To delice

uite ce am gasit. uite ce alti oameni care viseaza reusesc sa faca. Not big deal, dar a expus coperti de carte handmade, frumoase, interesante, sweet. Pe unele le putem intrece. I've got ideas! si ma simt (a cata oara!!!???) ca omul acela generic care se ruga sa castige la Loto dar nu juca. iar Dumnezeu n-a avut ce sa-i faca. Jumpstart me, Santa!

Colectionez cuvinte (1)

adică acele cuvinte care mă fac să mă opresc din vorbit atunci când le aud, când le rostesc. cuvinte care mă urnesc la o vorbire mai cu tâlc şi noimă, pentru simplu motiv că încep să conştientizez şi să înţeleg ce spun. Cum spuneam, unele mă fac să tac, altele îmi dau ghes să continui. astazi a fost despre "nimb", "boare", "cătătură", "desluşit", "pomadă", "împresurat", "ghes".
Voi ce cuvinte colecţionaţi? Muller? Corin? Marie?

uncertain. insecure

stau si-mi vine sa-ma-nfurii pe cineva sau ceva, doar-doar oi scapa de starea asta de combustie. sa umblu bezmetica pe drumuri, scotand aburi in ger.

sunt indecisa, nesigura, forever in dezechilibru, in evaluare, pe drum, in tensiune, intre optiuni, ne-terminata. invidiez serenitatea, certitudinile,zambetele multumite, raspunsurile clare si categorice pe care le gasesc cu duiumul in ceilalti mai aproape sau mai aiurea.

poate ca m-a ajuns si pe mine setea de repaos, poate ca vreau sa ma termin, sa incetez sa incerc si sa incep sa fiu, sa existe, sa se intample. sau ma incovoi, doar, sub zambetele multumite, certitudinile, serenitatea si fericirea celorlalti? eu n-as putea sti. eu sunt indecisa.

can somebody, anybody, make up my mind?
......da' ce intrebare proasta!!! make-up-ul e only o corectie de suprafata. La demachiere se arata iar bau-baul "Iarnustiucinesuntcepotsafacsiundemaducinviataasta"
dar oare, am eu cu adevarat nevoie de o concluzie?

I can't plan for LIFE. LIFE is too big. who's gonna live in it? I AM NOT DONE!

'tis the Season to be jolly!

You better watch out/You better not cry/Better not pout/I'm telling you why/ Lenny (as in Lenny Kravitz) is coming to town!
repeating the sounding joy, Mazi

corporate Xmas gifts

no comment. desi in real life, cand trebuie sa faci cadouri corporate de Craciun pt, say, 5 clienti, it gets so much worse!!! Vorba unei minunate Marii: PR = nunti botezuri, cununii, coshuri de nuiele, funde si cutii :)
Dar asta ne va duce departe. Pe principiul ca "what doesn't kill you, makes u stronger". Right Delice?

Pamuk, Foer, Salinger ...

Pamuk, Foer, Salinger, Miller, Murakami, Requiem for a dream, Vanity Fair ...all on my table, beside the bed, being read, re-lived or remembered.

Latests in brief

1. Christmas fever taking over. With goods and bads. Traffic, 4h spent on the way home, people injured in fights caused by traffic blockage anger, crowds in hypermarkets shown on TV, St. Nick gifts, end-of-year corporate team-buildings and client parties, corporate Christmas gifts, snow in the mountains, repeated calls from my mom asking me if this year I'm going to stay longer for Christmas at home, brainstorming and running for gifts, counting goods and bads, making wish-lists and resolutions, planning New Year's Eve, feeling excited or depressed.
2. Giant Christmas tree (aka The Biggest Christmas tree currently in Bucharest, built and lit by Millenium Bank) = no big badabum. The crowd that gathered to see it = huge badabum
3. Strange wheather. Foggy, damp, coldish, warmish still. Christmas lights in the city make an impressionist painting in the mighty fog.
4. some party I was invited to. felt oh so very wrong, (wrong jokes, wrong people, wrongest music and location). oh, how I miss dancing and drinking to my music instead of drinking hard so as to not hear the bad tunes. It took 3 hours of Tori Amos, Moloko, Ian Brown, Anouk, Roykssop &co. to heal my ears. three long morning hours right after the so called Glam Party. Ughhh!
5. Sister called. It's snowing feather-like flakes in Iasi. I miss Iasi. I miss the piles of soft clean snow we used to turn into playgrounds when we were kids.

flash back into memory

Placebo. Pure morning in urechi acum. and ... flash back la o imagine inregistrata de ochi si minte acum doua zile si asociata cu muzica si starea

devreme. ora 8. noembrie. ger. vin de la doctor. spital alb. calm. soare. crisp air. contururi ascutite. obiecte poleite sau colorat translucide. parcul de langa muzeul de geologie peste drum de MTR. soare orbitor dinspre cladirea Orange, accentuand verdele ramas in copaci si iarba. piata Victoriei e inca pustie. o gura de aerisire scoate abur dens, alb, compact. Abur viu proiectat pe imaginea curata. pe alee o silueta neagra, impinsa de soare, catre mine. aburul ii fura un picior dar silueta razbate spre mine. resipir aer curat si zambesc. E plin de poze perfecte dimineata in oras. Pure morning.

we went insight hunting

today with a very good actor and seller. Bleontz. This is where I start to trust my instincts and believe in what I do. Me and a colleague managed to gather 30 people around Claudiu Bleontz who acted as a catalyst in a workshop about insights in theatre and advertising. And he us all talk about our own relation with advertising, with the industry bad, with our egos and frustrations. We got to be honest out-loud in front of colleagues. We made decisions and we motivated each other. Using 0 motivational phrases except "What the fuck?!" and "Bottom line, everything sucks" Good night!

se cauta scurt-metraj

si viziune personala despre fenomenul discriminarii romilor. Daca exista sau ba, cum se manifesta, cum ne afecteaza, cine e de vina, ce facem? e totul de spus intr-un film de maxim 10 minute. In cuvinte oficiale:

Creatorii campaniei „Discriminarea romilor se invata acasa” prezinta concursul DOI PE UN BALANSOAR - Concurs de scurt metraje pe tema discriminarii romilor. Intra pe www.sper.org.ro si inscrie-te la concursul de film pe tema discriminarii romilor.

Filmeaza un scurt metraj de maximum 10 minute si uploadeaza-l pe site pana pe 20 ianuarie 2008.

