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News from Members New Report Highlights the Importance of Public Affairs and Communications Counsel in Romanian Business

New Report Highlights the Importance of Public Affairs and Communications Counsel in Romanian Business


As competition becomes stronger, companies turn towards building a strong reputation


McGuireWoods Romania, in partnership with Sfera Business,  unveiled a report titled – “How companies in Romania approach communication strategically” – in a roundtable which professionals in strategic communications, public affairs and other government relations-related fields. The biggest takeaway showed that 73 percent of companies, with no regards to revenue level, would outsource strategic communications, public affairs and government relations activities in order to benefit from consultants’ expertise.

Reputation management
In Romania, reputation management, which is roughly understood as a company’s notoriety, is a key influencer and carries great importance.

Revenues do however play a major role in terms of how companies internalize the communications, government relations and public affairs functions. Out of the companies surveyed with revenues of over EUR 100 million, 89 percent have a strategic communication department. Conversely, when dealing with companies with revenues lower than EUR 1 million, only 33 percent of those employed similar departments.

Results also showed a correlation between the size of a company and its revenues and its likelihood of having a communications department. Only 33 percent of companies with revenues between EUR 1 - 10 million have a communication strategy in place, but after reaching the EUR 50 million level, their focus on communication increases exponentially.

In terms of public affairs and government relations, more than half (54 percent) of companies with revenues between EUR 10 – 100 million have a dedicated department while only 30 percent of companies with revenues under EUR 10 million have such a department.

“Our research aims to identify trends in strategic communications, public affairs, and government relations that are relevant for the Romanian business environment,” said Elena Badea, partner, Sfera Business. “Targeted for marketing managers and top executives, we hope to facilitate their understanding of how companies across various industries evolve their corporate communications strategies on an annual basis. This information will also be useful in helping companies foster their relationships with clients and other relevant audiences.”

Business strategy

The research also confirmed the benefits of having communications, public affairs and government relations professionals in-house or on retainer. While nearly every entity could benefit from having its communications strategy driven with the involvement of a communications specialist, only 50 percent of companies stated they utilized a communications professional and even less involved them in the strategic planning process. The results also showed that more often than not (45 percent of the time), the strategic communications department is separated from the government relations/public affairs department.

“Our objective was to ascertain several key variables that link strategic communications and public affairs and government relations in order to examine the way Romanian companies approach these two functions. We believe it is the right moment for all companies, from those taking their first steps to medium- and large-size operations, to include communications as a strategic axis in their business vision and plans. By doing so, they will be more competitive and will be able to address the needs of future clients and business partners, starting with Y generation,” said Nadia Crisan, senior vice president and managing director of McGuireWoods Romania.


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About the Report

The report, “How Romanian companies communicate strategically” is based on a survey administered between February 24 and April 9, 2016. The report analyzes the responses gathered from 141 respondents to an online questionnaire with 24 questions. Of the 141 respondents, 26 percent were top executives and 34 percent were local marketing and communication professionals. Companies reflected in the research are Romanian (38%), foreign (50%), and those with both domestic and international operations (12%). Of the companies participating in the research, 35 percent have posted revenues of over EUR 100 million in 2015, 11 percent had reported revenues between EUR 50 and EUR 100 million, 12 percent fell between EUR 10 to EUR 50 million, and the remaining 24 percent fell between EUR 1 to EUR 10 million.

About McGuireWoods Consulting

Founded in 1998, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC is a public affairs firm which offers its clients integrated government relations, strategic communications, and business development services at the federal, state, local and international levels. McGuireWoods Consulting is a subsidiary of McGuireWoods LLP, an international law firm, with more than 1000 attorneys. Since 2010, McGuireWoods Consulting has been ranked in the top 20 among the 1,900 government relations firms in Washington, DC, by the National Law Journal in its annual report. For more information, visit: www.mcguirewoodsconsulting.com.

About Sfera Business

Sfera Business is a training and consulting company founded in 2010. We are a training and consulting firm focused on providing integrated solutions in sales, management and customer relations. We work alongside our clients to find practical solutions by which they obtain the desired growth. We always work from personalized customer needs. Each program is dedicated to a single company. As we quickly understand the specific business challenges, we ensure that we achieve the results consistent with management’s expectations. Discover more about us and our team on www.sferabusiness.ro

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