Direct Media on the BelgradeGets.digital project

Direct Media United Solutions

Digital Serbia Initiative and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched belgradegets.digital with a view to promoting Belgrade as an inviting destination for living and working for digital nomads and other digital professionals from around the world. DIRECT MEDIA United Solutions was the agency on this innovative project.

In anticipation of the pandemic letting up, more and more countries are kicking off international campaigns targeting digital nomads — among them included are exotic travel destinations like Barbados and Costa Rica, as well as European countries like the Czech Republic and Estonia, or our neighbors Croatia and Montenegro.

Through the belgradegets.digital initiative — which stemmed from the local digital and startup community — Belgrade is setting out to defend its title of one of the top 20 destinations according to users on Nomad List, a website drawing together the world’s biggest populace of digital nomads. The project seeks to showcase Belgrade in a new light to those who might not see themselves as digital nomads, but who are now deciding to make the switch from the newly presented opportunity to “work from home” to “work from anywhere on the planet.”

The starting point in developing the belgradegets.digital platform and putting Belgrade on the digital map of the world was a joint initiative set in motion and developed by Nova Iskra, SHARE Foundation, and Startit.

The website’s visitors are offered practical information and advice on how to travel, where to stay, and how to find a place to work, as well as enjoyable settings to relax. There are also recommendations for cultural spots and local food to try. In addition, the website supports users by giving away free vouchers that can be used to consult with lawyers or accountants about administrative procedures they can expect. Finally, belgradegets.digital features experiences of digital nomads from around the world who have already stayed in our capital — through both video interviews and direct contact with those who joined the Belgrade Ambassadors network.

The Digital Serbia Initiative joined the project nearly a year ago because we believe that this positioning of Belgrade broadens the pool of digital professionals who bring the needed skills and international contacts to the local community and create new opportunities, enhancing our capital’s global reputation and building an image of the wider region’s digital economy hotspot,” says Tijana Stefanović from the Digital Serbia Initiative.

“UNDP’s Accelerator Labs supported belgradegets.digital because we want digital professionals who are considering the nomadic lifestyle to start with Belgrade and get the key information needed for the decision in a single place. The pandemic and remote working have sparked a re-examining of what work and workplace will look like in the future and how and where we will perform our work assignments. We think that the remote working trend could be important for both Serbia and the region because it can affect the direction and intensity of economic migration,” says Kristina Jazinka Nikolić from the UNDP.

belgradegets.digital portrays Belgrade as an imperfect but authentic European city that is always ready to change and that can appeal to digital professionals with its honesty, openness, and cosmopolitan spirit. An additional asset is the very lively digital and startup scene, which has been increasingly capturing international attention in recent years.

The GRAD Cultural Center also joined in on the project development, while DIRECT MEDIA United Solutions, as a member of the Digital Serbia Initiative, contributed to designing a vibrant visual identity supporting the belgradegets.digital brand.

“It was a great pleasure to have been the marketing agency of choice for such an inspiring project. Belgrade deserves to be shown in the best light to digital nomads to help them decide on our capital easier and faster. Our team was tasked with creating the visual identity, logo, and branding, and in addition to the creative part, we teamed up with the Digital Serbia Initiative team to design the project’s communication plan,” says Stefan Gajić, Direct Media’s Art Director.