Filmul castigator va fi premiat cu o pelicula in valoare de 3100 euro. Din juriu vor face parte: Catalin Mitulescu – regizor; Catalin Cristiutiu – editor montaj, Andrei Butica – director de imagine, Claudiu Mitcu – producator

Discriminarea romilor se invata acasa. Cunoaste-i inainte sa-i judeci!

zi trista

prietenii si-au luat ramas bun de la Pilu
S-a dus si Bejart

Thalassa, Thalassa, acolo unde ochii dor

Ce bine ca ne reaminteste Mirona de DaKino si mai ales de filmul pe care vreau neaparat sa-l revad. "Thalassa, Thalassa, acolo unde ochii dor", un road trip prin ochi de copil, cu mare si nemaginire, poveste si chipuri frumoase. Ce bine ca e!!! Ce bine ca mai e!!! Felicitari DaKino! Filmul (facut in '94) e premiat la Rotterdam dar nu a fost difuzat decat o data in Romania (si asta acum vreo 3 ani) la Elvira Popescu. Atunci am vazut eu filmul si pe Anuta, personajul feminin principal, in carne si oase.
Un film despre care povesteam, entuziasmata, acum cativa ani, Sandrei only to find ca Silvia (Anuta din film) este "her best friend". Asta asa, ca mi s-a parut mie simpatic sa-mi amintesc...

Nu ratati filmul. E frumusete care doare. Am cele mai frumoase amintiri. De-abia astept sa ma re-imbib. Sambata aceasta la Sala Auditorium a MNaR.

fara vorbe

s-a dus Pilu. un om tanar. repede si pe nepusa masa. si ne-a uluit. l-am cunoscut la un brainstoming pe o campanie sociala si am stiut de la prima vorba ca e un om pasionat, cu valori, autentic. Cata nevoie am mai fi avut de el!

azi e ziua mondiala a toaletelor

Am primit azi pe mail un reminder cum ca azi ar fi ziua Mondiala a Toaletelor. Am constatat amuzata ca exista organizatia Worldtoilet preocupata de imbunatatirea toaletelor si a igienei in lume. Organizatie din care Romania, fireste, nu face parte.
Noi consumam putin sapun, hartie igienica si pasta de dinti. Noi ne descurcam si fara toalete din alea care se curata dupa fiecare vizitator cum au fandositii aia de francezi sau insipizii de britanici.
By the way, my most favourite toilets sunt alea la care s-au gandit americanii din Houston.


Cititi va rog si nr. 196 al Dilema despre locul unde tot omul e imparat. Tema numarului este Closetul la nevoie se cunoaste

get a life

asta mi-a spus mie doctorul. renunta la simbioza cu birou-computerul si da-ti o sansa sa traiesti...nu doar mental, nu doar in imaginatia ta, nu doar scriind copy-uri bune pe hartie virtuala. get a life as in lasa-i corpului timp si sanse sa existe.
faza asta cu biro-patia ne-a lovit pe prea multi. Moi de exemplu. Traiam cu senzatia ca am o viata. Lucram dar impleteam in fiecare zi (in masura posibilitatilor) asta cu o activitate din cele multe pe care iubessc (citit carti, reviste, web-browsing, vazut filme pe computer. "In masura posibilitatilor" stroke often facand din ce in ce mai imposibil sa am parte si de doze mici din activitatile alternative job-ului. Nu mai vorbesc despre cat de usor am renuntat la evadarile alea, reale, pe bune - in aer, in verde, in zapada. Argumente se gaseau mereu. Mereu au existat "ceva de lucru" lasat pentru week-end, ceva de citit pentru job, dupa care oricum nu mai conteaza pentru ca ziua s-a dus deja, nu pleci la munte doar pentru o zi, bla-bla.

Pentru ca nu intelegeam cat de important e de fapt pentru mine sa fac toate astea, in ciuda job-ului, am amanat si urcat pe munte si schi (cu adevarat, nu o data pe iarna)si fotografie si dans si teatru si prieteni si lectiile de spaniola si filmele la eforie. am amanat sa traiesc.

Si acum e rau. Pentru ca nu voi putea face multe din lucrurile pe care le doream, pentru ca a mea coloana vertebrala s-a mulat dupa chipul si asemanarea scanului din fata computerului. So no ski-ing this winter (si acum e zapada cat poftesti! spre deosebire de alte ierni) and no hiking. Corpul meu imi spune, the hard way, to stop. si de la capat, sa-mi regandesc felul in care muncesc si traiesc, sa-mi reevaluez atitudinea fata de mine, de corpul meu si calitatea vietii pe ca o s-o mai duc. Sa planific si sa reusesc sa fiu eu.

So far, am planificat doar pentru a doua zi la job ( si ce mai ramanea pe langa) sau cel mult in saptamani si etape din project management calendar.

Oare ce-o fi cu noi de ne permitem sa dam declaratii de genul:
"In rest, nu prea fac planuri pe termen lung decat pentru brandurile pe care lucrez.... si asta pentru ca pur si simplu cred ca e mai strategic asa."
declaratia ii apartine unui planner din industria locala de advertising si a fost data in iqads. Articolul complet aici

Unmarketable

A cover (featured in Best Book covers of 2007 boing boing mentioned)that made me more than curious and a book I deffinitely will read. It looks like a down-shifting-like story about the marcomm world. Still, the name and cover made by a great copy & art. And a truly marketable and marketed product. Looking forward to finding it or more about it.

Una cervesa por favor en Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Citizen Moissanite is off... or cast-away as he mumbles on the daily phonecall. Off in Costa Rica, somewhere in the middle of a rainforrest, on the coast of Central Pacific. Still jet-legged and amazed, Moissanite promisses to send pictures asap. And by asap he probably means whem he'll be back from the wild. Vodafone has no roaming agreements with Costa Rica so the blackberry can't do much but rest (it was about time, anyway) and the internet didn't penetrate as far as the wild exotic beaches. The optic fiber and wires might have scared the very rare species of birds happily dwelling there.
Well, until Moissanite is back with nice pieces of writing and shooting, here's some net-enabled findings about the place he's been cast-away.

Holiday's goodies for relatives in Spain

On my way through the city I am privileged to see the most surprising or impressive things, happenings and sceneries. I will post some stories and call the series .... "corner-eye shots".
Today, for instance, I came across a van, the colour dark navy blue, surrounded by pakages, big-size, small-size, almost all bearing at least one brand-logo on the carton box, and a lot of people.
They all flocked an area where a lot of electoral panels lay and my first thought was, oh! they're campaigning, in the streets, giving stuff to the people!!!
Coming closer I noticed that people were writing on the boxes, or taking them to their car, or securing them with scotch straps, weighing them and counting money.
And snap-shot! one box went to Nicolae T, Zaragosa, Spain.

And bingo! Every box was going to the Romanians working in Spain. Goodies for Christmas for the ones who miss the taste og winter holidays at home. I know a few stories about this phenomena and I would've loved to stop and do a quick inquiry and see what each box contains. But the branded boxes gave some suggestions: Bors Magic, 7days Croissants, Elita (cheap) Coffee, Rieni Palinca (in plastic bottles). I bet there was also some traditional smoked cheese, home-made fruit syrups and jam, some medicines, corn flower for mamaliga...

