timeline

Several agencies were developed under thegroup umbrella: the first one was Media Investment, followed by the creative agency and succeeded by the public relations agency, which is selected the same year to be a partner in the Porter Novelli network, belonging to Omnicom. We were already 60 people, tirelessly building and developing, often without an explicitly affirmed direction or objective, with just one focus: to open doors before everyone else and lead the way.

In 2008 we were already market leaders, fostering almost 200 employees. We had proven to ourselves that the believe in working tirelessly, with rigor and dedication could make the most seemingly impossible dream become reality.

While the recession taught us about regress, we in the industry learned to go back to the roots, to look again at the role of communication, to rediscover that for the public the content is paramount, the shape should carry less weight. we learned to become interdisciplinary again, that the success of a team comes from the way in which each member can go beyond the simple job description, we revisited the screen in its smaller form through the digital lens and mobile screen.

For the past seven years thegroup had contradicted the assumption that no independent agency could ever become a market leader and hold the position (because something like that hadn’t happened on any market in the world), or if that were to ever happen, it would only be a fortunate coincidence, purely random. Having set a precedent for the communication industry, we decided to forge partnerships with other entities looking to write their own success stories. As a result thegroup teamed-up with Omnicom Media Group, becoming its strategic partner for Romania.

In an effort to keep the momentum from the previous year going, in 2014 we chose more than ever to return to ourselves…to the people; because people make things happen. We intensified professional training courses and leisure activities for the employees, through a complex internal communication program, meant to unite and harmonize the teams, so they could deliver the best possible results to our clients. Meanwhile we worked on crystallizing our vision for the next decade – a completely differed one in terms of strategic marketing and media solutions.

In an already populated market with multinational agencies operating under the umbrella of renowned international groups… one new agency was launched carrying an articulated and daring name – thegroup. We decided to tone down the resonance of the name, which could easily imply an air of arrogance, by using a black and white branding with no visual symbols or capital letters, more discreet and less pretentious. In other words we merged the drive of new beginnings with moderation and discretion, without losing sight of our firm resolve and our perspective to always look to the future.

We kept growing, just like Alice in Wonderland, fast. The numbers bear testament to that, a purely objective witness reveled that in 2005 thegroup had already achieved the biggest profit among communication groups, and in 2007 our turnover catapulted us among the top 3 players of the market. We had become a major, complete and complex group, employing a team of over 100 courageous people animated by the high success rate in all the pitches we were present in.

In the light of the economic growth experienced between 2007 and 2008, and growth of the communication industry, the 2008 crisis seemed like and unlikely event for most. However we rapidly adapted an reconfigured our working mode focusing on one thing, in our client’s campaigns: efficiency. Despite an extended structure, we were always a supple organization lacking a dense hierarchy, bureaucratic procedures or teams with a passive behavior. Our main goal for the year, was to focus on extending this model to all aspects of our activity including the relationship between our teams, the clients and the providers, in order to find the most efficient way to reach our objectives.

The market fell dramatically (a percentage decrees of two digits year after year), however we continued to grow, a sign that once you have identified the right mechanisms it’s just a question of perseverance and having a set trajectory, to maintain a leading position.

The market continued to decrease while thegroup continued to accumulate its market share, proof of a certain management wisdom. We also focused on returning to integrated services, through smaller and more elastic formulas. Specialized agencies under thegroup umbrella merged to become more efficient and maintain their primary core.

In keeping with our credo to always be one step ahead, in 2015 we launched the first agency specialized in programmatic media and marketing analytics in Romania: Prometheus! Thus, we have made the first step towards the revolution of marketing.

Programmatic media reunites three vital notions for brands: marketing, economics and technology. through the launch of Prometheus, thegroup is consolidating its leading position on the Romanian communication market.

Our clients benefit from solutions they can’t receive from other agencies in Romania, such as: programmatic instruments and google analytics.

In collaboration with our partners from Omnicom Media Group, we launched the first editorial work about artificial intelligence, setting another corner stone for the marketing revolution about to come.