Interview. Vlad Petre (Saatchi & Saatchi + The Geeks): “More clients want to buy an integrated ATL + Digital communication product”

With more than 15 years’ worth of experience in advertising, Vlad Petre was part of the team that founded The Geeks as a digital agency inside Leo Burnett Group in 2010. He managed the agencies’ clients and projects as a client service director for 7 years. Starting 2017, he became the managing director of the agency. He coordinated and implemented both digital and ATL projects for both local and multinational clients like Vodafone, Samsung OLX, Bergenbier, Bitdefender and OMV Petrom. BR talked with Vlad Petre about the agency’s outlook for 2018 and the results of last year, but also about the Romanian advertising market and its place on the international scene.

By Romanita Oprea

How was 2017 for the agency in terms of turnover/revenues?

Saatchi & Saatchi + The Geeks is growing very healthy year by year, and this thing also happened in 2017. Besides the fact that the numbers looked very well, the most important thing is that those numbers came from solid partnership with our long-term clients.

What were the departments that were most successful? What about the least successful ones?

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I would say that the agency product is the most successful thing in 2017 and for that all departments contributed. I’m very proud of the way that we combined the well-known international know-how of the Saatchi & Saatchi network, and the local digital assets of The Geeks, one of the most appreciated digital agencies in Romania. In our opinion, these are two very precious ingredients that are very hard to find in the Romanian market today.

What about the pitches you attended?

We choose very carefully the pitches that we participate in. We refuse more than we accept and that’s because we invest a lot (both money and effort) in developing the proposals for the pitches. The main criteria for us are the availability for the debriefing meeting, the transparency regarding who are the competing agencies and the estimated value of the budget that will be invested, timing vs deliverables.

How would you characterize the local advertising industry in 2018 in terms of budgets, campaigns, creativity, etc.?

I feel growth for each chapter. It appears to be the same as the market was before the financial crisis. A lot of interesting projects are happening, everybody is enthusiastic and having a lot of work to do.

What were the campaigns done by the other agencies in Romania that you admired and why?

Magic Home. Because once more it is a proof that advertising ideas can change the world for better, and can have social impact.

What were the most important changes & novelties in the agency in 2017 and how did they come to happen?

A lot of important things happened in 2017. As I said, we are very proud of the way that we developed our product by combining the Saatchi network know-how and the digital capabilities of The Geeks. For example, we have improved all aspects of our UX and UI processes and clients, mixing brand strategy with user experience design, and our clients are already benefiting from it.

What trends did you notice on the local market last year and how do you intend to follow them /represent them at your agency?

An important trend, in my opinion, is that more clients want to buy an integrated ATL + Digital communication product. A lot of client briefs are requesting integrated solutions from their agencies. This is something that we anticipated at Saatchi & Saatchi + The Geeks a few years ago, and that’s why we started developing the best model for this integrated request.

What do you foresee for 2018 from this point of view?

My expectation is that more and more clients will centralize their ATL and Digital services at one supplier – their communication agency partner.

What is your goal for 2018 in terms of revenue, but also new clients, employees, etc.?

My goal for the agency is to grow solid. Not too fast, not too slow. To be able to keep the same balance, work environment and to perfect even more this special combination between Saatchi and The Geeks. In terms of new business, we aim for long term partnerships and less project-based collaborations.

What do you want for the local industry this year?

To feed each other with exuberance, good vibe and enthusiasm.

How do you see the Romanian market connected to the international one at this moment?

We are part of one of the biggest networks in the worldwide industry Publicis One and we know that the international connection comes with huge advantages. The Publicis One philosophy allows and encourage us to access worldwide resources and expertise and this is a golden asset for us and our clients.

Where is the local industry still lacking and what can it be changed?

One of the weakest points of our industry is the way pitches are organized. There are still a lot of pitch processes with a huge lack of transparency in terms of competing agencies, budgets, availability for debriefing sessions, timing vs requests and many other. I believe that we should promote more aggressive that Pitch Guide developed by UAPR. It’s a fantastic document, but very few clients know about it.