are professionals from the marketing industry, as they've realized that we truly provide the latest information and that we deal with topics in an interesting and practical way, making them useful for the attendees.
Energy must be maintained...
In nearly six years of the Webiz project, more than four thousand people have taken part in the events, with each new one exceeding the previous event in the number of visitors.
– We owe our success to numerous factors, but I believe that two things were crucial. First – we invest the same amount of energy in each event as in the first Webiz, and second – we constantly think about what could be done better, what could be improved...
Throughout the years, Webiz has given birth to numerous interesting positive stories.
– There have been visitors who have made such progress that they've ended up as lecturers. The latest story concerns two students from Zrenjanin who competed with their colleagues for taking part in the Webiz conference for free four years ago. Last year, the two of them managed to become volunteers at the conference and, this year, they are formally a part of the Webiz team, they are employed at the company – Kovac says.
The goal of our interviewee and his team in 2017 is for Webiz to become one of the most relevant marketing events in Serbia and for them to establish new standards and formats when it comes to such events, but also when it comes to event management. He reveals that that team has the idea to expand the project regionally in the future, but, as this is not up to them alone, it's still too early to announce anything.
Our interviewee also discusses the digital marketing trends which await us in 2017.
– Since 2016, video and content marketing have been trends which are not passing, and I believe that they will continue to be present and even grow to an extent. There have already been a lot of new things in 2017. Chat bots are a current hit and will be discussed at the June Webiz educational event in Zlatibor. Also, according to some research, videos will make up 80% of web content in the next few years and, considering that live video is becoming a serious trend with video formats on Facebook and Instagram, the trend is strong this year as well – Kovac believes.
“New York, the center of the world...”
Aside from expert marketing and management literature, which he always keeps handy, our interviewee also likes books about historical figures, politics and society, as well as (auto)biographies. Among those which have made the strongest impression on him, he highlights Kakodalogija, by Ivan Stankovic, and he is currently finishing Budi Voda, by Igor Arih.
Whenever he has some free time, which is rare, especially when he's preparing Webiz events, he spends it with his family and friends, mostly in the nature, outside Belgrade. He loves to travel, he is delighted with Rome, and he hopes to visit New York sometime, as he believes it to be “the center of the world”. For the past two years, his hobbies have been running and functional training, and he also likes to play the adrenaline-raising game airsoft.
– I've managed to realize on time that, aside from health benefits, physical activities help me think more clearly, so I'm quite dedicated to sports.
He says with a smile that the answer to the question “Who is Vladimir Kovac, in one sentence?” is the hardest one to give.
– I'd describe myself as a dreamer who is constantly chasing his dreams, looking to make them come true. Someone who is in love with everything new, innovative and digital.
Vladimir Kovac is married and father to Hana (7) and Vanja (5).
M.M.
The Webiz project has lasted for nearly six years, and today it encompasses the Webiz conference, which started it all, as well as Webiz education, a program meant for the business world, realized in Zrenjanin, Subotica and Zlatibor. We talked to Vladimir Kovac about how he found himself in the world of online communication, his Webiz experience, trends in digital marketing, but also what he does when he's not working, if he has time to travel, what he reads...
He was born in 1981 in Zrenjanin, where he finished his primary and secondary education.
– I had a great childhood, kind of typical for the 1980s. I used to play all day with my sister and the children from the street... A carefree time, which, I believe, we all miss today – our interviewee says, reminiscing about how he used to earn his pocket money as a boy by washing his neighbors' cars.
When it comes to education, he knew what he wanted quite early.
– When I was 13-14, I decided to enroll at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade. Economics attracted me as there were a few economists in the family, whose stories about their work I used to enjoy as a child. To be honest, I had a plan to be a director as a small child already.
He considers his freshman activities within the students' organization at the Faculty of Economics to be his first “serious job”.
– I believe that it is very important for young people to start living away from their parents, whether by studying in another town or finding their first job, so as to grow up and mature. Independence is important for people to develop responsibility to others, to their obligations and, finally, to themselves.
Up till 2005, the list of his positions within students' organizations kept on growing – Students' Association of Belgrade, Health Support Association of Students of Belgrade...
– That's when I founded my first non-governmental organization, which dealt in marketing of students' organizations. Once I had finished my studies (yes, I took some time to graduate) and completed my army service, I got employed as accountant executive at a small marketing agency in 2009. Then I worked as an expert adviser at Hemofarm, but I only stayed there for a short time due to various circumstances, which later turned out to be very good for me – Kovac says.
