Bucharest, Romania (Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY)
The European index indicates the average trust coefficient at European level has fallen from +11 to +8 (from January to April 2016), making Romania one of a few markets with a high level of trust in the advertising industry.
The country is going through an optimistic period with economic growth, fiscal relaxation and a sensible rise in investments, Carmen Capitanescu, marketing manager of Media Galaxy told local media. “Consumption has increased and all the financial figures are encouraging for the moment. But this optimistic environment is very sensitive to a series of factors like political challenges and social struggles. From another perspective, I feel that marketers’ influence within organizations is growing and the power and influence of the marketing function will increase over the coming years. This is a shift fueled by the increasing use of technology innovations in marketing that enable closer customer relationships, micro-targeting and improved measurement capabilities,” said Capitanescu.
“But consumer confidence is currently negative and is down from the previous year. This has, in turn, raised questions about the sustainability of the Advertising Business Confidence Index (ABCI). This index has exhibited strong signs of volatility and any positive opinions are fragile, at best, in Romania,” Dana Bursuc, business consultant at Best Minds Design, said.
Bursuc added that the report reveals a positive moment, an optimistic view of business development and the evolution of advertising demand in the first quarter. “This encouraging attitude may be predictive of future recovery signs in consumer confidence, even if this recovery is limited to specific clusters. However, it is important to note that this is not necessarily the case. There is no predictable statistical correlation between the ABCI and the specific drivers that underpin it. It is widely accepted that positive thinking tends to have a positive impact; as such, optimistic perspectives are healthier,” concluded Bursuc.
As with all other industries, the crisis changed the media landscape and it still has a mark on the industry. Even though the market is recovering, players still watch every step and every decision they take more carefully.
According to Capitanescu, most segments have posted a revival in the last two years. “But we must remain alert and pay attention to what will happen next. The 2008 crisis surprised us all and only the strong and prepared ones stood their ground. As always, you must adapt or die. I do believe this will be a good year – the next months hold promise for growth and we are optimistic about customer spending and the growth of marketing budgets over the next period,” said Capitanescu.
According to Carmen Capitanescu, the Romanian market has already entered a maturing process. The shopper journey to purchase is a lot more complicated than it was ten years ago, and one of the things that knits it all together is technology. Technology continues to advance at a rapid pace and shopper preferences are constantly changing.
Moreover, as she points out, in a context where technology allows blocking online ads and avoiding ads on TV, marketers must constantly seek new means to differentiate. “They must collaborate in real time with cross functional and cross industry teams and use new technologies and methodologies to accelerate purchase strategies. It is important to permanently be where the customers are and provide them with the opportunity to enjoy the highest quality, whether we are talking about products or services. These new paradigms have the force to further drive evolution in the industry, contributing to market maturity,” concluded Capitanescu.
