Communication Management Forum, which was held first day in CineStar Branimir Zagreb, gathered numerous experts and scientists from PR, marketing, tourism and branding.

In opening speeches, Dean and President of the Board of Governors at Edward Bernays University College welcomed 200 participants of the 3^rd Communication Management Forum. "As a university college, leader in the field of communication management in Croatia, and hopefully soon in the field of tourism, we are trying to be innovative and different and to invest in scientific disciplines. Branding has become a priority, and we have the opportunity to influence that long-lasting and demanding process.“, emphasized Damir Jugo, PhD. The new CMF edition is dedicated to communications, tourism, national culture and the brand. "Communication Management Forum encourages critical thinking and deals with current topics. We particularly welcome the student section, which will contribute with the scientific papers to the quality of this year's conference.", said the President of the Bernays's Board of Governors Mario Petrović.

The highlights of the first day of the Communication Management Forum were the lectures of keynote speakers – the professor of public relations at the University of Colorado Krishnamurthy Sriramesh and the professor at the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb and Head of the Working Group of the President for identity and brand development of the Republic of Croatia Dubravka Sinčić Ćorić.

Dr Krishnamurthy Sriramesh concluded that "public relations does not only mean communication of ideas, but also the interpretation of culture" and has referred the public relations as an important agent in the process of acculturation and interpretation. Dr Sinčić Ćorić talked about key aspects of Croatian branding and emphasized: "The priority is to raise awareness of Croatian national identity first among the Croatian citizens, and then to brand it in the world."

At the 3^rd edition of the conference the Edward Bernays award was presented for the first time. This award gives recognition to distinguished individuals for contributing to the development of academic disciplines of public relations and communication. First prize winners are Dr Ana Tkalac Verčič from Zagreb's Faculty of Economics and current President of the Croatian Association of Public Relations, Dr Božo Skoko from the Faculty of Political Sciences (University of Zagreb) and Dr Dejan Verčič from the Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Ljubljana).

By the end of the first day of the conference, two roundtables were held discussing whether Croatia could become a cultural, economic and political brand thanks to the European Union's 2020 Presidency and what is it like Croatia in the eyes of multinational companies.