Vera Montero's show: echos

"un chagrin", "une impossibilité", "une tristesse", "une mauvaise volonté", "une chute", "une absence", "un mal de vivre", "un aveuglement", "un abime", "une mauvaise vision", "une honte", "un non-vivre", "une non-vision", "un non-vouloir", "un non-pouvoir", "une non-construction", "une non-possibilité", "une tête tanchée", "une vision", "un non-exister", "une absence de volonté"
ATROCE

This is Josephine Baker in a nutshell, as seen and interpreted by Vera Montero. Josephine Baker, a "mysterious thing, neither primitive nor civilized nor beyond time, at least not in the sense where emotion is beyond mathematics" said E. E. Cummings

Vera Montero's Josephine confrunts the audience naked and in the dark, hesitating on the brink of some existential abyss, somewhere beyond glitter, spark and savage erotism. She is tragically tied to this world, with the tragism of every moment of a human life.

This show has been a tyrany of words experienced both by the performer (a very expressive, versatile Vera Montero) and by the audience. In a dimming dark, discovering a sculptural body, balancing on some cow-shoes. Tyrany of words. some most serenity-killing words. Tyrany of phisical and pshicological balance. ATROCE.

Image from LeMonde Journal Photographique

Passe-ist advertising

Wispa Cadboury's. Another brand reminding us how it was when we were young. Suitable for Igu's passe-ist project

There are others made in RO. Simona Firtat (currently PR at The Group) wrote a nice analysis when she worked for (iqads)* Banii nostri.
Victoria Salami for Caroli by Saatchi&Saatchi
ROM chocolate (Excelent) had the Rom Tricolor campaign made by McCann Erikson
Bucegi was rooted in the past by Leo Burnett.
I'll be back soon with pics.

*Later edit: Simona Firtat was kind enough to drop me line and remind me that she, in fact, never worked at Iqads and that the article I was mentioning was written for Banii nostri and only featured by Iqads in their Media Digest (Revista presei) section. I have to take more care when writing my posts. All apologies.

Unde a disparut reclama L'Oreal

de pe IQads? stiti, aia cu Claudia Schiffer, al carei obraz cremuit si forever young se intindea peste tot articolul cand ti-era lumea mai draga. Culmea! fix peste articolul lui Alexandrescu de la Ogilvy One despre cum sa faci un site sa NU functioneze.

De cand l-am vazut (bannerul) am tot facut pariuri, ca e la misto, ca e un test facut de IQads sa vada cata lume da click pe banner, sau cat le scade traficul daca pun bannerul. Ma gandesc ca au poate cei de la IQads vreun teambuilding acum, mai putin chef de scris la "revista" si aveau nevoie de mai putin trafic.

Se cam verifica explicatia. Acum a disparut bannerul si parca au inceput sa apara si stiri noi pe IQads.

Explicatia ca ar fi fost pe bune o campanie L'Oreal nu tine. Ma gandesc ca IQads le-ar fi spus ca n-are L'Oreal public pe site-ul asta. Sau ca macar s-ar fi gandit la efectele negative pentru site, la dezamagirea comunitatii, la enervarea lor. Daca era pe bune ar fi refuzat bannerul L'Oreal. Nu?

Stie cineva mai multe? Speculeaza careva ceva?

PS: am vrut sa pun o poza cu bannerul enervant de la l'Oreal pentru ca meriti, dar n-am gasit pe niciunde. Nici pe ele.ro nu e nimic intrusiv cu logo 'Oreal. S-o fi intamplat ceva?

Today's obsession

Stripped. Depeche Mode. As felt in Bucharest when they toured the angel.


Let me hear you make decisions/ Without your television/Let me hear you speaking just for me! - what a deep cry for authenticity - in love or ailleurs.

One mysterious thing said ee cummings

I'm going to see Vera Mantero (Portuguese choreographer and dancer) dancing tonight at CNDB . Miki Braniste, biggest thanks for letting me know about this!

Vera will actually perform in two shows this evening: the Josephine Baker homage One mysterious thing, said ee cummings and also Perhaps she could dance first ...and think afterwards. I'm in the mood for dancing. The back-pain is only in the body...In the back...back!

Do come and meet me if you happen to be around the National Theatre in Bucharest at around 18.30. I will be there celebrating mutely the times when I used to dance. Picture courtesy of cndb.

London's burning

London's burning!/London's burning!/Fetch water!/Fetch water!/Fire!Fire!/Fire!Fire!/And we have no water
it's a song (about the Great Fire in 1666 London) I've been singing this morning quite obsessively only to later find out that there has been a fire and a lot of smoke in London. It seems that fire burst out at some deserted warehouses in the Olympic Park area. The stock went down. People fear terrorist attacks again and I guess it's no wonder.
They were fearing too when I first (and eventually) visited my most fantasized and read-about city in the world. I remember being stuck for three hours in the Underground because of some strange events on the Piccadilly Line. Everyone thought about bombs or false alarms. Instead, a woman had killed herself by jumping on the line in front of the train. I found it hard to breath and got my first delusion with London.
Now I miss that city. Take the smoke out!

We planted trees

The save the trees campaign continues with people from Bucharest volunteering to plant trees in one of the city's neighbourhoods. Unfortunately the campaign blog in only in English. But you can get the whole idea by simply looking at the posters and images from the awareness campaign. They say that "Abusive deforrestation is criminal", "The trees in the city are mourning for their dissapeared brothers in the Romanian forrests" and that basically what we are losing is life.

The first planting trees event happened the last Sunday and there were quite a lot people there (including local vips) volunteering to plant a tree. Here are some pictures taken by the organisers (The Media Monitoring Agency in Bucharest).

And here are some pictures we made at the big event. We all felt great and planted quite a few trees. So we are looking for the next occasion to plant more trees in Bucharest.

Even Tori helped with the trees. Until she met her friend Frida (the golden labrador).

Customer Care - How I almost got to be treated at Euroclinic

I was talking earlier about how my back hurts. This is how I've tried to solve the problem and didn't manage so far.
Wednesday
Customer Care Lady: Hello! Euroclinic, how can I help you?!
Me (Patient): Good evening. I would like to make an appointment for a Neurological check up, sometimes this week if possible. It is somewhat urgent.
CCL: Unfortunately, I could only schedule you for Monday at 12.00.
Me: Well. Ok. Thank you. I will settle for Monday, then.
CCL: Is it your first time at Euroclinic? What is your name?
Me: Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx, X-x-x ... x-x-x
(other details are being provided for the initialization of my Euroclinic hospital record)
CCL(summing up): The medical check-up costs 80 RON(around 24 EUR). I have made an appointment for you for Monday, at 12.00 AM with Dr. Petre Oanca

Friday
(another) CCL: Hello. I am calling from Euroclinic for the confirmation of your appointment for Monday at 12.00 with Dr. Petre Oanca
Me: Yes, of course! I confirm the appointment. Thank you for the reminder!
CCL: Thank you! We are looking forward to having you here!
Me: Thank you. I'll be there at 12.00 at noon.

Monday (D-Day) 10.00 AM
CCL: Hello!I am calling from Euroclinic for the confirmation of your appointment for today at 12.00 with Dr. Petre Oanca
Me (amused): Yes I will be there. Thank you for reminding me!
CCL: Thank you. Have a nice day! (and other farewell curtoasy phrases)

Monday (D-Day) 10.40 AM
CCL: Hello!I am calling from Euroclinic. You have an appointment for 12.00 today.
Me: Yes. I will be there. Thank you!
CCL: Actually. the 11.30 appointment has been canceled and we were wondering whether you could come a little earlier.
Me: Well. I would gladly try but I don't think I can make it. It is 10.40 already and it takes more than an hour for me to get to your address. Plus there are some things I have to do before arriving at the clinic for I had scheduled the appointment for 12.00 So the best I can do is to try to come 10 minutes earlier, at around 10 to 12.00 AM. It's the best I can do.
CCL: Well, thank you very much!


