Debate of branding Romania held at ICR Paris

There is no secret that Romania is a country that has a questionable reputation abroad, and in the past years we, as Romanians, were not very good seen in France. Therefore, on June 26, at ICR Paris, Nick Baum (TBWA Worldwide), Mihai Gongu (GMP Advertising), Yvette Larsson (The Bucharest Lounge), Ioana Mihai (IQads) and
Ioana Negulescu (The Happyholic) will present some ideas about the branding of Romania.

So far there have been several campaigns to promote Romania, but most of them only promote the raw nature which one finds once they get out of the big cities. Nevertheless Romania is in a continuous urbanization process, the young generations move to big cities like Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi to do their studies and work. And those cities are the places that grow day by day.

Young foreigners who have the opportunity to come to Romania usually have a great time there. They like the nightlife, the cheap prices, the genuinely human and friendly attitude of Romanian people. They are the ones who then go back to their countries and talk to their friends about their experience in Romania. They are the ones who change mentalities with their stories. Yet, until now, they have never been the target audience of any campaign to promote this country. Romania hasn’t been promoted as a low-budget, entertaining and cool holiday destination.

“Discover the Mania in RO+MANIA” is the campaign proposed by Ioana Negulescu that promotes aspects of Romania that haven’t been approached yet. She chose to talk to young people, using a tone of voice that they would understand and would appreciate, with sincerity and wit, about a different kind of Romania – a Romania that’s for the first time a “cool” destination, where young people can have a great time, can meet genuinely friendly people, can discover the nightlife and get in contact with Romanians’ joie-de-vivre. Her work can be seen on www.thehappyholic.com

Location: Institut Culturel Roumain, 1, rue de l’Exposition 75007, Paris.