Claudia Chirilescu, Spoon: Enthusiastic people with strategic expertise plus tools becomes a powerful combination

So far, 2023 looks like another interesting and provocative year on the Romanian marcomm market. AdHugger set down with Claudia Chirilescu, Owner Spoon, and found out more about how she sees the digital landscape, how the agency performed, its newest data analysis and performance media services, what are her expectations, and many more.

AdHugger: How was 2022 for the agency?

The year 2022 was a year marked by enthusiasm. After the two years of the pandemic in which the behavior of consumers was modified, advertisers wanted to regain or increase their market share, taking advantage of the consumer’s openness. We strategically developed and implemented all types of campaigns: product and service launches, promotions, image and brand repozitioning campaigns

AdHugger: How did you enter 2023 and how have your goals evolved and progressed through the year?

This year, which is already nearing its end, began under the auspices of caution. The global context, which was reflected in inflation, changed the behavior of the consumer. He was less impulsive, less emotional when he made purchases. The price on the shelf or the cost of services mattered more than ever. Advertisers were prepared for this behavior and focused their budgets on shelf activations, spectacular executions at the point of sale and brand engagement through events.

AdHugger: You developed your data analysis and performance media services. Please tell us more about that.

This process is an ongoing one for us, as an agency that differentiates ourselves in the market by the focus we place on communication performance and the results we guarantee. We like challenges and for us this is the era when we have AI tools at our disposal that we can involve in our internal processes, it’s like magic. Enthusiastic people with strategic expertise plus tools becomes a powerful combination. This is what reprezent Spoon now.

AdHugger: You celebrate one year since the launching of Anca Ciuluvica‘s “For a smarter tomorrow” concept. How has it evolved and how do you see it growing in 2024 as well?

The energy that Anca brought to the team is a very precious ingredient for me. Her fresh perspective and her constructive style of looking at a situation help me. She has a natural inclination towards technology, patience and emotional intelligence that make her extremely useful in integrating change at Spoon in a humane and valuable way.

AdHugger: Have you seen major trends that actually lived up to their name in the industry or not?

I don’t know if I’m answering on topic, but I see a consolidation phenomenon at the international level that is also reflected in the local market. Medium or even large agencies merge with each other to offer clients different and complex services. I think adaptation is the great asset of the industry. Being in the front line of social change, we see the trends before other entities and we have time to act and to be later prepared with services and expertise to make available to clients when they request it.

AdHugger: What were this year’s main challenges and how did you tackle them at Spoon?

I think that the biggest challenge of the world economy is to keep the talents in the field of work. I am proud of a solid and united team, made up of talented and enthusiastic people. It is not only my merit that this was created internally, but each of my colleagues contributes equally to this unit. And I think that together we are smarter and more efficient.

AdHugger: Did the scare of a possible recession impact the way you perceived advertisers’ actions on the market?

Yes, of course. We’ve been through recession before, we know what it tastes like. And in such periods you do two things: first you pay attention to costs and second take advantage of this period to make strategic plans for the future. Everything is cyclical, we need reset periods to come up with other solutions to old problems. To be able to accelerate the evolution of society, to learn to do better.

AdHugger: What have you consulted them to do?

We are an agency characterized by empathy. We understand if the client have to reduce their budgets or postpone certain launches. We offer them as often as we can, proactively, information from the market, data analisys, we try together to regroup and see what their priorities are, giving up aspects that are not extremely important.

AdHugger: What types of pitches are you entering and are you interested in entering and why?

Clients from the pharmaceutical, medical spheres and clinics. New services from the fintech sphere or new services offered by new technologies. All industries are changing and for the consumer there are a multitude of new options available to make his life easier. All these applications, services, need communication.

Then the functional food area. It is a trend that is only now growing and will become mainstream soon. So, brands are repositioning themselves by offering nutritional advantages to consumers. This kind of clients invited us to the pitch this year.

AdHugger: What types of clients are you looking for right now? Any particular field of activity?

All these areas mentioned above are the area to which I said YES and accepted their challenge. Before accepting any pitch invitation, we consult internally and the decision is a joint one. It is very important that the team wants to work in that field, for that brand. Their enthusiasm will turn into value for the customer.

AdHugger: What should potential clients know about Spoon? 

Even if Spoon is not a big agency, it has people in the team who have experience and can manage projects with maturity and attention. We are flexible to our clients’ needs and we choose our partners with care because we want to offer everyone all the attention they deserve and all our expertise. I think that our strong point is the sum of our experience with data, the analysis of consumer behavior and the strategic efficiency of our proposals derives from them. We are attracted by new and change and we like to treat each specific client, without applying templates.

AdHugger: You said in last year’s press release that at Spoon you understand customer pressures and come up with the answers regarding the most effective digital strategies, adapted to every budget and moment in a brand’s life. What have been clients’ biggest pressures in 2023 and how did you help them surpass them?

The client’s challenge in 2023 was: how can we be as efficient but with a smaller budget? And the answer is different, because in each situation we have other barriers and other opportunities that we can exploit. There is always a solution.