Abstract
The article studies and analyses the advertising models used in the Romanian marketing and communication industry by examining the approaches that guide on one hand, the marketing departments within the advertisers’ structures and on the other hand, the two most important departments of an advertising agency: the strategic planning and the creative ones. By an advertising model we understand the modality of articulating the assumptions within an advertising strategy, showing in a structured way how the marketing and the advertising objectives are linked to the end advertising creative executions. Thus, an advertising model describes the answer to one of the fundamental advertising industry questions: How should/ does advertising work?
The research presents a detailed analysis of the main approaches articulated in the communication industry, describing the particularities of the main two categories who operate with advertising models, marketing departments and advertising agencies. Thus, the qualitative study describes both the major and minor families of models applied in Romania, the factors that determines the prevalence of one model over another but also the possible causes for the tensions that characterizes the marketer- strategic planner – creative triangle, tensions that occur due to the different strategic philosophies that guide the work of different expert categories.
The qualitative research findings are correlated and compared with the categories of advertising models identified in the specialty literature, the zones of overlapping but also the specific areas for the Romanian advertising industry being identified.
The study sample is made of communication experts who contributed to at least one Romanian Efficiency Award (EFFIE) according to the public winners lists published by the awards show representatives. We chose EFFIE because the rigor of this competition imposes the participants to articulate some clear advertising models and to win such an important distinction proves a certain level of professionalism and expertise. The qualitative research methodology consists of semi-structured interviews with eight marketers, seven strategic planners and seven top Romanian creatives. The sample was created so that it can assure a large coverage of the Romanian advertising industry. Thus, the chosen marketing specialists work in different industries (beauty, personal care, home care, hygiene, financial services, telecommunications, beer, food supplements) and the experts from the agencies worked for a large range of brands and represent both multinational but also local agencies.
If we are talking about the global crisis impact, the advertising industry is for sure one of the most affected by them in the least years. The research includes a part dedicated to this topic and to the manner in which these events determined major influences and changes in the advertising models as a whole or just in some parts of them. At the same time the study investigates if the above-mentioned changes are just contextual or reshaped structurally and on long term the strategic thinking in the Romanian advertising.
Keywords: Advertising Models, Strategic planning, Efficiency in advertising, Advertising Effects