(Photo: Yeamake/shutterstock.com)
– I started a few web and digital marketing projects on my own. Since 2012, I've been CEO at the marketing and consulting company Creative Media Art. Aside from that, I've been running the NGO Webit for three years now, and I've been Chairman of the Executive Board of Zrenjanin ICT Cluster since last December.
No Limits
The first internet conference he attended, which intrigued him and incited him to enter this world, took place in 2007.
– The conference in question was BizBuzz in Niska Banja, the biggest and most famous internet business conference at the time. That's when I first saw and heard big names like Miloje Sekulic, Dragan Varagic, Ivan Minic... I though it would be great to organize something like that in my home town of Zrenjanin. It took years to realize this idea, but all the elements first needed to come together, which happened when I arrived to Creative Media Art, a company which respects and supports taking the initiative and having good ideas. When you add to this a great team of people who share your dream, the sky's the limit.
The Webiz conference is meant for the young who are beginning their professional careers and who see their future in IT and digital industry, our interviewee reminds. Webiz education is meant for business people looking to enhance the results of their companies in the field of online business, digital marketing and communications.
– Small and medium enterprises, as well as entrepreneurs, are the target group. It is they who should be the driving force of the development of a healthy economy and we believe that they need to be educated and up to date with modern business trends, especially digital business trends. A large number of those who attend our educational programs are professionals from the marketing industry, as they've realized that we truly provide the latest information and that we deal with topics in an interesting and practical way, making them useful for the attendees.
Energy must be maintained...
In nearly six years of the Webiz project, more than four thousand people have taken part in the events, with each new one exceeding the previous event in the number of visitors.
– We owe our success to numerous factors, but I believe that two things were crucial. First – we invest the same amount of energy in each event as in the first Webiz, and second – we constantly think about what could be done better, what could be improved...
Throughout the years, Webiz has given birth to numerous interesting positive stories.
– There have been visitors who have made such progress that they've ended up as lecturers. The latest story concerns two students from Zrenjanin who competed with their colleagues for taking part in the Webiz conference for free four years ago. Last year, the two of them managed to become volunteers at the conference and, this year, they are formally a part of the Webiz team, they are employed at the company – Kovac says.
The goal of our interviewee and his team in 2017 is for Webiz to become one of the most relevant marketing events in Serbia and for them to establish new standards and formats when it comes to such events, but also when it comes to event management. He reveals that that team has the idea to expand the project regionally in the future, but, as this is not up to them alone, it's still too early to announce anything.
Our interviewee also discusses the digital marketing trends which await us in 2017.
– Since 2016, video and content marketing have been trends which are not passing, and I believe that they will continue to be present and even grow to an extent. There have already been a lot of new things in 2017. Chat bots are a current hit and will be discussed at the June Webiz educational event in Zlatibor. Also, according to some research, videos will make up 80% of web content in the next few years and, considering that live video is becoming a serious trend with video formats on Facebook and Instagram, the trend is strong this year as well – Kovac believes.
“New York, the center of the world...”
Aside from expert marketing and management literature, which he always keeps handy, our interviewee also likes books about historical figures, politics and society, as well as (auto)biographies. Among those which have made the strongest impression on him, he highlights Kakodalogija, by Ivan Stankovic, and he is currently finishing Budi Voda, by Igor Arih.
Whenever he has some free time, which is rare, especially when he's preparing Webiz events, he spends it with his family and friends, mostly in the nature, outside Belgrade. He loves to travel, he is delighted with Rome, and he hopes to visit New York sometime, as he believes it to be “the center of the world”. For the past two years, his hobbies have been running and functional training, and he also likes to play the adrenaline-raising game airsoft.
– I've managed to realize on time that, aside from health benefits, physical activities help me think more clearly, so I'm quite dedicated to sports.
He says with a smile that the answer to the question “Who is Vladimir Kovac, in one sentence?” is the hardest one to give.
– I'd describe myself as a dreamer who is constantly chasing his dreams, looking to make them come true. Someone who is in love with everything new, innovative and digital.
Vladimir Kovac is married and father to Hana (7) and Vanja (5).
M.M.
Tags:
Vladimir Kovac
Vladimir Kovac biography
digital marketing
Webiz education
Webiz conference
Webit
ICT Cluster Zrenjanin
internet marketing
online marketing
content marketing
digital business
business education
economist
marketing expert
BizBuzz Niska Banja
chat bots
Kakodalogija
Budi voda
Miloje Sekulic
Dragan Varagic
Ivan Minic
Hana Kovac
Vanja Kovac
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