Serban & Musneci sees shift in client behavior and bigger workload than expected

The firm is working with clients in the energy field, primarily fossil fuels and renewable energy, in the healthcare sector, including the pharmaceutical sector, as well as in telecom. Serban & Musneci is divided into a public affairs division called Serban & Musneci Associates and a PR company called Serban & Musneci Public Relations. With some companies' marketing spend having dried up, Musneci says the firm is only tacitly targeting those budgets. “Usually, large companies have corporate affairs budgets. Some of these budgets are low in the less regulated industries. But, for example, industries like pharma or defense are heavily regulated industries, with the state being an important stakeholder, so companies in these industries have very large corporate affairs budgets. This is where they have to invest because they need to have the right dialogue with the regulators,” Musneci said. Around 40 percent of the company's work is in the pharma sector. Musneci, a former pharma executive, having led the local GsK subsidiary and the regional operations of the pharmaceutical firm, went on to create the public affairs firm in 2007.
Corina Saceanu