Getting ready, it's raining outside, traffic, one short stop at the self banking office to get the money for the check up, traffic, back hurts.

Monday (D-Day) 11.50 Euroclinic hospital reception
Me: Hello ! I have an appointment for 12.00 with Dr Petre Oanca. Could you please tell what floor should I go to?
CCL: We have no appointment for Dr Petre Oanca at 12.00
Me: It is impossible. You made me confirm this appointment twice so far. Please do check up again.
CCL (with disbelief): What is your name?
ME: Xxxxxx
CCL: Oh but you changed your appointment for 11.30. The Doctor is out since you didn't come in time.
Me (seriously pissed): Dear lady. I did not ask for changing of the appointment hour nor did I approve or authorize of any changes. Someone from Euroclinic called me twice today to get my confirmation for 12.00 AM. The hour remained settled. Then you called me again and asked if I could come earlier. my response was negative and I said I would try to get here at 10 to 12.00 not a minute earlier. It seems to me that there has been some miss communication or miss understanding.
CCL (plain and direct): I'm terribly sorry but there is nothing I can do. You should have come earlier. Dr Petre Oanca is not in the hospital anymore. He left at 11.30
Me (suddenly enlightened): Very well. It was my first experience with this hospital. I shall never come here again. Nor shall my friends. Thank you for your time! Good day.

And there I was, in the rain at 12.00 wondering what exactly is wrong with customer care in Romania. Coming to work (late, because I had had an appointment with the "back doctor" and thus had taken some hour off) I stopped to talk about the Euroclinic experience to a colleague. She told me immediately that she wasn't surprised and that one of her friends had to repeat various tests because Euroclinic had mixed the test results of a group of patients and consequently got the wrong diagnosis to every one of them.

I'm puzzled. This is a private hospital. And an expensive clinic that charges one 80 RON only to be looked at by a doctor. With quite an active Customer/Patient relations department. Where did my good old Doc go?

I rescheduled. I'm trying another private clinic this week. My back still hurts. Why do I have to pray for luck and good treatment when I'm open to pay as much as 80 RON per visit at the doctor?

today's rain goes well with music

squarepusher

Telepopmusik - Breathe

Nina Simone - sinnerman

Radiohead - Street spirit

Bjork - all is full of love (plaid remix)/u can ignore the images but they work just fine on the track

Joe Hisaishi - spirited away (one summer day) I have to thank Felipov for introducing me to this and many other tunes

and a little loop of Sebastien Tellier's La ritournelle

and once more ... more groovy, for the feet

PRtea

Been to a PRime workshop, one in the PRtea series organised regularly at Carturesti (a very nice book&tea shop in Bucharest). I went to see what everything was about because ...well, because I like the idea of having a nice talk over my most favourite drink (and they have the best Sencha Elfentau at Carturesti!!!). And then I was so curious of what Marie-Rose Mociornita (one of the hosts at the last evening tea) would say about ethics in PR).

Although, to my shame as a professional, I had no idea that such gatherings were taking place, PRime had three PRtea meetings so far and with good themes as well. The first PRtea was about trends and practices in the Romanian PR, a discussion hosted by Crenguta Rosu (DC Communication) and Sorana Savu (Premium Communication) Thhe second meeting was about creativity in PR, a PRtea made by Gabriela Lungu (The Practice) and Andrei Bortun (Millenium Communications)

So I went last evening to listen to practitioners and students talking about Ethics in Romanian PR. A few conclusions/ideas/dilemmas/wishes, if I may:
1. youngsters are more and more interested in acceding in the PR business. especially girls :)
2. they are also extremely naive
3. Everybody agrees that it is not very important how you look in PR ... as long as you look good. At least that's the impression "PRists" give me lately
4. it was an 99.9% female audience. Scary. Especially if you consider the "have a life" rule, humourously communicated by Mociornita. Where are the boys? Are they not interested to learn. Don't they like tea? :)
5. PR professionals/practitioners don't open up and don't give examples. It was too a warm and comfortable discussion about real and uncomfortable issues in Romanian PR, especially when talking about ethics. Very little truth spoken. Very few points made, even fewer taken :)
6. 90% of the hosts conclusions started with "in my view, in my world, I'm not speaking for my PR agency but for myself" In my opinion, you can not prepare for objetive rules and act responsibly on the market within the industry if all you can decide upon is what you deeply believe. I wouldhave liked to see a PR agency leader openly taking some of the responsibility of fighting unethical PR - a reality that was acknowledged by everyone present, including the speakers. How can you tell some students to be fair and firm and reject any unethical practices at work when no head of agency has the courage to break the chain and speak up.
7. Ethics in Romanian PR is more about common sense and less about real rules, and rule enforcement. And not surprisingly so. nobody (or very few) within the industry take the responsibility of reporting the ethic infringements and of educating the stakeholders. Very little time remains for seeing to a sound industry where lie, fraud, paid news, false PR, false CSR and fowl practices are being fought and punished.
8. The press has a pile of examples of bad PR. Liliana Seban sais she hopes that at least some of them would appear on a blog, for education's sake. And then again? Why do papers keep silent about these big DON'Ts? Why don't PR professionals fight the bad practices that are affecting the whole industry's reputation and sound development by exposing them? I guess we are all waiting for the natural selection to do its job. And for the rotten apples to eventually die.
9. Meanwhile PR people in good respectable agencies work hard, stay anonymous and get low wages while the bad PR guys get all the fun, sparkle, fame and money just by playing by the "laws of the land". They will be disqualified in time and with more and more powerfull and serious competition. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing that happen. But my fear is that there will also be innocent casualties. Youngsters with no experience and no maturity to decide whom to follow. The industry itself, suffering from negative perception, wrong understanding of its areas of action, of what it can and cannot do etc. This is why I'm also hoping for more responsibility from Good PR agencies. A discussion like the one last evening would shure have been a good place to start. Maybe next-time.
10. Professionals tend to leave regulation to time and nature laws...hoping that the long time effects of bad PR will eventually turn against the currently rapidly ascending bad PR embracers. Because good PR believes in good PR's self sustainability and longevity, in the benefits of a good reputation instead of the charms of fast great image.
11. Reputation is not the same as image. The first is long term, slowly built and carefully consolidated. Reputation takes consistency, persistence, no mistakes, fairness, seriousness and patience. That's why PR is not about short term results.
More conclusions to come...

