No More Croatia, Full of Life: New Slogan Sought

Not so many people know that the reason I moved to Croatia was due to the Croatian National Tourist Board. Back in 2002, I had just sold my house in the UK and was working in northern Somalia. I was looking for a place to buy on the coast in Europe outside of the UK, when this 30-second commercial came on CNN – Croatia, the Mediterranean as It Once Was.

What an advert, what a slogan. I was hooked, and 3 months later, I became the proud owner of a home in Jelsa on the island of Hvar – you can watch the video of that story on my YouTube channel below.

And then somehow, the Croatian National Tourism Board morphed into the Kingdom of Accidental Tourism, and I have witnessed more than a decade of interesting tourism promotion reporting on this fair land. When the Mediterranean as It Once Was was retired, its replacement was the insipid and meaningless Croatia, Full of Life, a slogan which has been a large part of my life after the Kingdom sued me for turning into a meme, Croatia, Full of Uhljebs. You can read more about that in our mini-blog series, Diary of a Croatian Lawsuit.

And, as Marija Crnjak of Poslovni writes below, it seems that soon Croatia will no longer be Full of Life, as the Kingdom has announced a tender for something called a ‘Big Idea, coupled with a new visual identity.

I would like to apply, but I never have much success in tenders with State institutions for some reason, so here are my two slogan suggestions. If anyone likes them and wants to take them forward to the tender, you are very welcome.

My two slogan suggestions would be

Croatia, Your Safe, Authentic Lifestyle Destination – which actually sells 3 of Croatia’s most attractive assets.

And

Croatia, Why Aren’t You Here? – a hashtag I have been using for a couple of years now, and it has gained considerable traction.

If anyone has a good knowledge of how the tender system works in Croatia, I would like to follow and report on this whole process, taking a look at the finalists and the winners. It could be an interesting process in this transparent EU land. Anyone interested, please email [email protected] Subject The Kingdom.

Here is the Poslovni article:

The Croatian Tourist Board has announced a competition for the selection of the umbrella communication concept – Big Idea and the new visual identity of Croatia as a tourist destination. As we unofficially learn, the Croatia Full of life slogan will be valid this season, and the new slogan and concept should be ready by the time of the WTM London tourism fair, that is, for communication with the market for 2024.

As explained by CNTB, the procedure will have two phases, the first phase includes the pre-selection procedure that refers to the delivery of documentation that proves the ability of potential bidders, while the second phase refers to the delivery of the bids of the selected bidders. Also, as part of the competition, two project tasks are planned, namely the creation of an umbrella communication concept for which up to five bidders will be selected, and the creation of a visual identity for which up to 10 bidders will be selected.

“It is a tender that will define the key promotional and communication determinants of Croatian tourism, that is, which will be the bearer of the realization of the new vision of Croatia as a tourist destination defined by the new Strategic Marketing and Operational Plan of Croatian Tourism.

In other words, through this competition we want a new, fresh and creative approach that will hold attention, intrigue, stimulate the mind and evoke emotions in the target audience. The roof communication concept must be unique, but simple and easy to understand, and at the center of it should be the concept of beauty, given that research confirms that this is one of the key advantages of our country and one of the most important motives for tourist trips to Croatia”, said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian Tourist Board, emphasizing that through the competition they want to collect proposals for creative solutions from highly specialized bidders with many years of relevant experience.

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