McCANNizmi 2.0

Truth Well Told by McCann Tirana

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Happy holidays friends of the internets!

Happy holidays friends!

Feel free to check (through the embedded link in the header) our digital greetings for the holiday season. We really hope you’ll like it :)

Share the love!

P.s. Here’s a small preview for you but the one on the website has some bonus animations you can’t quite capture with a single image :P

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/rit-croatia-radio-spot

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/karta-e-kreditit-nga-intesa-sanpaolo-bank-albania

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Reflections about our Creative Week workshop

Earlier this week, under the umbrella of Creative Week activities, our agency opened its doors for a small group of youngsters eager to learn more about advertising and creative ideas.

The initial reception for this workshop surpassed our wildest expectations. All seats were booked within a day from announcement and there were more than 30 people in the waiting list. Unfortunately we couldn’t accommodate everyone but we thought the best experience for participants would be to have the workshop at our offices and not opt for ‘a bigger boat’. This way, all participants would have a chance to experience firsthand the insides of an advertising agency and in addition to the workshop, they would have a chance to meet other members from our staff, ask questions and speak about advertising campaigns.

The workshop included an informative part. Our MD, Suela, began explaining a bit from the history of McCann Tirana and what it means to be part of one of the biggest advertising groups in the region and worldwide. Our AD, Alma, along with our PR Manager, Sibel and two dudes from Accounts, Albi and Elvin, followed up with a colorful and detailed presentation on what is that advertising agencies do, how they are structured and an overview of the workflow starting from the client to the end product. 

A couple of jokes and some references from “Game of Thrones” were used to explain the main positions in an agency and the rivalry between departments (remember, Media vs Creatives, Media always wins :P) and we also showed a clip from “Mad Men”, a must-see TV show if you’re thinking about a career in advertising :)

After a short break and chit-chat with our staffers, our creative team, Flonia, Gazi and Soni, picked up the pace, going deep into the psyche of creatives, talking about concepts, the process and techniques, a handful of case studies, a step-by-step guide and a couple of juicy, world-shattering tips.

Wait. There is more. Later on, participants were split into teams and after being handed a brief, they were coached by our creative and accounts teams during the idea generation process.

Near the end of the workshop, all teams presented their ideas to the group in the form of an open discussion evaluating all ideas under a concise structure and all presentations were send off with warm applauses from the group.

Bottom line: 

We really enjoyed hosting the workshop and we were quite impressed with the ideas generated in such a short period of time. We loved all the reactions, the questions and all the effort put in by the participants during the exercise and the open discussion. Everyone looked curious and eager to learn more on every process, and we would like to encourage them to remain hungry and really consider a career in advertising. 

We also want to sincerely thank everyone for participating and for the heartfelt testimonials that you left for us. We really felt all the love back <3

Now we’re enthusiastically looking forward to the fifth edition of Design Overview (aka DOiT) and you’re probably still in time to get your ticket. See you there ;)

[mccannizmi]

Get ready to DOiT again :)

The fifth edition of Design Overview in Tirana is almost upon us and we’re at long last getting more details.

The conference starts on November 19th, Saturday at 15:00 sharp, and once more, McCann Tirana is among its main supporters.

The latest on the speakers: 

Reto Ehrbar from Raffinerie AG für Gestaltung, Agency of the year 2016 at European Design Awards, will be there along with Simon Gill, Chief Creative Officer of Isobar UK, with more than 20 years experience in digital marketing and dozen awards, Dimitris Stefanidis, former Pentagram Design New York and FutureBrand London, currently Creative Partner at G Design Studio, Francesco Cavalli, Creative Director of Leftloft, Berin Hasi from Clleanc and Henrik Lezi from Grid Cartels.

But before DOiT, there’s Creative Week:

The conference will be preceded by Creative Week, a whole week of events, exhibitions, workshops and networking dedicated to design and advertising from November 14-18. 

Here’s a little secret for you: make sure to follow us during the next days as one of the workshops of Creative Week will be organized at our offices ;)

For more info, follow DOiT on Facebook and make sure to grab your tickets on Eventbrite. 

