Analysis. The growing advertising market in Timisoara

One of the most Westernized cities in Romania, known for its scenery as well as for many “firsts” in the Romanian market, Timisoara is little by little becoming another town to watch in the local advertising industry, following Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca.

Romanita Oprea

The year ended on a high for Timisoara, which edged out three other strong local contenders (Baia Mare, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca) to claim the title of European Capital of Culture in 2021. It was not an easy battle and marks another first in the city’s history. As winner of the prestigious mantle, Timisoara will also receive a special prize of UR 1.5 million. The city’s candidacy ran under the concept and slogan “Shine your light – Light up your city!”. The projected operating budget is EUR 48.5 million, of which EUR 33.9 million will be allocated to the program’s expenditure. Timisoara hosts between 3,500 and 4,000 cultural events each year and close to 90 percent of the local cultural budget goes on supporting public institutions, while the rest is allotted to NGOs.

Timisoara’s campaign concept for this contest revolved around “program-stations/projects” and paths alongside the Bega canal, linking ideas, people and places. The campaign was also backed by a website, created by local agency EBIG, and communication by PR agency PR Beta.

Starting from the fact that the light played an important role in Timisoara’s history, the program was centered around the light. The headline “Shine your light – Light up your city!” wanted to reflect the journey from the individual to European aware and involved citizen that has very well routed the values of community and the passion. Therefore, the headline represented an invitation to a double motivation: on one hand inviting the citizens to dear and show their values and attitudes, metaphorically described as an interior light, and on the other hand, to use this light in order to dismiss the dark and the passivity around them, through a civil process powered by culture.

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Tibor Navracsics, commissioner for education, culture, youth & sport, said he hopes that the title will bring cultural, economic and social benefits for Timisoara, replicating the successful development of other cities that were cultural capitals.

Besides a higher touristic profile, the city is set to earn more business investments and receive greater attention from the cultural and business sector, both locally and internationally. This effect will also reflect on the marcomm industry.

Young market draws in talent

While the website timisoreni.ro has 31 agencies registered offering marketing & advertising services , many of them present in several categories, Foursquare’s “radar” picks up only nine advertising agencies (Man Cave, ROV Images, Ornella Print, Optima Business Park, Rainfall, Star Marketing Consulting, Business Hive, Live Media, Genuine Advertising). This could suggest that, for the moment, local agencies may not be that interested in promoting their business – digitally, that is. According to BR research, more than 80 advertising agencies are currently operating in Timisoara.

However, in 2014, The Advertising Agencies’ Night, organized by The Institute every year, gathered three agencies in Timisoara: Celmaimare Studios, Adwiser and Synopsis, the same number as in 2015: Celmaimare Studios and Electric Resistance with Kape Illustration (the last two together).

“The advertising market in Timisoara is a service market; therefore it reflects the city’s economic situation. Right now, we are in the middle of a really big transition that started 27 years ago, when Timisoara became the first communism-free city. Since then, the road to capitalism has been anything but easy for the country as well as for the region. However, the geographical position of this city made it possible for investors across Europe (and beyond) to implement their business models here, therefore creating jobs, a need for all kinds of services the Western world was already accustomed to and a general sense of growth in economic terms,” said Eugen Neacsu, co-founder of Electronic Resistance.

Moreover, according to him, the local advertising market in Timisoara naturally follows this growth path, currently being in the “early twenties” phase, characterized by recklessness, uninterrupted enthusiasm and creative youthfulness.

“Even the oldest advertising studios/agencies here are not as old and mature as their Western peers. However, this does not mean we are naive or unprepared. The lack of years in experience is compensated for by the raw creative talent that the city still manages to attract. We believe that, as the city continues to grow, the need and opportunity for advertising agencies will also grow,” added Neacsu. Founded in 2004 as a design studio, four years ago Electric Resistance became a mix between a graphic design studio, an animation and video production house, a rock’n’roll band, a projection mapping collective and an advertising agency. Its services include the creation of advertising campaigns, video commercials, multimedia presentations and affiliate marketing projects. The firm will be launching cinematography projects soon.

Representatives of the agency Green Roua, who say they are proud not to have been affected by the economic crisis, have also witnessed the development and growth of the market in recent years. More than that, according to Alexandra Cinca, marketing specialist at Green Roua, since the crisis, professionals have realized that, by following their first instinct and cutting marketing budgets, they only worsen the losses. “The market has developed during the last few years, across all marketing functions, from strategic planning to the choice of creative path and media channels. Online advertising is evolving at a fast pace, while traditional advertising may be used additionally, with effective results. The advertising market in Timisoara is a growing market, both in terms of revenue and opportunities. Clients are realizing the importance of marketing [and acting on it], as their competition is also intensifying,” added Cinca.

Clients and creativity

When it comes to how open clients are to creative and innovative ideas, Eugen Neacsu tells BR that it depends on the type of person you are working with. “I have been surprised to be welcomed with great confidence and trust in my choices by people from public institutions and I have also felt disappointed to be treated like an amateur by people working in adjacent or the same fields as us. Generally, we tend to propose doable-and-not-so-fancy solutions to our clients and they appreciate this during our collaborations. If you listen well to your clients’ needs, your creativity will do the rest of the job,” said Neacsu.

Green Roua was conceived as a company that can refresh a business, green being a symbol of creativity and freshness. “At the same time, we can make new companies bloom, offering a touch like the morning dew (Roua). Saying that we are innovative would be a cliché and boasting about our professionalism is redundant, because if we had not possessed these strengths, we wouldn’t have managed [to succeed] in this field. Green Roua tries to be a real friend to businesses, helping them grow and improve, while having fun. We also want to transmit the connection we have with our clients, so it can be further conveyed to their customers, rendering the same purchase experience,” said Alexandra Cinca.

The agency has a wide range of clients from different industries, multinational companies, law firms, medical offices and so on, such as Profi, Continental, Decathlon, Takita, Kemper and Flaro. Though she says every project is important, Cinca mentioned the online platform Industrialin and the two annual trade fairs, Automotive Expo and Industry Expo, among the firm’s major achievements. “These tools and events help our customers benefit from access to the latest industry information, the chance of developing collaborations with targeted business partners, promotion, improvement and strengthening their image on the market,” added Cinca. The agency offers marketing & advertising, graphic & web design, event organization, consultancy, training and workshop, team building and procurement outsourcing services.

Moreover, with a profitable 2016, expectations also run high for 2017. “2016 was a good year. Turnover increased by 60 percent compared to last year and we predict similar growth for 2017. We have both regional and international clients in our portfolio. We are optimistic about attracting more foreign customers, as a result of the trust and image boost brought by the European Capital win. The advertising market in Timisoara is a growing market, both in terms of revenue and opportunities. Clients are realizing the increasing importance of marketing, as their competition is also intensifying,” concluded Cinca.

Elsewhere, representatives of Electronic Resistance said that, after repositioning in 2013, every year has been better than the previous one in terms of productivity, clients and projects. “2016 was great for us, more precisely because one of our clients won a very important and strategic prize and we helped them create the winning presentation. Another recent event held in town by Agentia de Dezvoltare Regionala Vest put us before an audience comprised of automotive corporate executives, large business owners and tech innovators. It was an important opportunity to tell them what we do and what it looks like.” said Neacsu. Apart from its clients, the agency has its own projects and started a cultural association dedicated to video art. As for the changes brought by Timisoara’s newly-gained title, the agency’s previous international collaborations (Europe & USA) will continue in the future. “We haven’t invested in marketing in those countries yet, but as we evolve as a company, we will keep an eye on other market opportunities as well,” concluded the Electronic Resistance representative.