I have been working since my teenage days. As a high school student, I worked part-time at various promotions, as a part of the marketing agencies promotions. Even then, I felt the magic of marketing and I was firmly convinced that one day just marketing would be my life profession – says Oliver Veleski, Senior brand manager for SKOPSKO in Pivara Skopje. After finishing high school, his choice was the Faculty of Economics in Skopje, the division of e-marketing where the studies were obligatory regular, and the option for part-time studying did not exist it at all. But the restless youth spirit and desire to work were bigger, so Oliver decides to enroll as a part-time student on Public Administration and Political Science at the “South East European University”. After two years of volunteering in the marketing agency Idea Plus, the third one, he officially becomes part of the team, but from the moment he joined Pivara Skopje with a dedicated position on the brand SKOPSKO, says “The dream came true …”

1.When and how did you join the team of Pivara Skopje? Tell us more about your career beginnings.

My story with Pivara Skopje started much earlier than my career in Pivara Skopje. As a high school student, I was on an internship program in the marketing agency Idea Plus, whose client was Pivara Skopje, and already as a student, I officially became part of that team. Then, at only 20 years, started my adventure with SKOPSKO. At the beginning, I worked for other clients, but working with SKOPSKO somehow was giving me special satisfaction. There was some strange magic and a challenge to work on a brand that has been on the Macedonian market for decades.  The legacy that the past generations left behind the brand of SKOPSKO was and still is the main substance in my creative approach to SKOPSKO.

2.Did you always worked in marketing and does marketing was your vision in which direction your career will grow?

I’ve been working since teenage days, from distribution of leaflets to setting up a scene for recording a TV spots … Even than I felt the magic of marketing and I was firmly convinced that one day marketing will be my life profession. As for the position that I have today in Pivara Skopje, seen from this perspective, it could not have happened to me better 😊. As a child I was watching with huge excitement the TV ads of SKOPSKO, in fact they were probably among the very few ads that at that time could have been seen on the TV screens and probably this was the reason for me to have the wish one day to be a part of the standing team behind those ads. From the moment I joined Pivara Skopje with a dedicated position on the brand SKOPSKO, I can freely say that “The dream came true..”

3.How Pivara Skopje helped you to progress and achieve your professional goals?

By working in a company like Pivara Skopje, which belongs to two major international corporations Coca-Cola HBC & HEINEKEN, professional advancement is a certain element. From the first day in Pivara Skopje, I knew that my professional development was guaranteed. Permanent education, trainings … and when we add to this the huge network of external collaborators, real professionals in their fields and the infinite know-how and good practices that the corporate operating system provides, after four years spent in Pivara Skopje, I can say that to work for this company is a real privilege.

4.Being a Senior Brand Manager for SKOPSKO probably means that you live with that brand. Do you feel that relation, special connection to “your” brand?

My everyday life is changed the moment I started working on SKOPSKO. Practically, even when I am not at work, I still work 😊. Now every visit to a market, a beer with friends, a walk through the city is a passive observation of everything that surrounds me and how it can be reflected on the brand. So, from that perspective, it is no longer just a matter of connection, here we speak for a much stronger relationship.

5.The marketing industry is extremely dynamic, the trends in marketing are changing daily. How Pivara Skopje follows new trends in marketing?

True, it’s a very dynamic industry and it’s important to recognize the opportunities and to take the advantage of the brand’s potential. But not only the trends, also the habits of the consumers are changing, so we (the marketers) as part of the entire industry must find a way to position the brand as best as possible and at the same time be in line with what is modern. In Pivara Skopje we follow everything, from the habits of our consumers to the latest trends on social networks, and in that way we manage to bring the right product to the right consumer.

6.How important is the cooperation with the other departments in the company?

I would say that the cooperation with other departments is a key element. In Pivara Skopje, all projects are done in a team, from the very beginning to the certain end. Only then and only in that way, the success is guaranteed. When we are talking about sectors and cooperation, I must point out that I have the privilege of working with the best people in and out of my department, “Pivarci” are professionals “by the book”, dedicated to their work, people who are ready to give their maximum at any time , to extract the best product into everything we do.

7.What does a good marketing product mean for you? Can you distinguish one of the many successful marketing projects of Pivara Skopje that you are especially proud of?

I am proud to all projects of Pivara Skopje, all the brand campaigns that we do, whether it is SKOPSKO or any other brand of our portfolio. But If I already have to separate something, and that to be something for SKOPSKO, I would single out it without hesitation: SKOPSKO Smooth, SKOPSKO Dark, SKOPSKO Radler, the music platform SKOPSKO Sounds great … I can say that I am proud on all SKOPSKO projects, some smaller, some bigger, but essentially, all done with the same dedication and love.

8.What stands behind the idea of the recent ad for SKOPSKO?

In search of what is authentic and characteristic for us, the Macedonians, we talked with many people, we spent hours with various focus groups discussing various topics from our everyday life in order to reach a true and authentic story that only SKOPSKO can tell …Thus, we have merged the tradition, the true values of the people, the way we function, the moments we celebrate and the reasons for which we raise the glasses up.

9. What character do you find inspirational in your profession?

When I was young, I had the opportunity to work and learn from one of the founders of marketing in Macedonia – Ivo Laurencic. Today I still consider him as my teacher, an exceptional creator and a man who saw challenges in all problems, and every problem was transformed into a creative solution.

10. Do you have enough time for yourself? What makes you happy and “charges your batteries” after work?

Every work and position carries its own responsibility and, to a certain extent, giving ups. After a hard day, I am not always in a “mood” to go out, but, like every young man, I use every free moment to spent time with my friends. I love winter and winter sports, I just cannot wait the skiing season to start, in my case, boarding season. Then, there is no compromise 😊, at least a week, I must travel somewhere on the mountain and board. I occasionally take pictures, it makes me relax as well as good music, a good book. The list is long …