TTYVS ;)

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/tuborg-ndez-ngjyrat-e-veres

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/coca-cola-socialising

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/coca-cola-euro-2016-promo-smartphone

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Two nights of full moon

Following the success of last year’s recital concert, the singer-songwriter Vlashent Sata, returns this year to Tirana with yet another much awaited show, proceeding the premiere of his debut album “Hana e Plotë” in Paris, a title inspired by his now famous hit “Hana”.

The unique style and vocals of Sata, accompanied by a group of very talented musicians is an event not to be missed, especially for all those seeking refuge from the chaos and noise the frenetic nightlife the Albanian capital has to offer. The intimate atmosphere of the “Shakespeare Hall” and the poetic artistry of the band combined with jazzy blissful vibes will create the contour of a dreamy night, full of charm and nostalgia.

The concert will take place at Metropol Theatre on May 25th and 26th and the proceeds will once more go to the orphaned children of his hometown Shkodra.

During the concert, Vlashent Sata who will also play piano, will be accompanied by: 

Gent Rushi - Accordion

Ermal Rodi - Clarinet 

Kiril Tufekcievski - Bass 

Emiljan Dhimo - Drums

Denis Hima - Guitar

When: May 25th and 26th at 20:00 Where: Metropol Theatre, Tirana (check map) Tickets: Box office of the Metropol Theatre; tiranakulturore.al; [phone] / 068 45 24 244 Ticket cost: 500 Lekë

We hope to see you again at the concert!

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/coca-cola-euro-2016-promo

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https://soundcloud.com/mccanntirana/intesa-mortgage-refinancing

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DOiT goes fourth

The first annual event about visual communications and advertising organized in Albania, Design Overview in Tirana (DOiT), had its 4th edition this weekend, which also marked a milestone in the level of interest and number of participants from the industry with more than 700 people having registered to attend. Most agencies operating in the industry contributed as sponsors this year, joining McCann Tirana, which has been one of the main sponsors from the last two editions.

The venue, a reputable conference hall of the Orthodox Cathedral, raised ground for some on stage and offstage jokes about the unorthodox nature of topics being discussed, such as inclusion of LGBT community in advertising agencies and in campaigns of clients, brought to attention by the first speaker, Head of Ogilvy Pride, Andrew Barratt. And of course the honest claim which came up by chance during the presentation of Sergio Del Puerto, founder of Serial Cut, a Madrid-based studio, on his strong dislike of Christmas. On the serious side, Sergio introduced his company’s interesting approach to focus exclusively on creating high quality and outstanding images for clients, sharing some fascinating “making of” sessions as case studies.

Inspirational stories of how they started and built their careers were shared from Vassilis Pallas, currently a freelance designer in Athens, while Yiannis Charalambopoulos, co-founder of Beetroot Design Group, a multi-awarded communication design office and think tank based in Thessaloniki, told the audience more from their philosophy on design as well as showcasing their unique international exhibition titled “Greek Monsters”.

Patrik De Jong on the other hand, co-founder of Artificial Rome, immersed everyone in deep interactive experiences designed and produced by their talented team of geeks. The highlight of the event, also for the fact that she represented a full service creative agency, was Laura Jordan Bambach, co-founder of London-based agency, Mr. President, who inspirationally shared her perspective on how advertising industry desperately needs excellent, intelligent, bold and tasteful work and ideas, inviting everyone to overcome the barriers of boredom, inertia and status quo and revive passion in what we do.

The McCann team totally predicted the feeling in which guests would be leaving the conference, saluting everyone with their hand-made version of the statue “The Thinker”, quietly sitting and of course… thinking at the entrance :)

For more pictures, make sure to check Design Overview channels on Facebook and Twitter.

See you again next year!

[mccannizmi]

A blog about viral marketing and baklava

A couple of months ago, our colleague, Gazmend, was celebrating Greater Eid with his family and shared a picture of a fresh dish of baklava on Facebook.

Having tried the exquisite recipe once before (check this post from 2013), some of our staffers started to ask him to bring back to the office. At first, it was only some posts of baklava images or empty plates but eventually a hashtag was coined (#gazinasillca: meaning Gazi brings back some) giving the movement some much needed momentum.