Poly says her back hurts

27. back hurts. not from the snowboard, not from paragliding, from the chair in front of my desk.
This is where I dream of writing my texts swinging in a hammock, or at least, in style, in a vintage rocking chair. Having my prohibited coffees, my full-of-callories creamy-cinnamon milky&foamy or cointreau-spiced cofee, the almond cake, the chocolate sponge, virginia wolfe and comics, rahmaninov and the cure, thick, fulltexture, coloured napkins, a light sunny breeze or a warm cashmere blanket and a window open to the freezing cold dawn. Images found here and here as they say, the rocking chair to give as present to a retiring friend.

Discriminarea se invata acasa

Un mic raspuns la o problema complexa, cu care autoritatile lupta pe mai multe fronturi. Si daca tot trebuie sa incepem undeva, sa incepem prin a fi noi in ordine.

Stay hungry, stay foolish

a great speech from Steve Jobs (a total opposite to the Microsoft chief motivational speech

when freedom makes people less equal

It's something I saw on the street just a few days ago. A woman, coming from the grocery market passing calmly by the many strangers on the street. At some point she noticed a family coming her way. A young man, a young woman (probably his wife) and two kids, one on foot and the other in his mum's arms. The woman immediately pulled her purse closer to her body and gave the group a suspicious, aggressive look. They were a little bit darker than her and knew exactly that this was why the woman reacted like that. They passed her by - the lady seemed relieved - but at some point the young man changed his mind. He stopped and asked her: "do you really have to react like that just because we're gypsies? " The lady blushed. Do we discriminate without knowing, without even questioning our opinions? But of course! Even Mr. President does it. On TV!!!

IAA Summit, Bucharest, 2007 The learnings

1. Romania is not there yet. We are some good years behind the Western capitalist advertising world despite our hectic tour de force where local advertising has grown in 15 years as much as other in three decades (it's the Prislea way - Prislea = local version of Prince Charming)
1.1. their speakers are better than ours. Even when it's formal, academic and long, their presentations are full of content, relevant examples and conclusions. They were raised to make presentations and public speaking is a must for any high profile representative of the communication industry. This doesn't really apply to our local Heads of comms/agencies/professional bodies.
1.2 they have great study material. Great work. Real unconventional media. Breakthrough solutions.
1.3 our market is not yet that ready to embrace out of TV communication. But it will be so we'd better prepare
2. some speakers did not know where they were. But they didn't have to salute either so no "Good afternoon Budapest!" this time.
3. CSR is really being taken seriously abroad whilst, in my opinion, in Romania it's just something fashionable to talk about. the branding guru did say "giving is the new buying" and it makes sense in their world. In ours it's not that vital to support a cause to make your products sell. U still get through with a TV ad and an aggressive media strategy. That explains why the local cause branding initiatives I know didn't care as much about getting results as about owning a theme/stealing it from the competitors. This translates pretty much in themes that have been confiscated and that are never-to-be embraced by any other company. Well, CSR practitioners at IAA summit talked about how everyone (every company) is responsible to add up to a CSR theme until it becomes a general trend, making more and more people react and starting to generate effects. Out there there are campaign ridiculing SUVs found on the city streets. In Romania you are being laughed up if it occurs to you to support a theme. There are, of course, exceptions. Vodafone bought helicopters for SMURD, Whirlpool employees spent one week building houses for those in need, other companies are recycling paper. ..

emotional spillover

It's one of those days when you feel that too much has been adding up, that life is made up of too many wires, that so many feelings and hunches, and thoughts and conclusions are left un-structured and un-tamed. that holding on is just another problem and that you just want to burst into emotions and express the not-to-be-expressed. Today I'm Virginia Wolf, Edward Norton in Fight club, Great Expectations (the whole movie!!!), Tori Amos in all of her writings and singing, Tarantino's Bride, my worst self.

Are you crazy?

I work in PR&advertising&communication. This is why people tend to think there are some (limited) ways I should behave: dress serioussly, talk corporate-like, know VIPs and be able to slip in anything in newspapers. Wrong, people!!! I love jeans and trainers, coloured dresses and stockings, artsy and unconventional apparels (involving or not the high heels), baroque chats about anything that's interesting, I KNOW MANY WORDS AND LOVE TO USE AS MANY, I don't call famous people unless it's really relevant for the communication project I'm working on (and also only if the project is relevant to the vip in question) and I don't do "little PR" nor "free advertising". Communication and PR is not only about media relations and, yes, PR has a lot to do with strategy and planning!!!! d'oh! I still believe in the advantages of being different as opposed to moving in heards. I believe in questioning more than in fallowing. And I think that taking chances, putiing yourself out-there and busting your ass to be the best at what you do or the first to do something is better than staying on the safe side and fallowing others' rules. So, when a fellow PR practitioner asks me "are you crazy?" I say "ma'am, I sure hope so!" Hurray for the crazy, restless inds!

Back in business!

1. long time no see! that's because we're living busy times and sometimes your own personal, intimate thoughts get lost in the clutter of what you should be thinking, resolving, organizing and implementing!We become multi-tasking only to find ourselves less and less free to think about ourselves!
2. It's autumn. although unexpectedly warmth is coming after equally unexpected cold weather. Summer's been long but fuzzy. I recently re-postponed my trip to Rome for reasons that shouldn't be even remembered. frustrating it is! So long, generous long days. Hello falling leaves, autumn dust, day-long traffic jams, polution triggered astma, cold feet, running nose (or no nose), loads of work, back to school, teachers carring flowers on the school opening day ( I meant to write about this earlier this month), students queuing to pay for tuition or for a room in the dorm, fresh wine and lamb pastrami, higher rents for poorer and poorer lodging conditions in over-saturated Bucharest.
3. I hate flat-owners in Bucharest! I hate those who ask you if you want to prolongue the contract and ask you to sign the papers "urgently" but omit to inform you that they decided to raise the rent twice as much as you have recently negociated. I hate that they have "zillions of better offers for this apartment" and that they consider that "this raise is nothing compared to what it could be"!!!! I hate the owners who have three shabby apartments and get away with living a good life merely on letting people live in those three flats. I hate it that we are so many in Bucharest and so desperate to pay as much as it takes for merely poisoning and imprisoning ourselves. I hate that we're not leaving for a greener, merrier place leaving Bucharest flat owners alone in their grey, small, 500 Euro/month "mobilat clasic" or 800 Euro/month "mobilat lux" apartments. The rents have exploded. The living conditions offered worsen. The offer-demand law of capitalism got things a bit ilogic. At the end of the day, one (who has been a longterm, quiet, I-need-an-apartment-where-I-can deposit-my-things-and-sleep-5/6 hours-per-night type of tennant) has to pay a 40% higher rent benefiting from 0 investments made in the apartment he's trying to hang on too. I'm from outside of Bucharest, studying and/or working in Bucharest for the last 6 years. I changed my "home" 5 times in the meantime and I'm currently screaming for a place of my own.

Tori the mighty dog

This is the dog and at the same time the reason I haven't really had any spare time for getting thoughts together, not to mention for blogging. Tori is a Labrador. Versatile and playful. And she never gets exhausted. Tori chews, as all little puppies do. And she grows. Quite beautifully. This is a recent picture. But it doesn't say shit about what it's like to have a dog like that.

truly true

Budăi beer as "true" for some Moldavians (in RO) as Budweiser for the guys who said Whazzeeaaap!

this is my church

take a look (but more over take a moment to think about it) at Kessels Kramer's headquarters. An advertising agency having a church for their office building. How about Creatives in the Chancel?

