As a (seemingly) small Croatian company, with the strength of our European and American principals behind us, we’ve really had a front-row view of the international business community. During our work in maritime and shipbuilding and cooperation with people from all over the world, we’ve met special individuals who confirmed to us again and again that enthusiasm, work, responsibility, tireless creativity and determination in solving everyday challenges are what makes (business) life worth living.

These people were the inspiration for our creative brand Authentic & Certified by Crocon (A&C), created in 2013. Under the A&C brand, we have developed a collection of products and gifts for our business partners and friends, which has been developing and changing since then in order to show these “few good (wo)men” how much we appreciate them and how grateful we were that they were continuously there for us, making daily situations simpler, more beautiful and thus enabling us to still find purpose and satisfaction in our work even after all those years.

“Our relationships, whether business or private, are nurtured and shaped by the commitment we express with our deeds.”

Dr. Steve Maraboli

With this in mind and with a clear mission to bring forgotten principles back to the fore, we decided to share our message using everyday practical products – notepads, ballpoint pens, eyeglass wipes, candies, desk calendars, chocolates.

We focused on four values ​​that we concluded were the most vulnerable and rarely met:
SIMPLICITY, POSITIVITY, (GOOD) COMMUNICATION and PROACTIVITY.

In this way, we took what disappointed and troubled us the most and went in the opposite direction, emphasizing exactly the behaviors and values ​​that we value in people. We wanted to bring back what was once not so rare to find – the fulfillment of relationships between business partners, promises kept, that wonderful gentleman’s agreement based on trust and stronger than any of today’s excessively long contracts that are critically lacking in human dignity and values ​. Collections were our way of dealing with the situation and making every day brighter, and from our microenvironment that allows us to create positive messages, we hoped to at least spread awareness about today’s business reality and why we must be persistent in making it at least a little more human. Because we DID live such a way of working and we firmly believe that we can do it again.

In 2017, we created Crocon Case, a unique, originally designed gift box, with our messages right on the lid, its impression enhanced by original photos by our director Linda Poščić Borovac. The moment you receive the box, you immediately know that you have received something different, thoughtful and worth more than its material value. By encouraging you with the messages “PUT YOUR POSITIVE PANTS ON”, “MIND YOUR MANNERS”, “BE PATIENT” and “FEED YOUR FOCUS”, we wanted to immediately put a smile on your face, but also encourage you to think outside of the box.

And inside the box are all of our items that carry our original messages, with the latest addition from 2018: Crocon’s magical potions, to use when our four values ​​seem unattainable without additional help. There are four drinks that should be used responsibly and only when necessary, inspired by circumstances and phenomena that we mercilessly lack in ourselves and the people around us today: REPONSABILIS, PERSISTINIUM, TRANQUILLUM and HUMORIX.

The bottles contain herbs and spices chosen deliberately depending on what is missing – mint for persistence, rosemary for joy, lemon balm for peace and quiet and cinnamon for responsibility. The potions are distributed as a set on a designed card on the background of which we reveal the real identity of each potion, jokingly but truthfully describing the usefulness of each one.

There is no manual or gospel that can teach us integrity, responsibility, positivity, passion, dedication, reliability in work and life in general, if we are not really ready to give our best. The message is – the “potions” are always there, but only WE have the power to make them work.

If you received the Crocon Case, you did not receive another useless corporate gift, but a real set for survival in the business jungle – a wake-up call and a lifeline. Because we are all in this together. Judging by the feedback from our partners and friends that we give each year, we are sure that our efforts are recognized and rewarded with mutual understanding, simple approval, a smile, that “Thank you” and most important of all – motivation and desire to contribute to our version of a better world . As long as there are those who have not forgotten the value of humanity, respect and understanding – and undeniable signs of strength in these burning times – we will have reason and motivation to continue creating.

In 2017, we invested not only our efforts, but also our hearts in the process of creating the Crocon Case and the entire concept behind it. We therefore wanted to give ourselves another opportunity to present our work to as wide a community as possible, so we started looking for an international competition that would really have weight and that would place us in a serious company of creators. After much research, we decided on the Hermes Creative Awards.

On April 24, 2018, we received the great news that we won the Platinum Hermes Award in the Print Media/Integrated Marketing – Company Branding category for our entry Crocon Case – A business jungle survival kit.

The Hermes Awards were founded in 1994 and are supported by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). Over time, this competition has become one of the largest of its kind in the world. Now in its fourth decade, AMCP prides itself on a well-deserved reputation for accuracy, fairness and credibility. This international organization consists of several thousand marketing, communications, PR, media and independent professionals whose goal is to find and recognize companies and individuals whose talent exceeds high standards of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark in the industry. A look at past award winners reveals a wide range in size, from small companies to large media conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies, from marketing agencies, graphic designers, production companies to creative forces within companies like Crocon.

Applications are evaluated by experienced professionals on the basis of creativity and without comparing one work to another, so in one category there may be several award winners or none at all. Submitted works are awarded points between 90-100 (Platinum), 80-89 (Gold) and 70-79 (Honorable Mention).

Some of the platinum award winners this year include Walt Disney, Harvard Business School, Hilton, Mercedes-Benz, National Geographic, NFL, PepsiCo, Yamaha, Raytheon and many more, so we can truly say we’re in awe-inspiring company.

And as the only winner of the platinum Hermes from Croatia, we are extremely proud to have put our small country on the creative map of the world! ????