Elena Bululete (Conan PR): "Clients need a partner by their side, to think long-term and strategically, to build brands and meaningful relationships"

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 Elena Bululete, manager partner Conan PR, in another series of interviews and talked about the Romanian PR 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.

By Romanita Oprea

How would you characterize the evolution of the Romanian PR industry? How would you characterize the industry right now (creativity, budgets, strategy,etc)?

Cautiously recovering – the pandemic hit the industry hard, we felt that we would get back at full throttle, but we’re taking small (but steady) steps instead. Even so, we had great projects last year – we started a great collaboration between Zalando and the Diploma Festival, we celebrated 5 years of Lăptăria cu caimac with some cool new products and events, we developed a great campaign together with Kiwi.com (World Travel Hackers), we jumped on the Barbie wagon with Uber Pink, we launched Klarna on the Romanian market and we organized Flip Sustainability Talks, just to name a few.

What would you change in the industry and why?

I know it’s been a much-talked-about topic for years, but I would change the pitching process. I would make it mandatory to have it be more transparent, starting with naming the agencies invited in the process and ending with the budgets, that should always be mentioned in full disclosure together with the brief. And I would set a pitch-fee to be paid to the agencies invited in the process.

What are the main challenges right now in your opinion, in the industry?

The shortage in the labour market. I imagine most people talk about accommodating AI, but I think that is a distant challenge. AI is here to stay, so the more comfortable we get to it, the better we can make it work for and with us. No matter how much the industry will change in terms of organization and the technology used, at its center there will always be professionals motivated by curiosity, creativity and empathy.

What still inspires you and gives you drive and joy in PR and why?

It’s still fun to work in PR and we’ve been lucky to have clients we love to work with. We’ve always had a mix of entrepreneurial businesses and big companies and it’s an approach we will keep on carrying, as there is much to learn from both perspectives and brings insights you get to use all around. Besides, I find public relations to be that discipline where you use much of your overall life experience, it keeps you on your toes, fresh and connected, so the more you live the better professional you are.

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

We’re not your classical trend follower, we’ve rather discovered what works for us and we’re consolidating our strengths. We have already developed an internal digital department with great results so far, so we will continue to develop it, and we are constantly trying tools and testing platforms that can help us in our work. We are still in the exploration phase, but we all are when it comes to AI, for example, and how we can accommodate it in our day-to-day activities.

What are the agency’s main services required by the clients and why?

We’re still going strong in terms of media relations and all our clients require this service, but the main input we have is in terms of consultancy. More than ever, in the past few years, we’ve felt that clients need a partner by their side, to think long-term and strategically, to build brands and meaningful relationships, either if we’re talking about B2B or B2C companies.

How was 2023 in terms of creativity and projects, turnover, etc?

We had a good year, marked by lots of events, and it feels like everyone is trying to make up for the lost time. On top of this, we had international clients that we launched on the Romanian market (Klarna last year, Zalando and Kiwi.com the year before) and these projects always come with a fresh approach and tickle the creative muse. Don’t get me wrong, we also love to work alongside our entrepreneurial clients, it’s a very stimulating process and it’s how we grew as an agency, paying attention to results and outcome.

What was so far the impact of AI?

We haven’t felt the impact of AI in our immediate daily work – like I said in an earlier answer, we are constantly testing tools and platforms but we haven’t redesigned workflows or processes because of it, yet. It is the topic of the moment, for sure, so we will embrace the use of AI in the creative business as well, but we are still in the exploration phase.

What about the pitches you entered?

We haven’t entered so many pitches last year, almost all of our recent clients have been referred to us by current or previous ones, or by international agencies working with our clients on different markets (and who know us and our work) , which makes us proud and happy that we’re doing things right.

What are your goals for the agency in 2024? What are the changes you intend to bring in the agency in 2024 and why?

We want to explore more the digital side of comms, to continue to be a reliable consultant for our clients and to finally implement OKRs within the agency, a project that we’ve been working on for the past two years.

Where do you see the Romanian PR industry compared to the European one?

I’d say we are very European already. Half of our clients are international clients and we’ve always been up to date with the work other European agencies are doing on their markets and, considering lots of our ideas get implemented in other countries as well, I say we are doing quite good.

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