Happy birthday Tori

she is 44 and fabulous today. Today's soundtrack: Bouncing Off Clouds - American Doll Posse. Enjoy!

Toma Coconea si romanii

Ziceam in multe imprejurari ca nu ne meritam oamenii mari. Ca nu meritam sa avem alte modele decat Becali si Mutu. Aveam de fiecare dreptate, oricat de ingaduitoare as vrea sa fiu cu natia asta, ale carei randuri le ingros. Ieri, Toma Coconea i-a invitat pe jurnalistii romani sa-l cunoasca si mai ales sa-i afle isprava de la RedBull X-Alps. Jurnalistii de sport din mareata noastra capitala n-au onorat invitatia. S-au dus in schimb sa asculte ce avea de spus (a cata oara?!) Becali la intoarcerea in tara a fotbalistilor de la Steaua. Nimic gresit in interesul oamenilor de sport pentru fotbal - un sport de departe rege atat la noi cat si aiurea. Foarte trist este insa faptul ca pentru atleti exemplari precum Toma Coconea nu se gasesc manuitori de condeie in redactiile ziarelor de sport. Noroc cu mai sufletistii jurnalisti din provincie. Si mai sunt si sportmag si bolggerii.
Aseara l-am cunoscut pe Toma Coconea si m-a uimit inca o data prin modestie, bun simt si cumpatare. Am vorbit despre zbor, despre munte, despre oamenii care le indragesc pe amandoua, despre X-Alps, despre oamenii care l-au sustinut (zambeste cand afla ca exista bloggeri care l-au urmarit indeaproape si care au scris despre el) despre Hoffer, Martin, Urs (parapantistii din tara ceasurilor si a neutralitatii) si Aidan (britanicul caruia Toma i-a dat bateriile lui de GPS fara de care Aidan ar fi fost descalificat). Vorbeste simplu despre o reusita care noua ni se pare de domeniul SF-ului. 1000 km hiking prin Alpi, 300 km in zbor cu parapanta - totul in doar 14 zile. E realist si perfectionist. Viseaza si crede. E bucuros de rezultat dar mai ales de faptul ca a reusit sa se autodepaseasca. Ceea ce va face si la urmatorul RedBull X-Alps: "o sa fiu si mai antrenat, si mai puternic - fizic si mental. o sa ma antrenez mai mult in Alpi, o sa gresesc mai putin, o sa vreau si mai mult" E slabit dupa cursa dar e extrem de tonic: "ma refac repede!" Lucrurile care-l tin sunt prietenii si o vorba pe care o spune cu naduf: "Nu exista nu se poate!" Asa le-a spus si organizatorilor X-Alps si oamenilor (francezi, elevetieni, italieni) care il insoteau pe traseu sa-l sustina. Nu credea nimeni ca dupa o zi intreaga de mers va mai putea zbura. Dar Tomi a zburat si a intrat in plutonul conducator. Mai multe despre experienta lui cu Alpii aici. Bravo sis!
Pe Toma il gasiti de astazi in Parang cu parapanta, in elementul lui. E trist pentru ca oamenii de la noi din tara nu inteleg sportul pe care el il iubeste. Si-ar dori ca mai multi romani sa afle cat de minunat poate fi zborul cu parapanta si cum "stirile de la ora 5" care povestesc doar despre accidente (stupide si in genere cauzate de oameni neprofesionisti, nepregatiti) construiesc o impresie gresita despre acest sport. Am indraznit sa-l sfatuiesc sa vorbeasca, sa-si povesteasca pe larg experienta din Alpi, sperand ca asa mai multi romani se vor molipsi de exemplul lui. Cred ca avem nevoie de asemenea exemple ca sa indraznim sa visam si (mai ales) sa luptam mai mult. Inca o data, multumesc Tomitza!
PS: postul asta e in romana pentru ca e scris pentru romani. Strainii il stiu bine pe toma si-l apreciaza.

Toma Coconea is the RedBull X-Alps Man

for his never-say-die spirit reads the competition's site. Toma Coconea, the Romanian stamina king (as described by a French journalist), came in second, but proved that persistence can get you there. Something Romanians should take after more often. Congrats Toma! Congrats Alex! Thanks for the great lesson!

Bune si rele

Ieri a murit Motu. vocea de la Teleenciclopedia. cu care am crescut. pentru care prindeam mai usor documentarele despre animale. de la care am invatat cum trebuie sa sune o voce profesionista. pe care-l imitau amicii mei baieti strigand "sunt tanar, doamna!" S-a dus. S-a dus inca un reper, inca o figura care ma incuraja sa cred ca lumea e la fel ca atunci cand eram copil si urcam in fuga scarile blocului sa ascult Teleenciclopedia.

astazi insa, un tanar despre care am mai vorbit, Toma Coconea, a incheiat al doilea o cursa incredibila in Alpi. implinind un vis si arborand un zambet dupa doua saptamani de incrancenare. ma bucur ca la Monaco l-au asteptat prietenii lui si ca acum sarbatoresc o mare victorie. si ca pe lista lui de discutii pe site-ul competitiei s-au adunat sa-l sustina foarte multi romani inimosi.
am stat toata ziua intre doua emotii grele.life's full.

today's soundtrack

Jamie Lidell. Great performer. Seen him in Bucharest, last winter. He made a freezing-cold evening get really warm and magnetized Studio Martin, the performance venue. Here's Multiply, a track that I love and used recently to match up my thoughts.

Filminute

Filminute (besides a great name) is the international one-minute film festival. I love the idea, I hope I can make it and write a one-minute-film script, and then shoot, and then submit ..and finally finish something I start.
Last year, Anton's film won. Anton (Grooves) is a Brit that lives and works in Romania. And you can see his film, the Line ,on the festival's official site. Just enter the screening room.
This one-minute-film concept reminds me a lot about how you have to deliver an info and persuade in only 30 second of a TV commercial. Anton has also directed and filmed commercials in Romania. In costly advertising, less is best. Reduction. Common sense simplicity. Make every moment count.But don't make the logo bigger. Just this time.

We could stop global warming ...

Wired features a great article about how we could hack the atmosphere, engineer the climate changes ... as long as we're in it longterm! So impossible for the far-from-sigle-minded human nature.

Because we're young

Sometimes I think about how the possibilites one could envisage don't really grow into opportunities. And they say we're young and that there's time. I wonder.

Been listenin' to Suede's So young

Science of sleep and my friends

It's damn hot. Got some writing to work at and can't get passed the title (which has already been set, now how great is that?!)Instead I escape to random thoughts and memories, amongst which there's this flashback, from Gondry's "Science of sleep", a lovely surrealist film I managed to see in a rather empty baloon-cinema at TIFF in Sibiu. Stephan (the main character) said at some point "I worked hard allday ... in my dreams". (Of course, it sounds so much better en francais!)Stephan has this great ability of getting, or better still, staying in touch with his deepest dreams. Stephanie, the girl next door, makes things with her hands. Beautiful things. She reminds me of Oana and Cristina, two of my friends who make beautiful things with their hands.
Here's some footage from the film, just to rememorize and get in the mood...of having dreams.

and there was Tori Amos (2)

a very good video and a great example of how she communicated with the audience in Bucharest. Loved it.

