Third-year undergraduate students of the Media and Culture of Society programme at the Faculty of Media and Public Relations achieved remarkable results in the digital promotion of the 12th Dubrovnik Winter Festival through the successful implementation of a communication strategy and the production of social media content.

This year’s major communication breakthrough of the Festival was achieved in the digital space, where students launched and successfully managed a dedicated Instagram profile, @dzf_studenti, as a modern and authentic promotional channel for the Festival’s programme activities. Through the continuous production of creative and original content, the students covered all segments of the Festival, ensuring its constant presence and high visibility in the online environment.

During the 12th Dubrovnik Winter Festival, students of the Faculty of Media and Public Relations actively participated in as many as 149 festival events and activities. A total of 139 posts and a large number of stories were published on the profile, creating a strong and dynamic communication channel for the Festival.

In just over one month, the profile generated a total of 569,502 impressions, reaching nearly 110,000 user accounts, with almost 90% of views coming from users who did not previously follow the profile. The account recorded 4,212 profile visits and 15,607 interactions, including 11,614 likes, 119 comments, 408 saves, 1,490 shares, and 202 reposts. Notably, no paid advertising was used during the project, as all results were achieved exclusively through organic reach and the quality of the produced content.

The profile’s audience consisted of users aged 18 to 54, with the largest share of followers coming from Dubrovnik, as well as from other Croatian cities such as Split and Zagreb.

In addition to Instagram, students also shared part of the video content on the TikTok profile @unidu_komunikologija. A total of 13 videos were published, generating more than 113,000 views, nearly 338 hours of watch time, 7,958 likes, 1,190 shares, and 506 saves, resulting in 117 new followers.

These results confirm the high level of professionalism, creativity, and communication competencies of the student team, as well as the effectiveness of their contemporary digital PR approach, implemented with continuous mentorship support from teaching assistants Ivana Grkeš Tošović and Ivana Hladilo.

The successful collaboration between the Festival organisers and the student team resulted in a professional and recognisable presentation of the Festival, positive audience feedback, and increased public visibility. For the students, participation provided valuable hands-on experience and an opportunity to apply the knowledge they had acquired, while the Dubrovnik Winter Festival was enriched with fresh ideas and a modern communication approach.

The third consecutive year of successful cooperation between the Dubrovnik Winter Festival and the Faculty of Media and Public Relations of the University of Dubrovnik further confirms the long-term value of this partnership, which effectively connects the academic community with the City of Dubrovnik, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, public cultural institutions, companies, and all other partners involved in the implementation of the Dubrovnik Winter Festival.