Several thousand participants from Croatia and neighboring countries, 163 speakers and performers, 123 companies, firms, and associations as partners, sponsors, and friends of the festival, 518 projects submitted to competitions, 7 festival locations, 3 days, 3 nights – and one and only unique DK Festival.
On April 11, the big festival of creativity and communications opened its doors to creatives, digital experts, communicators, designers, and all enthusiasts of creativity and market communications. In its tenth edition, spanning three festival days, it will gather several thousand participants and a large international communication community at the Lone Hotel in Rovinj. There has been unprecedented public interest in all segments of the festival so far. On Friday, April 12, at a press conference held by the festival organizers, Dunja Ivana Ballon, the director of the Croatian Association of Communications Agencies (HURA) and IAB Croatia, and the director of DK Festival and the festival program, along with Jelena Fiškuš, the president of the HURA and IAB Croatia Management Board, and a member of the festival’s Organizational Committee, spoke. They were joined by some of the main stars of this year’s festival, Dan Ariely and Moran Cerf.
We proved that the absolute support and desire of the communications community for this project are what motivates them the most, and it is clearly visible from the initial statistics of the festival. The unique festival program, high-quality production, and organization are expected to once again impress the communication community this year, with a total of 163 speakers and performers, 123 companies, businesses, and associations as partners, sponsors, and friends of the festival, as well as more than 70 segments taking place at 7 festival locations.
Photo: Emica Elvedji/PIXSELL
According to many, alongside arguably the best program in this part of the world, our typically atypical festival will include nighttime lectures, beach lectures, post-program beers, beach after-parties, a new production in the main 360° hall, unique FUCK & LOVE merchandise, a new fourth hall, the first AI at such an event in Croatia, and a whole host of other unprecedented content, stated Dunja Ivana Ballon, confirming that where superlatives end – that’s where DK2024 begins.
Photo: Emica Elvedji/PIXSELL
In addition to the speakers in the main hall, for the first time, participants can engage in a variety of interesting discussions in not just one but three festival halls, covering topics of great importance to the industry, from digital issues and cryptocurrencies to creativity and public relations. National experts will be joined by regional ones in these discussions, providing a high-quality overview of the creative and communications scene. Apart from the daytime program, awards are also presented during all three festival evenings to the most outstanding achievements in the field.
Jelena Fiškuš emphasized the importance of professional competitions for both the festival and the industry as a whole: We are proud to have gathered 518 projects for the awards across five competitions, with 118 jury members and competition committees involved in selecting the best. Competitions are not only valuable from the perspective of award winners: learning occurs even when a project doesn’t achieve the desired competitive result because competitions provide very useful feedback on work, as well as on the market context, offering insights into national production and serving as great inspiration. We can’t wait for the awarding of the gold, silver, and bronze statues – see you in the main hall every festival evening!
Photo: Vana Katančić
In addition to valuable market insights, we will open up important topics abound with significant findings and useful conclusions – from (un)predictable (ir)rationality, dishonesty, fake news, and decision-making patterns to success strategies based on human behavior. If we lose truth, we lose trust. And trust is everywhere: we trust that the elevator is safe, that the food we eat is of good quality. The moment our trust disappears, we will lose a lot, said the globally popular behavioral economist, psychologist, and scientist Dan Ariely, who joined the festival organizers to speak to the media about the topic he will address on the main festival stage: How Do We Understand the World of Misinformation and Misbeliefs.
Photo: Matija Habljak/PIXSELL
Renowned neuroscientist Moran Cerf powered by Hrvatski Telekom, will have a talk titled 3 Ideas From Neuroscience That Were Discovered in the Last 10 Years and Will Change the Next 10, and about the festival, he remarked: DK is an incredible festival. With such diversity and inspiration, we all want to give our best to contribute to the fantastic atmosphere.