And there was Tori Amos

Tori Amos, simply amazing at the Friday concert, more than a simple, feeble video could say.

she breaks indeed, the siren

Clyde

one of the five Tori American Doll Posse Tour stage personna

Waiting to get toridazzled

Tori Amos is going to perform tomorrow (actually, today as it's way past midnight now and I can't seem to get myself in bed)in Bucharest. I,ve been so busy that it's only now that I got the butterflies and started to anticipate. By looking at the gigs so far, I get shivers up my spine and I'm fervently searching for more videos on you tube, playing my tori playlist and keep on guessing on the songs we're going to hear so soon. I'm a little bit numb ... I'm basically sleep-searching&posting.

Earlier this evening I came back from work and rushed to my playlist and saw a most liquid sky with the liquid dimonds as soundtrack. Who know just how many moments I'll have at the concert. I just realised how much I've waited for this performer to come, I somehow still don't believe I'm gonna see and listen to Tori Amos live in a few hours. Any experience, I will share. Hope I can get a little footage too :)Stay around.
Me's going to sleep with butterflies.... Nighty-night!
May'be I'll dream on what she will be. See below how cruel Santa can get.

Storm

Bucharest is being devastated by a not-ever-seen-before-here storm. It's been lasting for over 40 minutes. Furious wind turned into dust (of which there's plenty)and waste tornado making it hard to see one's feet while walking. I have never seen such a swirl of dust and garbage and such violent sweeping. It's dark like hell and even huge, new buildings don't seem safe. Open windows to houses of people that work or stay out until late at night are dangerous and keep bumping violently into walls. It's a creepy sound of harsh wind blowing through every little breach. Sirens are blowing everywhere. Thunders come repeteadly and loud. Trees have fallen over cars, even trains, all of these derailed, streets are full with water that still falls violently. Bucharest has the most terrible sewage system so now it looks like a most unfortunate Venice. A bombed, end-of-world underwater city. And I was just about to write about the extreme heat we experienced today. And about the horrible smell that dwells upon this city. Coming back from a short but very meaningful trip to Paris and London, I could not overlook the way this dirty European capital stinks. Pavements are staineed and sticky from God-knows what. Liquid garbage, plants and fruits fallen and forgotten on the sidewalks entered in decay, people - poor and uncivilized...all is being ruthlessly boiled by the steamy heat giving off the most unbearable scent. That of a rotten city ...with ugly dirty people forgetting to wash, and forgotten waste gladly taking their best revenge - rotting, fermenting at the unbearable 40something degrees, expanding through gas, poisoning the air, making people notice.

All this city seems to dangerously indulge in dumb oblivion, walking robotically through the maddening heat, giving off their worst scents. This is terribly unbearable, especially after seeing and being surrounded by all those beautiful people, coquette orcool , having red wine at lunch and goodloughs and times after work, drinking loudly in their office suits (well, actually there's a longer story here...)but most of all, talking to each other, connecting, socializing, enjoying life and respecting themselves. The clean streets, the crowded but yet not smelly underground, the well groomed buildings, the so well mentained beauty.

Tonight, news say a man died from a fallen tree&fallen wall. The storm has made victims, apart from that train that derailed and the so many cars that were destroied.

The water is still falling violently on the ground, so persistently, so loud, so furious, as if to sweep away all the dirt of this city. And if it works, there could also be less people. after the rain.

feelin' like writing

i seem to have this vivid attention towards little stuff that goes by. and an almost maddning interest in details, gestures... stuff with little importance..in the great scheme of things. Like the smoke swirl in that mid 40s sad guy, or the slow, descriptive way the gipsy florist's girl wond her black curly hair in a bun, letting her rich hips show in the tight pair of jeans, or the joy on the little gipsy boy's face while looking at his sister being carried in a carriege by his father - the beauty of that smile upon that grey, dirty poor assembly of faces ... all this while the yellow cab passed by. with me in it.

Can a neighbourhood have a specific smell?

Oh YES!!! let's take for example the Pipera area (a former industrial platform at the outskirts of Bucharest, now a fast developing offices area) where I go quite often, for I happen to work with one of the companies located there. Pipera ususally smells like tobacco. Burnt or raw, tobacco smell is everywhere, especially in the morning when you go out from the subway station to take a breath of fresh air. It's from the tobacco factory whose name I'm sure I don't want to mention for I strongly dissaprove to smoking. I ate the smoke they leave behind when used like they're supposed to be used (that is be smoked:))but I love the smell of unlit tobacco. That's why, although heavy and sometimes sour-ish, the smell from the tobacco factory I pass by doesn't ruin my day...on the contrary...it puts me on a very nice track where I start imaginig stories with oldtimes gentlemen smoking pipe in a colony town in South Africa ... Yes smell can really put me up to beautiful things. And it can equally be a total turn off. Like this morning's smell of Pipera. Garbage. Liquid, full, damp, ubicuous ...d'oh!...smell of garbage. So maybe I was the only person happy to see the heavy, generous rain pouring this afternoon over Pipera...washing it well. We had been lacking rain lately...but not as seriously as today when a whole neighbourhood was in serious need of a bath. Too bad that here, they don't shampoo streets as they used to do in Budapest in '87...

Silence for Virginia

On April 30th 2007, the Blogosphere will hold a One-Day Blog Silence in honor of the victims at Virginia Tech. More then 30 died at the US college massacre.
Join in here

Happy Easter!

Being off

is simply GREAT! Had one of those afternoons when you just sit in the sun, in nature's sound only, looking at cats and hens, playing with dogs, sitting on a fallen tree, smelling the flowers, thinking about thinking:) Been to the countryside, 've eaten a good old country hen, drank ice-cold sweetish well water. And Easter cakes and a glass of natural, home-made, non EU compliant red wine. Just sitting, watching the clouds roll over the beautiful, crisp blue sky.

Why does I blog

or how I started to like the machine.

