Florescu told Business Standard he aims to develop the agency according to western “traditional” models. He says he does not approve of the trend among local agencies to service clients with the production of ads and down to the acquisition of a suit for an event.
To put his plan into action, Florescu, a Romanian-born U.S. citizen, has brought Nick Hine from Saatchi&Saatchi’s London office as manager of the Creation Department. Heine’s performance is already visible, since the agency enjoyed a higher score than last year at the 2007 Ad’Or local advertising festival, according to Florescu.
He also invited Jorg Riommi from the agency’s Rome office to come to the Romanian subsidiary of Saatchi&Saatchi as Art Director. Following these personnel changes, Florescu said he does not need further expat department heads to develop the business. In 2008, Saatchi&Saatchi is to focus on interactive media also. A campaign has already been launched for HBO using this media, Florescu said. The reason is that clients have begun to understand that traditional media, especially television, is extremely crowded with advertising, so new media is needed for ads to reach their target.
The interactive media campaigns will be made through production company Chainshaw Europe, owned by Florescu and his family. The Romanian branch of Saatchi&Saatchi is also owned by Florescu. Saatchi&Saatchi posted €8 million in turnover in 2006. For this year, Florescu expects an increase in business, but declined to give any estimate. The rise will be due to market growth and to the shift in the agency’s focus on more creative services.
