Interview. Oltea Zambori: We are now starting to have cultural marketing in Romania

The Cluj Comedy Film Festival is going from strength to strength. Business Review travelled to Cluj-Napoca to talk to Oltea Zambori, one of the best-known cultural marketing specialists nationwide. In charge of the festival’s newly-created sponsorship department, she gave BR the lowdown on cultural marketing, a nascent sector in Romania.

 Oana Vasiliu

Do we have cultural marketing in Romania?

In my opinion, we are now starting to have cultural marketing in Romania. We are currently trying to figure out what we can do to offer different experiences of a brand while the consumer is there for the cultural act. This “phenomenon” is already happening at major festivals in Romania. To name a few, cultural brand activations happen at TIFF, Electric Castle, Untold, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Plai Festival in Timisoara, and now, we have tried to put Comedy Cluj on this “best practices” national map.

Are Romanian companies interested in long-term investment in a cultural project?

Definitely. I truly believe that this is the future of marketing here in Romania. Lately, I have had meetings with key people from marketing departments and all of them were talking about this commitment towards a cultural project on a long-term basis. They want to spend money wisely on campaigns, and cultural products can bring the product or service added value. After talking with them, I realized that next year’s budgets will largely, or at least half of them, go on these types of activations, while the rest will be spent on traditional marketing campaigns.

From your experience raising funds for Comedy Cluj, which companies are more willing to invest in a cultural project, product brands or service brands?

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Both of them, but it mostly depends on who is responsible for fundraising for the cultural event. If she/he knows all the “ingredients” of the festival, for example, she/he will definitely know how to sell the event to companies’ marketing departments. Then, it’s a win-win situation. I also believe that we no longer think of companies in terms of products and services, but more regarding their openness towards ideas and projects.

In terms of ROI, how do you evaluate the investment in cultural products, namely an investment in a festival?

A real, tangible return on investment doesn’t yet exist, or maybe only if we talk about a brand’s image and, in this case, all the discussion moves to PR. But a good idea which can bring ROI to both the brand and cultural projects can be fiscal relaxation for those who invest in such projects. The idea is not to cut all the taxes, but maybe a discount can be given to those supporting arts and culture, a form of encouragement from the state. Also, companies that invest in such events and offer brand experiences have increased sales. For example, Ursus beer designed a special bottle and can label for the Untold festival, which was sold all over the country and thus boosted sales.

What exactly does a partnership with a sponsor of a festival mean?

First and foremost, it is more than the brand’s logo on the festival’s advertising package. It’s about the festival’s capacity to bring ideas and proposals of how they can promote the brand during the festival. From my point of view, a festival’s sponsorship department should act like a marketing agency, running campaigns within the cultural experience.

What are the do’s and don’ts of such a partnership?

The most important thing for both sides is to feel represented by the terms agreed to. Also, attention to detail. An example that crosses my mind right now is regarding the water suppliers: if your press conference starts and the boxes of water from the sponsor haven’t arrived yet, you’ll have to go out and buy that specific brand. Moreover, as a cultural event, you should keep your promises and give the space and attention you signed up for with the brand in order to make your festival bigger and better. Also, it’s very important to ask for funding from brands that are actually suitable for your cultural product, because not everything can be matched and will make sense.