BR Interview | Ionut Curtean (Highlight Agency): Shaping best practices in local and regional BTL advertising

Highlight Agency carried out more than 800 projects in 2024, both locally and in European markets such as the Czech Republic and Italy, and is ready for the ninth consecutive year of business growth. BR sat down with CEO Ionut Curtean and talked about the Romanian BTL industry, working on regional and international campaigns and activations, and Highlight Agency’s way of standing out in the market.

By Romanita Oprea

How was 2025 for the agency, from a business point of view?

2025 was a year of constant challenges, just like the entire post-pandemic period, but also a year in which the agency continued to make important steps in streamlining operations and consolidating its service portfolio with innovations for both the Romanian and European markets.

How would you say the BTL industry has evolved in recent years, particularly after the pandemic? What have been the major drivers of those changes?

BTL’s main goal is engagement and conversion rather than just awareness, and its power lays in the fact that it allows brands to interact directly with customers, understand their behaviour, and build trust at the ground level.

The BTL industry has reshaped itself into being much more focused on short- and medium-term measurable results, with pressure on ROI and efficiency. The pandemic accelerated the need for immersive experiences, but also for operational agility.

Moreover, we are happy to see that live experiences are thriving again, but now they are infused with digital technology, a very important aspect that saw significant growth during the pandemic and that represents a positive factor in our industry. Events have become much more interesting as they offer attendees many more ways of interaction, creativity, and innovation. QR codes that unlock AR experiences are now common, and so is the ability of online audiences to join events in real-time via live streams. This hybrid format bridges BTL engagement and digital amplification, turning a single event into a content engine. BTL marketers can use data and analytics to segment and target their audiences more precisely, create personalised and relevant content and offers, and optimise their campaigns based on real-time feedback and results.

How has your agency adapted and what is your approach?

Highlight Agency has adapted its creativity and processes to the new objectives: efficiency, immediate results, relevant experiences, and innovative technologies. Therefore, our creative proposals, especially on the concept side, have had even closer alignment with clients’ new objectives and business goals. The team quickly understood our clients’ new priorities and acted accordingly.

You’ve been working on local and international campaigns and activations. What are the main challenges in this line of work? And what are the best parts?

Highlight Agency delivers full projects internationally, with creative, production, logistics, and implementation capabilities for different markets. Working with marketing teams from different countries is one of our strongest differentiators. The main challenges are related to cultural nuances, regulatory differences, and tight operational times in each country, but these are also the most interesting parts of our job—understanding different consumer behaviours and adapting concepts to local realities, continuously demonstrating that Romania can deliver strategy, creativity, and impeccable execution at a European level in the BTL industry as well. Some of the most satisfying moments are those when we see a concept developed by Highlight being successfully activated in several countries, with the same quality and clear, measurable results, and being presented as best practice by brand teams in other countries. This year we’ve added two international clients to our portfolio, and the list of markets we deliver to has expanded to currently include brands in Croatia, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and Germany.

What are the major trends in the Romanian BTL industry and what new ones do you foresee for 2026?

BTL in Romania is moving towards more premium, personalised, and content-driven brand experiences. We are seeing a significant increase in the integration of AI into activations, from personalised content to real-time interaction tools, as well as in leveraging local influencers. At the same time, digital amplification has become a necessity as brands want experiences that reach consumers’ homes beyond the moment of activation.

At the same time, experiential marketing and local targeting are able to create more meaningful consumer connections.

For 2026, we expect sustainability and smart production solutions to become even more relevant, along with a deeper fusion between BTL, retail media, and experiential trade marketing.

What would you want potential clients to know about Highlight Agency?

We put a lot of emphasis on quality, seniority, and the stability of our team members. The complete structure of the agency can offer 360-degree BTL services through internal resources and has a great capacity for fast and impeccable implementation. The Highlight team is defined by professionalism, high standards of execution, and long-term partnerships. We are operationally strong, we move quickly, and we consistently deliver at a high level, easily adapting to our clients’ needs.

Our senior-level structure allows us to understand our clients’ business in depth and come up with solutions that are simultaneously creative and operationally sound. We always offer them consultancy and strategy and a different manner of tackling their projects.

Would you say that Highlight specialises in certain fields or sectors? If so, which ones, and why?

Yes, we are particularly strong in FMCG, beauty & personal care, beverages, alcohol. These industries require rapid response, impeccable execution, and a deep understanding of consumer behaviour—the very areas that Highlight has perfected and excels in. After years of experience and dozens of complex projects in these categories, we have developed a solid operational and strategic know-how, which our clients appreciate.

Having teams that are mostly made up of senior specialists is an important differentiator in the industry and a major plus for clients and projects. How do you keep your employees happy?

We have built an environment that respects people’s experience and gives them autonomy. Senior-level teams need clarity, trusted leadership, as well as relevant and motivating projects, and we provide all these things. We invest in processes that facilitate their work and encourage a culture of respect, collaboration, and stability. We cannot influence the dynamics of the industry, but we can improve internal processes and do so constantly in order to provide our colleagues with the right tools to do their work.

Is it true that seasonality is no longer relevant when it comes to BTL activations? How do you approach the new reality?

It’s true: traditional seasonality is almost gone. Activations are happening constantly throughout the year, driven by continuous commercial pressure and constant competition in retail. We have adapted by building flexible teams, using better forecasting tools, and adopting a more agile resource management model. This way, we can respond quickly, without compromising on quality of service, regardless of the time of year. Our vast expertise helps us understand and meet clients’ needs and expectations all year long.