Romanian marcom industry’s 2012 in headlines: January to June

January

• Affichage Holding took over its Romanian subsidiary 
• Lowe Group Romania launched inLowe
• Romanian Advertising Agencies Association launched an online program for European Advertising certification
• McCann Bucharest and ROM campaign – present in The Big Won creative rankings.
• Romanians made online aquisitions of Euro 160-200M in 2011, according to Romcard & ePayment and Netopia and mobilPay
• Brand PR campaign from Oxygen PR and Silva Dark
• Mircea Sebe, appointed to head Lowe Vibe within Lowe&Partners
• GFK Romania, to make Romanian Radio Audience Study
• Mihaela Radulescu promoted to Senior Brand Consultant at Brandient
• Praktiker Romania selected Lowe & Partners and  GolinHarris Bucharest for integrated creative, strategy, BTL, PR and digital services. United Media handles media
• ePayment rebranded as PayU in Romania
• Facebrands counted: over 4.4M Romanians using Facebook
• Violet Advertising rebrands as Violet
• Daedalus Millward Brown releases a study showing that clothes and electronics are the items most popular among Romanians that are shopping online, with most buyers using during last 6 month a budget for online shopping of  Euro 100-500.

February

• Aura Toma takes over the helm as Managing Director Lowe&Partners
• Pressiunea.ro, an IE.9 – HTML5 project launched by MediaIq, X3 and Microsoft Romania
• Heineken Romania changed visual identity, aligning with the brand’s international standards
• Euro 1.4M sales in 2011 for Cocor Media Channel
• Media Directions keeps Berlin Chemie’s media account
• DraftFCB Romania and Nivea share love in a new national campaign
• Itsy Bitsy kids radio reached to over 1.4M parents and kids audience in Romania in 2011
• Trilulilu launched Zonga, an app that offers access to the biggest official music selection in Romania
• Ursus  Breweries changed its management team
• AdPrint 2012 to include 2 new competitions: Advertising Angels and Design Angels
• BrandTailors – turnover up 20% in 2011
• Mediapost Hit Mail study: Romanian consumers prefer the promotions with cash prizes
• G2 Romania and Absolut Vodka made a Cover Photos app
• Saatchi&Saatchi and Visa, campaign to return taxes to clients paying with cards
• Media Investment, to handle Ursus Breweries media account
• Gabriel Patru, appointed Integrated Communication Manager Media Direction
• Romanian Internal Affairs Ministry makes a resolution: to send “journalistic style press releases”
• McCann Erickson, Zenith Media and Graffiti PR sign “The taste of beautiful mornings” campaign for Nescafe
• GfK Romania joined IAB Romania
• Grayling Romania keeps MOL Romania account
• Chapter 4 – Burson-Marsteller affiliate in CEE/SEE – opened a new office in Bucharest
• Romanian magazine Dilema Veche introduced pay-wall for its online edition
• Romanian public advertising doubled in 2011, according to Romanian Independent Journalism Center
• Lowe Group Romania launches Mobile Works, mobile marketing specialized agency
• Gemius to measure Moldavian online audiences           
• New campaign for McDonald’s Romania, signed by TBWA Bucharest
• V+O Romania won ABN Systems account
• Grey – G2 Romania turned to G2 Romania following a rebranding process
• 2 new PR managers recruited at Ogilvy PR Romania
• Young Marketers Creative Academy competition, launched by The Alternative School
• A  new Senior Designer promoted at Brandient
• ARRP: Among Romanian Government offices, only 4 are using efficiently their PR departments
• GfK Romania study: Internet changes the traditional buying decision process for Romanians
• Apropo.ro and PeerIndex analyze Romanian Twitter influence
• The Group partners with Omnicom on Romanian market
• Gemius study: Dacia, Borsec and Ursus, among most popular brands in Romanian online
• Mediafax News Agency celebrates 20 years of activity on Romanian market
• Stefan Iordache takes over 40% of 2Parale, Romanian largest affiliate marketing network
• Mercury360 signs a real friendship campaign for Ciocco Latte (Dr.Oetker)
• Senior management changes at Grayling Romania: Ana Dodea appointed  Director for  International Client Services Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and Cristi Cretan – General Manager Grayling Romania
• Vlad Popovici takes over as Managing Director at Kubis
• Small things for women and gadgets for men, on Valentine’s, according to an Okazii.ro study
• Romania, included in IAB Europe’s Mediascope Europe 2012 expanded study
• 2 new Creative Directors appointed by Brand Tailors
• Close to Euro 450,000 invested in blog campaigns in Romania, according to partial results of BR2011
• The Network launched iPlan

