In the spotlight: SOZ Slovenia’s Mojca Briščik

I was born and raised in… the small Slovenian coastal city of Koper, where morning mists over the sea disperse into a marvellous vista across the Italian coast, all the way up to Venice.

I studied to become… a journalist. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism (with a course on Marketing Communications), then switched to Human Resource Management for my master’s degree. My initial studies in journalism were fuelled by youthful idealism, as I believed the state of affairs in sectors that significantly impact our quality of life wasn't being portrayed thoroughly enough. Today, alongside SOZ and our members’ management boards, I have the opportunity to affect self-regulatory, as well as regulatory developments in my country.

I've always been drawn to interpersonal relationships and a broad spectrum of social topics which had a profound impact on my career path. This has led me from working in media to retail, then corporate communications and finally marketing. Today, the varied skills I picked up along the journey are put to good use as CEO of the Slovenian Advertising Chamber, and in the management of the Golden Drum International Festival of Creativity, for which I am president.

My proudest career achievements in the advertising industry are…still ahead, given the goals I've set for myself. In my private life, I'm rather proud of a challenging period some five years ago, when I was writing my master’s thesis in the company of a toddler while also working from home. The plan was to complete my thesis before returning from my maternity leave. I did achieve that, which delighted me greatly at the time, but what I now appreciate even more is the journey – it taught me what I was capable of when I'm determined, disciplined and persistent.

Our priorities are… next to membership growth:

• implementing high professional standards;
• advocating for industry interests to regulators and legislators;
• education, self-regulation and transparency in media buying and research;
• promoting the value of advertising and marketing communications in the overall success of businesses;
• media support to the Advertising Tribunal, which has lately been gaining prominence as complaints are markedly on the increase; and
• updating best practice documents (execution of agency selection tenders, the advertising brief) and the Slovenian Code of Advertising Practice, which sets binding ethical standards to be observed by everyone engaged in marcom, regardless of their membership in the chamber.

If I could change one thing about the industry today, it would be… more transparency in first place, and a "yes" to big data in connection with emotional intelligence and creativity.

What most people don’t know about me… I'm very interested in graphology and non-verbal communication. On account of the latter, I rarely change my initial impression of a person. When words and intonation aren't in tune with body language, it can reveal volumes about the individual you're interacting with.

Three things about my country... National Geographic Traveler magazine recognised Slovenia as the world's most sustainable country in 2017, while the EU in 2016 named Ljubljana European Green Capital. If those aren't reasons enough to visit, here's one more – delicious sweets! The thought takes me back to that comical misunderstanding between the First Lady of the United States, our very own Melania Trump, and the Pope in Vatican. Naturally, they weren't talking about pizza but rather our national dessert potica, one of our most fabulous treats next to the prekmurska gibanica pastry and the kremšnita cream cake.

Want to know more about Mojca and SOZ Slovenia? Get in touch with her here.

This is part of a series of monthly interviews with heads of national advertiser associations in WFA membership.