Pervertising – Agency annals, or everything you’ve ever wanted to know about advertising and agencies.

Working with big clients, planning fun events in luxurious settings, shooting commercials, competing with other agencies in new and exciting technologies… These are just a few of the reasons why many young people aspire to work in this setting.

The business of agencies, like any other, has both attractive and less glamorous aspects. Bojana Kovac compiled all of these anecdotes, as well as her many years of experience in agencies and the media, into a book. “Pervertising – agency annals” is a book that has already attract the interest of both industry insiders and outsiders.

The book’s concept arose spontaneously, according to the author, through correspondence with a colleague who then moved from a large Belgrade agency to work for a company in Switzerland.

You’re probably wondering where a successful businesswoman crosses the line into becoming a writer. We presume that this line does not exist and that Bojana Kovac’s talents are united and intertwined, which is why “Pervertising” is both a novel and a testament to the wonderful world of agency marketing, as defined by its genre description.

If we look at the title of the novel Perverting – Agency Annals, we can immediately see the genre definition that is associated with factography. In this case, it is many years of experience in marketing, which includes working with large clients, coordinating interesting events, shooting commercials, etc., and it is indisputable that the novel is integrated from that source – the world of marketing agencies and work in them turns out to be very intriguing and challenging, and judging from the novel, quite worthy of literary interpretation.

According to the author, the idea for the book came from correspondence with a friend and also a colleague in the industry with whom she exchanged daily business experiences, which turned out to be not only interesting but also typical, and include not only business but also human aspects, and thus would be interesting not only to those in the industry but also to a wider readership. All of this provided a perfect foundation for Bojana’s novelistic work, which will follow a variety of literary characters and their personal tales…

Etna, the novel’s primary protagonist, has been immersed in the world of media and marketing since she was 18, thanks to a Belgrade-based and internationally renowned artist with whom she shares love, passion, and adventure. Etna was still a young and scared girl at the time, and this love story did not have a very happy epilogue, which leaves a deep mark on her … After a few years, she was able to land a job at a well-known agency, allowing her to realize her dream of working in the marketing industry. However, she encounters obstacles, intrigues, intrigues, and becomes a victim of mobbing, and in the end, she decides to achieve her goal in a more straightforward manner, which is indicated by the passion between her and Peter, one of the owners of a marketing agency, which becomes a key motive for the development of a love story that is woven into the novel. Other characters feature in the story, and the author uses their mutual relationships to characterize her narrative approach. Etna has great business success and builds a wonderful career in the corporate world, but she is astonished to learn that not all of her decisions were correct in the end. Everything is settled in the final scene, at the burial of his first love, painter Bobi…

We believe that there are many who are extremely attracted to work in marketing, especially when it comes to young people. What do you think the three most important qualities are for someone to be able to swim successfully in that “pond” based on your experience?

• Consistent enthusiasm, a thirst for education, and perseverance. And in practice, some good connections.

You claimed in one interview that the conversation with one of your industry colleagues about some everyday circumstances at work was the turning point that inspired you to write this novel. What percentage of the novel’s tales are based on true life events?

• Much of the novel is based on true stories that have occurred in various agencies and media over the last ten years, with some embellishments or enlargements to emphasize appearances, clichés, or prejudices, and to pique the interest of those who want to know how it appears or to remind those who have previously worked or are currently working in the advertising industry.

The novel’s main protagonist is a woman. How equal is the gender equity in the marketing industry, and is it tougher for women to navigate that “jungle” or is it simpler for them because they are women?

• I think that it is definitely not equal and that women still understand very superficially – several times I’ve heard some “company owners” say things like “Let’s find a woman for this role who will go work for a fistful of coins.” In that sense, I believe it is much more difficult for women, because, in addition to the fact that men are still the primary decision-makers, women must work twice as hard, learn twice as much, and improve twice as fast in order to reach the level that men achieve on a regular basis if they are resourceful, educated, and well connected.
• There’s also the second path that the book’s protagonist chose, which is the real-life component of a woman being treated as a sexual object at work. It is up to that lady to determine whether she is truly capable of taking the other, more straightforward road and how to make the most of it in her profession.