Nikolina – The Marketing Leader of the Future
“I was so fascinated to see that people in the metro stay along the lines while waiting for their trains!” wondered Nikolina. She has joined Excelerate just two months after moving to Copenhagen in November 2020, and everything is still to her great surprise. Nikolina amicably shared about herself, and you have a chance to get to know the person who stands behind Excelerate’s social media.
Next up in introducing the Excelerate team, we have Nikolina – the marketing leader of the future.
As the interview was conducted with Nikolina, we were still working a lot from home. Hence, when I interviewed Nikolina she was patiently waiting for my “arrival.” I have already been delayed for four minutes, trying to set up my iPad for a video call, the mobile phone for voice recording, and my laptop for notes taking. The interview was afoot! I jumped into Google Meet and finally joined the call.
Introducing Nikolina
At the time of the interview, Nikolina was part of the Excelerate team already for two months. Despite this, the number of our in-person meetings could be counted on the fingers of one hand due to the infamous pandemic. Especially for those who inquire: we met three times. That is not enough to get to know your colleague well!
Name:
Nikolina Savić
Age:
25
Origin:
Šibenik, Croatia
Position in Excelerate:
Brand and Communications Specialist
Educational background:
2018: Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics at Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb
2020: Master’s degree in Marketing at Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb
And so, the same as you do now, I did not have a clue who Nikolina Savić was.
“Could you please start by introducing yourself?” I asked. So, Nikolina shared her concise biography. She comes from Croatia, from a little city located on the Adriatic coast – Šibenik, where she grew and lived until the end of her high school years. At the age of 18, pursuing further education, Nikolina – the marketing leader of the future, moved to the capital – Zagreb. There she successfully acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics. While her Master’s degree was purely focused on marketing.
“I always had minimum troubles learning marketing-related subjects during my Bachelor’s. It was so interesting and logical for me, so there was no doubt in choosing marketing for my Master’s degree.”
The Mind-bending Journeys
While being a master’s student, she felt an upsurge of adventures. So, in the finest tradition of carpe diem, Nikolina took a chance on her, at the time, student job at Henkel and prolonged the studies. Hence, she moved to Düsseldorf for six months for an internship at Henkel Headquarters.
“It is amazing how colorful and international Düsseldorf is! So many nationalities. You literally can hear every language of the world there.”
It turned out that Nikolina is fond of the German language, and she possesses a B1 Level. There is a special place for it in her bucket list, saying, ‘speak German fluently.’ Next to it is stated to visit Japan and master Asian cooking. Her interest in Asian food arose in Düsseldorf, begetting the fan of Xiao Long Bao dumplings.
“Düsseldorf has the biggest Asian communities in Germany, and it can be felt in the variety of restaurants. They are all over the place! And it is amazing to try out Chinese, Korean, Japanese cuisines.”
“She is always hungry,” suddenly somebody laughs in the background. Meet Dave – the reason for Nikolina’s moving to Denmark, also known as her boyfriend. They moved together to Copenhagen four months ago because of Dave’s Ph.D. degree.
“I was looking forward to moving so much! I love new experiences,” shared Nikolina.
“However, emotions were so mixed. I was excited and stressed and trying to imagine myself being here. Considering everything I have read about Denmark in books and the Internet. How I would adjust to everything that was what I was anxious about.”
Marketer in da House
You have to hand it to Nikolina for adaptability. Despite her misgivings, she joined Excelerate’s marketing team as a Social Media Manager inter just two months after settling in Copenhagen. Attagirl!
As the Social Media Manager intern, she was responsible for creating content for social media channels, scheduling posts, and brainstorming new ideas with the team.
However, by April 2021, Nikolina changed her position in Excelerate. She is currently a Brand and Communications Specialist, where she amongst a lot of things, is responsible for the strategic planning and ownership of all online communication, incl. SoMe, Web Design (WordPress) & Automated e-mailing (Mailchimp). And a whole lot of other different tasks related to the branding of Excelerate.
Having two years of marketing-related experience and education under her belt, Nikolina has a marketing mindset down the line. She made a straightforward statement: “I want to be a marketing leader and THE expert of the field!” and explained:
“It really excites me how marketing can add value to a product or service; how the specific message is transmitted to the specific audience. It is very people-oriented because you literally should get into a customer’s mind. You need to know psychology, and I adore it.”
Nikolina Savić
A Team Player
Speaking about Excelerate’s vision, Nikolina shared that the thesis collaboration culture is not so much embraced in Croatia. She sees it as an inexcusable omission.
“It is pure good for students, and companies can only benefit from this. I do think that Excelerate has great potential. It is a great initiative! Even without having experience of being a university student in Denmark, I do know that the struggle of finding a proper thesis collaboration exists.”
Plumb to the center!
What else do you need to know about Nikolina? For her, the glass is always half full. Having three older sisters, she is an innate team-player. She loves reading psychology, self-development, and health-related books.
She dead serious told me that she has no profound interests (*rolled up eyes*). What a punchline. It is complete nonsense! And now we know it.
Get to know Nikolina: questions and answers from her:
Describe yourself in 3 words: “Curious, cheerful, and compassionate.”
Fun fact: “When I was a child, boys’ games were my favorite games. I had close friends that lived in my neighborhood. We all played with car toys, and my favorite game was to create roads and build cities in the sand.”
Three things to bring on a deserted island: “Hammock, cocktail, and a book.”
Favorite dish: “Chinese dumplings ‘Xiao Long Bao’.”
The most used app or website during a day: “Instagram.”
Role model: “It is my mother. She is a very dedicated nurse. Her job is a call for her! I never met a person who would shoulder so many things. She supports my family, helps people and the elderly. She is my hero. And she is so compassionate! Pure soul!”