March

• ePayment rebranding as PayU campaign reached to over 6M people
• Friends Advertising – 9 new clients in 2011
• Ex-MEC Romania, Marius Pahomi launches Conversion Marketing
• Romanian model, together with Charlie Sheen in a Fiat 500 Abarth ad
• Romanian State TV recruits bloggers for Eurovision 2012
• Redd’s beer celebrated women with a new Romanian campaign
• Oana Cociasu, Managing Partner at Lowe Medic One, launched together with Lowe Group Romania
• IqAds ranked the best Romanian ads
• Leo Burnett Romania launched a new image campaign for Antipa National Museum
• Romanian branding agencies, appreciated at Rebrand 2012
• Romanian AdVenture won CEZ Group account in Romania
• TradeAds study:  Romanian internet users get poorer and poorer
• New Client Service Director for Exact Research & Consultancy
• Romanian prime minister gets an actor as his image adviser
• Realitatea TV gets politicians to be journalists for a week-end
• GolinHarris, Lowe&Partners and HyperActive celebrated Mother’s Day with Kinder Chocolate
• Ioana Spasiu, the new Group Account Director at V+O Communication
• Saatchi&Saatchi Bucharest launched a campaign for Enel to promote online invoices
• Cristian Manafu launched SocialMediaTraining.ro
• HyperActive launched an improvisation interactive show on Facebook
• Romanian Emporiki Bank bets on French Jean Jacques in its communication
• Romanian Griffon & Swans started working with Google Romania
• Friends for Friends Foundation launched Creative Fitness Studio
• Romanian Action Global Communication made Transelectrica’s SPO campaign
• V+O won Rio Bucovina account for corporate and brand communication
• Dinu Panescu from McCann Romania, member in Cannes Lions’ Direct jury
• Graffers, coordinated by GMP PR, took over Bucharest subway, in an urban art project for Water’s Day
• Romanian Marriott Hotel, events venue of choice, invested over Euro 700,000 in its conference rooms
• Andreea Florea becomes partner in BrandTailors
• Propaganda and Senior Interactive, in campaign for Napolact
• Facebrands.ro: A third of Romanian Facebook pages already adopted the new Timeline format
• V+O launched Briefcase, with Dan Mogosanu as BTL Director
• Ringier takes over eJobs.ro, Romanian leading job portal
• Thinkdigital sells ads on Skype in Romania, after starting doing same for Facebook in December 2011
• Romanian ABC, to change name to fully reflect its activities

April

• Nadia Comaneci, announced as speaker at Cannes Lions 2012
• Leo Burnett finds the supreme balance for Rio Bucovina
• Possible Worldwide (WPP) acquired Carnation Group
• RoNewMedia turns into a 3 days event targeting CEE online industry
• Cocoon Buchares made the new packaging design for Aslavital/Farmec
• Ex-Trafic.ro, Bogdan Aron takes over as Marketing Manager at 2Parale
• Monica Jitariuc, partner at The Practice
• GMP Advertising to handle Ursus Breweries’ Timisoreana and Ciucas creative accounts
• Siemens Romania launched 2^nd edition of Siemens Race
• Romanian Nominees at Emea Sabre Awards 2012; The Practice – 5 nominations
• Graffiti BBDO handles the launch communication campaign for Adrenaline
• Rogalski Grigoriu communicates for Heidi Chocolat
• New Creative leader at Cocoon Bucharest
• Dulux to color Romania
• Mercury 360 launched Outbox
• Romanian bloggers started their own Top Gear
• Raluca Mateescu, the new Head of MEC Interaction
• 2Parale launches SEM days conference in Romania
• Lowe&Partners wins  Bancpost’s creative account
• McCann Romania won a Yellow Pencil at D&AD gala
• Image PR and Romanian Medicine producers launched “Pills aren’t candies” CSR campaign
• Interactions made a football-themed website for Seat
• Zenth Romania assumes agency’s international positioning on Romanian market
• New website for Aqua Carpatica, signed by Grapefruit
• David Doty to preside the jury at Romanian 1^st edition of IAB MIXX Awards
• 2ActivePR and Pernaud Ricard launched Chivas Romania’s Facebook page
• Lowe&Partners and GolinHarris, in campaign for Praktiker
• Romanian Jurors at New York International Advertising Awards
• Rogalski Grigoriu PR to communicate for Swedish Usitall
• Sister&Co made the promo ad for Sergiu Celibidache festival