Last but not least, the agency dedicated some proper artwork to the cause, merging together the love for baklava with the movement in a way that could appeal to Gazi - by reworking the refrain of the famous poem from Dylan Thomas, revived repeatedly in the movie “Interstellar”, a favorite of Gazi’s.

In the meantime, the movement went a bit viral with followers and friends getting on board by using the hashtag to ask Gazi for some more baklava. Not putting it mildly, interest over the whole affair was constantly growing, mounting a bit of pressure on Gazi to deliver - one would imagine.

The ending? Like with all good advertising campaigns and some of the best fairy tales told around the world, almost everybody lived happily ever after with the only issue being the limited amount of baklava available - prompting the short-lived hashtag #elvinskame for our colleague Elvin, involved in a meeting at the time, accompanied by the following animation, letting him know what happened to the baklava at the office.

Needless to say, working in advertising is fun :)

[mccannizmi]

Tirana Open: An Open Citywide Festival

Art, books, music, films, opera, architecture, education, and other creative activities will be highlighted throughout the week on Tirana Open​. The whole city of Tirana is the stage of this open festival by combining multiple events across different locations.

The first edition of ULTRA (Urban Laboratory Tirana Albania), one of the exhibitions part of Tirana Open, will use public spaces to reflect on the urban mobility of our city. Our guerrilla campaign “Respect the Living Too” was selected as one of the entries to further heighten the sense of awareness and social responsibility for drivers and pedestrians.

Our advice: make sure you don’t miss out!

You can browse the full festival programme here and you can also download the programme as a detailed PDF here.

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Hana: Exceeding expectations

The charity concert held by Vlashent Sata last Sunday was definitely one of the most entertaining events held in Tirana during recent times. 

Cheerful notes from an acoustic guitar, some reflecting moments in the company of piano, sax, bass and drums accompanied by a collection of lively visual projections were the highlights of an inspiring handcrafted experience masterfully served to a sold-out audience.

The standing ovation at the end was the final piece of the puzzle, a deserved love message from the audience to the joyful songwriter that also made us feel proud to have lended a helping hand.

After the concert, some of our colleagues even managed to squeeze a group photo with Vlashent at the after party and we’re gonna be honest ... there were hints of jealousy at the office the morning after.

Make sure to visit Kube Studios’ Facebook album to have a look at more cool snaps from the event.

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Vlashent Sata - Hana - Charity Concert

The talented songwriter Vlashent Sata is holding a unique audio-visual recital concert on May 3rd, with all earnings going to charity. Kube Studios is backing this project and we're more than happy to lend a helping hand.

Vlashent will present his new album, titled “Hana”, and you'll be in for a real treat as he'll be accompanied by:

Gent Rushi - accordion and piano Armend Xhaferi - guitar Anas Bajramliqi - drums Kiril Tufekcievski - bass and contrabass Ermal Rodi - clarinet and sax

All proceeds from the concert will go to children orphaned children in order to provide music lessons and musical instruments for them.

When: Sunday, May 3rd at 20:00

Where: Academy of Arts (see map)

Tickets: Box office of the National Theatre (see map), everyday 09:00-14:00 and 15:30-19:00 (hurry!)

Ticket cost: 700 Lekë

Last but not least, here’s a video to tone your expectations. We hope to see you at the event! 

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Pi Day 2015: Celebrate your inner geek

While today, Albanians celebrate the Summer’s Day festival, elsewhere it's also a magical day. This year’s March 14th is also Pi Day. Pi is the most widely known mathematical constant ever and is used anywhere in the world by almost everyone. Without it, the world as we know it, wouldn't have existed.

Facts: Pi (π) is an infinite number, non-repeating decimal that has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. This means that it contains all the possible number combinations that if converted to ASCII code somewhere in a string it can hold your name, anybody or everything else. 

Happy Summer’s Day to all Albanians and Happy Pi Day to all fellow geeks around the world. Today, you can put an emphasis on infinity.