No abstract

The chapter deals with the role of creativity in public relations. Creativity is usually associated with marketing and design, while public relations is associated with information and communication management, respectively, as the information and educational component, but often as persuasion. However, in modern conditions in which there is a kind of inflation of content transmitted by public relations experts to the media and the public, it is very difficult to fight for media attention and public attention. Therefore, the public relations professional is forced to bring creativity to the way of communicating, presenting key messages, and achieving communication goals. For that reason, creativity is becoming an essential strategic and tactical tool for public relations professionals to shift the task to a higher level. The authors present a case study of the leading Croatian insurance company—Croatia osiguranje, which had the challenging task of using the anniversary to communicate its own identity and values, strengthen its image, and attract new clients. The project “Croatia je Hrvatska” has received a number of national and international awards and can serve as an excellent example of synergy between communication management and creativity in achieving communication and business goals.

Starting from the concept of "external branding" of states and nations, the paper analyses the speeches and messages of Pope John Paul II dedicated to Croats and the Croatian state, spoken and published during his pontificate , in order to uncover how he perceived and presented the Croatian identity. The author believes that Pope John Paul II, thanks to his charisma and significant public impact, as well as extensive knowledge of the Croatian identity, contributed greatly to strengthening the recognisability of Croats in the global public and to promote their values, interests and aspirations.

Posljednjih desetljeća meka moć država postaje sve važniji segment njihova globalnog utjecaja. Naime, dok su nekada veličina teritorija ili broj stanovnika, odnosno ekonomska i vojna moć, definirali globalnu važnost pojedine države, u vremenu globalizacije i manje države postaju međunarodno utjecajni igrači ako posjeduju određenu snagu karizme i šarma, odnosno ako kreiraju globalno relevantne i atraktivne poruke, sadržaje, proizvode ili poteze. Taj se utjecaj sve češće temelji na kulturi, osobito popularnoj, koja ne poznaje granice i zahvaća najširi krug ljudi. Stoga sve veći broj država ulaže ozbiljna sredstva u jačanje globalne prepoznatljivosti kroz popularnu kulturu, osobito film. Iako je film od svojih početaka korišten kao promotivno, pa i ideološko sredstvo, posljednjih godina postaje – s jedne strane važan komercijalni proizvod, koji proizvođačima donosi velike prihode, a s druge strane izrazito važan segment meke moći države, jer na kreativan i popularan način progovara o vrijednostima neke zemlje ili kulture, važnim temama, velikanima, povijesnim događajima, načinu života i sl. U tome kontekstu popularna hollywoodska industrija nema više globalni primat, iako još uvijek prilično kreira trendove. Uz snažnu filmsku produkciju u Indiji, Južna Koreja postaje sve važniji globalni igrač. Kina sve više ulaže u vlastitu filmsku produkciju i jačanje meke moći kroz kulturu, a Turska je postala drugi globalni igrač u proizvodnji televizijskih serija. Stoga ćemo u ovome radu definirati ulogu filma kao važna segmenta meke moći, analizirati nastojanja SAD-a, Južne Koreje i Kine te ukazati na trendove i mogućnosti uporabe.