COVER STORY
Summer 2017 / Issue 54
was created by industry leaders to
generate new standards for ads
based on consumer research. This
will mean that only those ads that
are consumer-friendly will be created
and published. The European Digital
Advertising Alliance is also working
on providing more transparency to
consumers about the collection and
use of their data.
The greatest challenge is posed
by digital advertising. New channels
and myriad targeting options also
created a number of dilemmas. How
should a fashion blogger inform their
Instagram followers that she has
been sponsored by a local shop and
that is why she is praising a prod-
uct they sell? What is the right way
to keep consumers informed that a
post is paid advertising, and not a
spontaneous expression of personal
opinion? This is where self-regulation
can really shine; it allows the industry
to apply existing principles of honesty
and decency to the digital world. The
industry should also work together
to boost media literacy among
children and people of all ages
how to recognise advertising and
differentiate good ads from bad ones.
According to the latest Havas Group
study, consumers would not care if
74% of brands disappeared. This
should ring alarm bells for the entire
advertising industry. It is time to wake
up across all geographies, includ-
ing in Macedonia. The international
brands and agencies present in
Macedonia have a particular respon-
sibility to make this happen, as they
have a wealth of knowledge to draw
from other European markets where
ethics and business have been suc-
cessfully married for decades.
New CSR Standard Awarded in Macedonia
This July, the first company in
Macedonia was awarded a stan-
dard for applying family and gen-
der-aware policies that allow their
employees to achieve work-life
balance as well as gender equal-
ity in career development and
advancement. The representative
and implementer of the Mam-
force Standard in Macedonia is
AmCham member, Konekt Asso-
ciation, which has many years of
experience in the CSR field.
The Mamforce standard rec-
ognizes employer competences
in corporate responsibility vis-
à-vis their employees’ families.
The standard is earned through
assessment of employee work-
ing conditions with an emphasis
on adapting working conditions
for parents with young children
(e.g., positions, working hours,
additional services, support from
the company and colleagues), the
possibility of gradual return from
maternity leave (e.g., part-time
and flexible working hours, work
from home, allowed absences due
to a child’s illness), as well as the
possibility for further improvement,
progress and gender equality in
Nikica Kusinikova,
Executive director,
Association Konekt
top management positions. After the assessment, companies
prepare and commit to an action plan for introducing additional
measures and are entitled to the basic Mamforce Standard. One
year later, a supervisory audit is carried out and if the action plan is
confirmed to have been implemented, the organization is awarded
with the standard in one of three levels: Change, Grow, or Lead.
The first Macedonian recipient was Vip, thereby receiving rec-
ognition for existing good practices and identifying improvement
areas to help maintain a positive working environment and increase
employee satisfaction. At the award ceremony, the standard was
officially presented by Diana Kobas Deshkovic, initiator of the
Mamforce project. Other supporters who spoke at the ceremony
included Elena Grozdanova, State Advisor for Equal Opportunities
at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy; Lilian Kandikjan, National
Program Coordinator at the Swiss Embassy; Zaklina Gestakovska
Aleksovska from the Increasing market employability (IME) pro-
gram; and Nikica Kusinikova, Konekt’s Executive Director.
New Member Highlight
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and
leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given them experience and capabilities that also
enable them to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: haemophilia, growth dis-
orders and obesity.Novo Nordisk has a 26 year presence in the Macedonian market.
AmCham Macedonia Magazine
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