Ana Ailenei (Highlight Agency): „The human side of the business is extremely important to us”

2023 was a very dynamic and full year, until its end. But what should we desire from this year’s reality? BR sat down with Ana Ailenei, client service director at Highlight Agency, in another series of interviews and talked about the Romanian marcomm industry, its evolution and what to be expected from 2024, at the same time not forgetting to touch the trends and agency’s side as well.

How was 2023 for the agency, from a business point of view?

With a turnover of over EUR 5.3 million in 2023, Highlight Agency recorded a 15 percent increase last year and for 2024 aims to maintain this trend, predicting an increase of at least 10-15 percent.

The services offered by Highlight Agency at this moment include: creative BTL concepts, corporate events and conferences, brand and PR activations, employer branding, trade marketing & retail activation campaigns, as well as full production and implementation services, logistics and transports, all at the level national.

In 2023 Highlight Agency collaborated with 34 clients, both companies with which the agency has partnerships for over 5 years (such as Ursus Breweries, PepsiCo Romania, Beiersdorf Romania), as well as new clients from sectors such as FMCG, IT and Telecommunications, with whom the collaboration continues this year as well.

Moreover, the past year arrived with a variety of projects for Highlight Agency and its partners, implemented with the same passion and to the same standards of excellence for which the agency is recognized in the market. The agency implemented over 650 projects, both locally and internationally, in countries such as The Czech Republic and Italy.

What were the most important changes & novelties that happened in the agency in 2023?

We succeeded in growing our teams with very qualified and lovely people that I am counting on for the future years. The human side of the business is extremely important to us, it has always been. And I believe this is why our clients like us and keep coming back to Highlight Agency for more and more projects. They know they can count on our people and that we have a very good retention rate, a very important aspect, especially in such a volatile industry, such as ours.

How does Highlight Agency position itself in the industry and what do you offer differently than the competition?

Highlight Agency is an independent advertising agency with a 16-year history and extensive experience in the BTL field, both in the local and European markets. We take pride in our team of over 35 passionate advertising professionals in areas such as Strategy and Creativity, Client Service, BTL, Digital, Production, and Logistics. Additionally, throughout the years, we have established long-term partnerships with companies across various industries, collaborating to create relevant and memorable experiences in corporate environments, as well as in trade, in-store, digital, or at festivals.

We provide full-service communication with a focus on the BTL sector and operate from a central office in Bucharest, with six regional branches in Sibiu, Cluj, Brașov, Pitești, Suceava, and Constanța. We have multiple logistics centers and a network of over 650 professionals (brand ambassadors, suppliers, partners) throughout the country.

The agency’s client portfolio includes companies such as Ursus Breweries, PepsiCo Romania, Beiersdorf Romania, Tazz, Veranda Mall, Kandia Dulce, Danone, Heidi Chocolat, Telekom, Asahi CE & Europe, Birra Peroni.

Generally, it was a very intense year in the marcomm industry, with many projects and campaigns, until the last days of December. Was it the same for your agency?

Yes, it was the busiest year for us, with the most projects, with campaigns of increased complexity and with the expansion of the client portfolio. It was a year in which clients emphasized more than ever on the delivery of integrated campaigns, and we had the opportunity in this way to leave our mark on 360 projects, from the development of creative concepts to production and implementation, in which all types of human resources available in Highlight Agency were involved.

2023 was for us a very balanced year from the point of view of the types of projects carried out, which helped us to fulfill the objective that we had proposed from the beginning of the year, namely to keep a constant volume of work during those 12 months. The fact that we have different specialists in the team helps us carry out trade marketing projects, NCPs, sales conferences, brand experience activations during festivals, Christmas parties and internal communications, because each of these generally take place in different periods of the year.

What about the pitches you entered?

We took part in a few pitches last year, as a result of the agency’s business strategy. However, the ones we participated in brought us a very good winning rate. Therefore, the agency’s portfolio was expanded with 2 clients from the banking and telecommunications industries. The main criteria for which the clients chose us in the pitches were: the creative ideas for which we always offered feasible solutions for implementation, on time, on budget and at the quality expected by the clients.

What did clients want the most in 2023? Do you see any changes in their approaches compared to the other years? Why?

Our clients are becoming more and more sophisticated, keeping up with the new technologies and eager for creativity and results. At Highlight Agency, we have always felt the need for clients to be able to rely on the people in the agency, to find here the best solutions to their business objectives, as well as to be advised and given the best advice and strategies. Our colleagues always know how to provide an input based on experience, but also on creativity, and that much-needed human factor. They are with the client in all stages of the project / campaign and always keep their promises. They never promise what they can’t deliver and offer a lot of understanding and empathy.

Clients in general, not only ours, are more and more demanding and know better what they need and want. But this is not something that scares us, on the contrary. We are here for tailor-made solutions and technology-driven projects.

What do you consider to be the latest trends that are arriving in the marcomm industry and why?

We consider that using research at its best makes us more efficient. Machine learning and automation tools are becoming increasingly used, adapted and desired by both agencies and clients. AI is helping through the personalization and scalability of the message and by analyzingvast amounts of data to identify individual consumer behaviors and preferences, allowing agencies and marketers to create messages that resonate on a deeply personal level, even when targeting thousands of people.

Moreover, AI has the advantage of being able to predict future trends or potential changes in behavior, which clearly helps to create relevant campaigns.

We also believe in the power of experiential marketing, which, although it has had a maximum potential in Romania for years, is still not close to its maximum development capacity. But it is an area that can create memorable brand experiences that engage consumers on a deeper level with increased interaction, when BTL specialists know how to take the whole experience to another level. The experiential marketing of 2024 will include interactive events, pop-up shops, immersive installations or gamified experiences that allow consumers to interact directly with the brand and feel like they are truly part of the brand story.

Another trend that has been present for several years and continues to grow is that of user-generated content. We still believe in its power and in the fact that it is only up to us, the representatives of the agencies, to succeed in attracting consumers to us and to the campaigns we create, to make them interesting, relatable and to always bring something new that to arouse their curiosity.

Where do you believe to be the industry’s main problems and how can they be changed?

We are still in an industry with limited budgets and that has been deeply impacted by the pandemic. We need more courageous clients and ones that are willing to invest more in out-of-the-box projects and campaigns. We would like to be given free hand to show more of our creativity and competence in big, surprising projects. We want to see more passion for the industry.

How much of an important role are still playing consultancy and strategy in 2024?

In my opinion, they are more important than ever. They lay at the foundation of every successful campaign and attributes that we cannot operate without. We are not executors, but creators.

What do you believe to be the main DONTs in the industry and why?

Lack of information and proper skills, in some situations. Lack of passion, people that choose advertising today just because they heard is an industry that can offer one a good salary. Lack of professionalism.

What are your goals and wishes for 2024?

For 2024, Highlight Agency aims to continue the development, both from the perspective of financial and business indicators, as well as from that of diversifying projects and continuing investments in the development of resources and team skills. To all of that we plan to continue our turnover growth with more than 10-15 percent, compared to 2023’s results.

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