Interview. Imola Zoltan & Lavinia Chican (McCann PR): The public’s resistance to the commercial message manifests itself much earlier and communication channels are overstretched much faster

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Imola Zoltan is one of the most well-known figures in the Romanian PR, as she has been the owner of McCann PR starting August 2004. Public relations specialist with 18 years’ worth of experience, out of which eight have been spent working with global brands spanning the FMCG, energy, consumer lifestyle and sports sectors in Romania, Lavinia Chican is senior partner at McCann PR. BR met with them and had an open discussion about last year’s successes and challenges as well as how they perceive the local communication industry.

By Romanita Oprea

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

Imola Zoltan: For McCann PR, 2017 was maybe the best year. Our team got bigger and richer, with people who strengthened our corporate, brand and creative core, and contributed both to the “Agency of the Year” award and to our business. We are now a stronger team with colleagues that can assure a sustainable mix of creativity, production and implementation, which transformed the way we work and the added value that we offer to our clients.

Businesswise, McCann PR consolidated its position on the Romanian communication market with a strong increase in our revenues.

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

Lavinia Chican: McCann PR grew as a whole, both in numbers and in the quality of the campaigns we implement together with our clients. This increase is due to diversifying the ways in which we approach communication and taking steps further in giving PR new meanings and, of course, business lines. An omni-channel communication requires a wider vision and approach to the public than five years ago, for example.

What about the pitches entered?

Imola Zoltan: Competition is always a driver for us. Challenging, yes, but we always find ways to make it fun. This year, we added few important clients to our portfolio and consolidated our relationship with some existent ones. Just naming a few from our portfolio:

The Coca-Cola System – with Coca-Cola Romania and Coca-Cola HBC Romania, Carrefour, Microsoft, Gefco, UPC Romania, Nokian Tyres, ENGIE, Regina Maria, Johnson & Johnson, MSD Romania, SECOM, covering a wide range of services and expertise, from corporate & crisis communication, integrated ATL-BTL-PR-Digital campaigns, to Brand PR, experiential marketing events and activations.

We were invited to many pitches and it was a really hard teamwork behind. One of the greatest news is that we are now working on new industries, like banking, fashion, and sports. Looking forward to new achievements in these areas, too.

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

Lavinia Chican: We’ve grown a lot in the last years, as an industry. The world is changing as we speak, the business models are evolving to real-time actions and our role now is to build bridges that can face the shortest attention span ever. As a result, we’ve learned to do everything better, bigger and bolder.

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

Imola Zoltan: It’s hard to name only some of them – and this can only prove that we are limitless in finding innovative solutions and ways to spread a message. What we admire in general are the ideas that have the power to engage others in changing the odds. So, the award for the most impressive and emotional campaign goes to Magic Home. We are all supporters and donators. Cheers to everyone that got involved!

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

Lavinia Chican: The most important changes are always the ones forcing you to reinvent and get out of your comfort zone – either when coming to shaping teams, resources or ways of working. For us it was both hard and extremely rewarding, as we’ve ended a really challenging 2017 as the Agency of the Year.  Or, better said – as the TEAM of the Year.

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

Imola Zoltan: The need for diversification and integration are key words here. We are in an age where the public’s resistance to the commercial message manifests itself much earlier, and communication channels are overstretched much faster. The only way to be one step ahead of the process is to have the resources and courage to develop and learn continually. And that’s what we do.

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

Lavinia Chican: We think that the whole communication market will increase, both in terms of revenues and in terms of campaigns and projects. We find rather encouraging the fact that the communication agencies are focusing more and more on strategic and creative approaches and out of the box campaigns.

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

Imola Zoltan: We’ll definitely continue to strengthen our strategic and creative department as a growth driver and to develop our entire team of talents. We also want to tackle other industries and fields of expertise, whether work with different, whether through new campaigns.

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

Lavinia Chican: We, as an industry, need to focus more on developing our expertise and position in the whole communication market. We are no longer just the PR guys and girls, we are professionals with ATL, BTL, corporate and brand communication skills, capable of implementing complex and long run campaigns.