May

• Adrian Botan, to judge at London International Awards
• Refresh.ro profiled the Romanian blogosphere
• Violet developed a communication campaign for Bigotti
• Paginademedia.ro rebranded
• 2Parale: Romanians are spending more and more for online shopping
• Biz’s Top Social Brands: Vodafone, Petrom and Pepsi are the champions in Romanian social media
• “Romanians are smart”, Rom and McCann – awarded at New York Festivals
• Realitatea.net  news portal relaunch
• PayU Group increased social capital of PayU Romania
• Media Direction handles media for Volksbank
• Beta testing version for Bitdefender 2013, launched
• Evensys – 6 years of events on Romanian market
• Romanian The Practice communicates for Peroni Nastro Azzuro, Redd’s and Grolsch
• CohnandJansen and Bunge launched a campaign to reinvent Romanians’ gastronomical habits
• Gemius to measure online audience in Hungary
• MEC – 10 years on Romanian market
• Thinkdigital Romania & Q2M join forces starting July
• GolinHarris won Mercedes-Benz Romania communication account
• Romanian State TV accounts, blocked by Romanian Fiscal authority
• Marina Zara, appointed Marketing Director of Romanian retail chain Flanco
• ANCOM: The length of phone discussions increased in 2011
• Saatchi&Saatchi PR – campaign for Rafael&Sons, starring Monica Barladeanu
• ROADS: Romanian online advertising market in 2011 – RON 91.8M
• CohnandJansen goes against clichés in a campaign for Jacobs 3 in 1
• Vodafone Romania launched a new brand campaign
• Papaya made the new image campaign for Skol and invented Skol Land
• Philip Kotler – Doctor Honoris Causa at Bucharest University
• GolinHarris to handle communication for VEKA Romania

June

• Philip Kotler certified training in Bucharest
• Publicis and Publicis Events to restart Ursus Evolution
• Robert Cem Tunakan left GroupOn Romania for PayU
• RAC to amend RAC Code with new rules
• The Practice, most Gold at EMEA Sabre Award 2012
• Graffiti BBDO – most efficient agency in Romania for 3^rd year in a row
• F64, Nikon and Hippos awarded the passion for photography
• AdPrint 2012: 575 entries
• Cristi Burci, to finance with digital start-ups with $1.5M, via Digital Catalyst Fund
• Romania’s entries at Cannes Lions 2012
• Leo Burnett Romania started Cannes Predictions 2012 and launched a special Facebook app for voting
• The Practice won Unilever Romania’s corporate communication account
• Graffiti PR Romania – 1^st Effie for Romanian PR industry
• Space for me, from G2 Romania and Avon Cosmetics
• Bortun Olteanu handles communication for adidas Group in Romania
• 20 years in Romania for Deloitte
• Media Fact Book on Online & mobile, TV, digital,
• AdPrint winners, 11 awards for Romanian agencies
• Stefan Liute leaves Grapefruit and launches Storience, together with Adriana Liute
• McCann Romania, awarded Warc Prize for Innovation
• Publicis Bucharest won the pitch for the global launch of Bitdefender Antivirus 2013
• Romanian online store ZorileStore.ro made its 1^st campaign on Pinterest
• Romanian works shortlisted at Cannes Lions 2012
• Gemius launches gemiusRanking in Moldova, to follow internet trends on Moldavian market
• Dacia Lodgy launch in Romania, signed by Publicis Events
• Mc Cann Erickson increased its Lions collection at 2012 Cannes Lions
• 4 Romanian agencies worked on Experience Hotel for Grolsch
• Standout study: Blog readers make buying decisions based on bloggers recommendations
• Fast Forward Communications won the Bulgarian PR account for Philips screens
• Mercury360 handles promotional campaigns and CRM activations for Provident Financial Romania, following a pitch organized in March-April
• HyperActive and Mobile Works developed a new augmented reality application for Orange

• Papaya Advertising, in campaign to Save Rosia Montana