INTRODUCTION

AME’s Grand Jury is the powerhouse behind the prestigious AME Awards, their high standard of excellence ensures that AME’s 25-year legacy is upheld and respected globally both by winners and industry reports measuring creative distinction. Their dedication result in truly award-worthy work being recognized

2019 Grand Jury member, Ivan Milovanovic is Managing Director for Y&R, Jordan.  In 2008 Ivan joined McCann Group becoming managing director of Momentum Serbia, an agency specialized in experiential and cross-discipline communication. As of the beginning of 2014, Ivan is settled in Amman as country manager of Y&R Amman.

Ivan got his start as an account executive in Publicis Belgrade in 1997 after several years freelancing as a film producer in Serbia, Greece, and Italy. While at Publicis, he quickly went from executive to director position, then client service director, managing director after finally in 2006 becoming responsible for the regional operations in Balkans.

Ivan was a member of Serbian IAA and chaired the UEPS awards for 2 years (2009 / 2010). He’s worked with some of the world’s most prominent brands: The Coca-Cola Company, L’Oreal, British Airways, Opel, Philip Morris, Nestle, Pernaud Ricard, P&G, Unilever, Microsoft, Orange, Colgate-Palmolive, UNICEF etc.  Throughout his career he’s received numerous awards, his most special one was from Coca-Cola for the best FIFA Trophy Tour event worldwide in 2010.

In the interview below, Ivan shares his thoughts on creating effective results, what stand out effective ads have in common, his all-time favorite ad and much more

INTERVIEW

AME Awards: AME’s winners and entrants are behind some of the most innovative leading-edge creative work on the planet that delivers the most impactful result. Tell us about your process of creating and delivering creative and effective results. Are your ideas inspired or do they come together as the result of a collective brainstorming session with your team?

Ivan Milovanovic: Ideas are just like gems – they come individually in a rough shape and after that they are worked on by many different crafters to make them what they are.

AME Awards: As a strategic creative, what stand-out attributes do you recognize in award-winning creative and effective advertising…what do ads that have taken the brief and turned it into campaign that transforms opinions, evokes action and raises the bar for the brand have in common?

Ivan Milovanovic: They need to have what is called “stopping power.” When you see them you will start thinking. Most of the ads unfortunately don’t have that, you hear and see more than you need, nothing to think about. Really creative work will make you think. Effectiveness can be a bit different, because sometimes a strong USP or an offer can work as well.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Ivan Milovanovic: People try to be effective in what they do but they might not even think about different channels or platforms, they might think it is not doable. That is why such competitions and exchanges are sooo important.

AME Awards: Why did you agree to participate on this year’s AME Grand Jury and What do you hope to learn by viewing entries into this competition?

Ivan Milovanovic: It is not my first time, so I know what I can expect – great cases from all around the globe, results that are sometimes really amazing and ideas that I would have never think of.

AME Awards: What is your all time, favorite most creative and effective ad and/or ads (share the link or a visual) and why in your opinion did they triumph?

Ivan Milovanovic: I truly believe that an ad can stay within your brain forever. I guess I should be politically correct, so I will not mention an ad with a cowboy from a few decades ago (when they were allowed to advertise), so I will choose the Red Bull’s activities to promote the Jump from the edge of the space in 2012.

AME Awards: In your personal work what are the hallmarks of creative and strategic success? What campaign or campaigns are you most proud of (don’t be shy brag about your accomplishments)?

Ivan Milovanovic: I am extremely proud of the campaign we did for UNICEF in 2014 / 2015 that was aiming to eradicate polio in Syria. The call for immunization was created using local cultural insights and the execution was extremely challenging, to put it in a nice way. I am really proud that we contributed in our small portion to protecting children that already suffered so much.

AME Awards: What advice or guidelines would you give to potential entrants on earning an AME Award?

Ivan Milovanovic: Start from the results. Are they good enough? Are they what you were looking for? Is there anything unique in your approach that influenced the results?

AME Awards: AME’s Grand Jury, emanating from 5 regions around the globe provides the opportunity to earn trophies within a region and on the global stage.  Why in your opinion is the idea of AME’s Grand Jury judging both regional and then the entire Grand Jury judging all the Gold winning work to select Platinum winners and Best in Show important to both entrants and to jurors?

Ivan Milovanovic: People from the region can be biased or used to something so the fresh eyes from the other regions can be extremely important.

AME Awards: What is one secret of your success that no one knows about you (till now)?

Ivan Milovanovic: Best ideas rarely come when you are sitting at your laptop and reading the brief or googling something about it. Good ideas yes, but the brilliant ones come when you are walking your dog, washing the dishes, driving… People need to have life to have an idea.

AME Awards: What philosophy or iconic individual inspires you in both your career and life?

Ivan Milovanovic: In my experience we can learn much more from our kids then what they can learn from us. Honesty, simplicity, openness – we adults just spoil what could have been a perfect world.