Three or four years ago I could not imagine myself showing any attention to writing on anything else than paper. I loved paper and pen writing, I was retro, romantic, authentic, true to the natural way people learned how to write... I resisted any form of involvement in the virtual world other than the ones recommended for job purposes. I was keeping myself FREE FROM THE MACHINE, something fascinating but hard to grasp, definitely too a World Wide Web to have the courage to step inside. I was afraid of the CHANGE and refused to contribute (though sometimes even I admitted to the convenience of the web). I kept reading what was happening OUT THERE, but never had the courage to jump in. I remember reading the blog of a 13 year-old kiddo and Russel Davies's. and others as well. Just a puzzled observer. Secret admirer.
Three or four years from then I realised that web 2.0 empowers people not only to speak and communicate, but to learn, self develop and surpass blockages. like mine.
I find this video inspiring and honest. We're evolving ..it's better to acknowledge that and keep a close eye on everything than to keep one's head in the sand hoping this too will pass, and the world will return to its old time customs (see handwriting on paper).

dancing with a concept

I will write about dancing. But till then I hear I have to go see Manolescu and Gabia in Paradis serial (serial paradise) at CNDB (National Dance Centre Bucharest) National Theatre Building. This evening at 19.30. More here.

enjoy the silence!

tori amos and depeche mode - two of my favourites

Tori Amos

Pinch me. This MUST be TRUE!!! It seems like she is coming to Bucharest in July. As confirmed by feeder.
I would have never hoped to see Tori in Romania. Phoenix foundation, Mircea Nanca, THANK YOU! Is there any need for volunteers for organizing this one? I'm IN!

The photo is that of the Beekeeper Tori. More on this album here

Starbucks comin' to town

But not to my side of town!!!
How can a coffee shop chain renowned for their central, right-in-the-buzz-of-the-street locations all around the globe can open its first cafe in Romania in Plaza Romania??!!
I'll definitely stick with Costa and their tiny but lovely cafe in Romana Square. At least there u get to see the charming looks of the city life, with carlights dimming in the distance, and people strolling, and nice people inside the big window cafe having coffee over a real or digital newspaper, definitely enjoying the center-of-city feel. As opposed to the ugly enormous concrete building flooded with bad taste and aggressive images and sounds. Starbucks at the mall?! WTF?!

Movie time

I love movies. Just like I love all escaping routines. Just like I love fiction, stories, possibilities... :)

Tonight one more great movie (After Innaritu's Amores perros, Trier's Dancer in the Dark and so on...) gets to be shown and commented (by Florin piersic Jr.) at Orange Concept Store in Bucharest. Go see. Be there at 8.00 PM. And bring friends too. There's also good tea and hot chocolate, and bear and fresh juices (and Justice for All). Just like in your own living room.

Life...

I just found out that Romanian sculptor Ovidiu Maitec passed away last Sunday, in Paris. He will be burried on Friday, at the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.

Picture found here

IKEA opening in Bucharest, Romania. Today. I hope my blogging friends will share the photos from the event. I also hope it didn't compete the things shown in Czech Dream...

The rose on my desk

the only good thing so far today.

PR terrorist ladies

PRforum also hosted a well-argumented series of critiques towards some PR ways. Both Victor Kapra (of ZF and Go4it!) and Comanescu shared unhappy experiences that had a lot to do with PR professionals acting unprofessionally. The 7 capital ways in which PRs often sin presented by Victor Kapra (no Romanian letters - "diacritice" - in PR texts to be published in print editions of Romanian publications; emails with no subject, no product photo when the release is about the product's launch; no company presentation - the classical about who should stay at the end of a press release; no useful links for additional research; complicated, stupid or ridiculous manner of writing; the CEO tampering with the content of the realease - the "CEO quote", generally adding no value to the information)were illustrated with a letter that the journalist received via email from a company PR.I look forward to seeing Victor's presentation available on the PRforum site as promised by the organizers. Then I will personally see the infamous letter published on this blog, to your total amusement and discomfort.

PRforum continued...

Also a good subject, brought by Crenguta Rosu of DC Communications - change management.
Change is indeed a very special moment when integrated communication can best be tested. Nonetheless, change has nowadays become a rule and efficiently communicating (throughout) change is clearly vital. It was really interesting to see how most of the audience appreciated the importance of a communication programme developed during a not so "glamourous" situation (the case study presented the relocating process of the Raiffeisen team and the internal communication issues raised). I couldn't help an inner smile while re memorizing the whole project, how it appeared to be a small deal during the "briefing" meeting and the challenges and satisfaction it brought during planning and implementation. That is when I learned the virtues of an Intranet and the importance of involving the CEO in the communication to the employees. I hope managers listened and paid close attention to the Raiffeisen example. And according to a Deloitte research, mentioned by Tereza Valcan of Cosmote, 95% of the CEOs seem to be aware of the fact that efficient internal communication is the most important ingredient for an organization's success

I liked the openness and courage of Dacia. Having to talk about crisis management, Silviu Sepciu, the media relations person at Dacia, came forward with a case study extracted from the company's recent history. I respect this type of transparency, especially if I think of all the dull, not-challenging, outdated, scholastic presentations/case studies generally delivered at this type of "communication industry" events. Companies tend to keep their projects secret, well hidden from those who could actually learn something out of them.
What I probably wouldn't have shown is the image of a Dacia Logan automobile on the verge of turning upside down at 65km/hour.
And I wouldn't agree either with Mr. Sepciu saying, in CAPS, that AN IMAGE CRISIS IS AUTOMATICALLY A MEDIA EVENT!!!
Anyway, during Mr. Sepciu's expose, it dawned upon me: I love crisis management !!... only watching the Dacia Logan crisis calendar felt like watching National geographic's "Seconds from disaster". Crisis comes first, before change, in a ranking of situations when communication/or its absence best shows its effects.

Later update - things I heard of at PRforum and one should keep an eye on:
NetClips, the first online media monitoring service (informally)announced by Manafu and Radu Ionescu

del.icio.us/relatiipublice
Definitely, I should forget the ostrich strategy. Enough hiding my head in the sand. Enaugh saying "it's virtual, it doesn't exist"

PRforum

The first forum dedicated to the local PR industry happened yesterday. I will write about it in episodes, I will try to present facts that are self-explanatory and to give answers to some self-administered questions.

Q1: Is a/this prforum needed?
Now, I start to develop a slight disbelief towards this type of "mass"-educative-hardly-specialized events. I've attended quite a few events that would at best serve for networking and meeting industry peers. However, this forum being a first, I decided to sneak in and feel the pulse of this rather troubled industry (reputation weaknesses, little acknowledgment for its consultancy capacity, lack of standardisation, measurability problems, adaptability to new media and market situation, poor specialization of PR professionals and difficulties in recruiting valuable, already-trained people), to see how PR people look like, what they find important to say when invited to take the floor, the questions raised, the answers given, the examples presented - if the case.

I liked Sorana Savu of Premium PR bringing about a very hot industry theme: PR Evaluation. Valuable questions raised. Personally, however, I hoped a lot more debate would be raised and more valuable conclusions be drawn (besides the classical "there are as many evaluation systems and criteria as clients"). Hurray for Consultancy, currently ranking 3 in the top of most requested PR services, as Sorana gladly announced. Of course, media relations is the most requested service, being accountable of 70% of a PR agency' s portfolio. Events organisation ranks 2nd, and this is how PR people often get to do more event implemmentation that concept and strategic advising.

Peter Imre's call to pragmatism was somewhat invigorating. ("We are all doing PR for the money!") It was honest and showed without doubt what a client (as PR litterate and reputed he may be) primarily expects from communication consultants. Maybe the speaker' s manner of speech wasn't exaclty appropiate. Sorry again that this "presentation" didn't lead to a constructive debate between PR professionals in the room.

to be continued....