For Ionuț Curtean, CEO of Highlight Group, 2025 reaffirmed the idea that efficiency doesn’t limit creativity—it disciplines it. Moreover, stable, senior-level teams made the real difference in delivering relevant projects. When it comes to agency work, the most complex and visible activation of 2025 was Lidl Content Store, implemented at the Beach, Please! festival, showcasing what BTL can achieve when it is designed as a business tool.

“We were more selective about the pitches we took part in and focused on clients and projects with long-term growth potential. One of the year’s most important gains was the increase in integrated projects, where BTL was part of the strategy, not just the execution,” says Ionuț.

One trend he hopes will fade in 2026 is pitch processes based exclusively on unpaid work, without a clear framework or a realistic evaluation of the time and expertise agencies contribute.

A slogan for 2025

Smart solutions. Real impact.

2025 brought more rigor, better-informed decisions, and a healthy focus on results to the Highlight Group (Agency and Public Relations).

What you expected from 2025 vs. what actually happened

At market level, we expected a cautious year, with budget pressure, slower decision-making, and an increased need to justify every investment. In reality, 2025 turned out to be a year of maturity: more rigor, stronger focus on efficiency and measurable results, but also greater openness to tactical, well-thought-out solutions that are easy to evaluate in terms of impact.

For Highlight Agency, this context worked very well. It was a good year that confirmed our direction: creativity anchored in business objectives, smart and practical solutions, and tightly controlled execution.

For Highlight PR, 2025 was a year of consolidation and validation of the strategic approach defined 12 months earlier. It marked strong team maturation and development, along with more integrated projects, with increasingly important components of communication strategy and media relations.

Beautiful, hard, or ugly in 2025

It was an intense, but healthy year.

Beautiful: solid projects, team maturation, and an increasing focus on thinking strategically about every project.
Hard: the sustained pace, lack of real breaks, and the constant need for optimization.
Less pleasant: continuous external pressure—economic and operational—which is no longer an exception, but a constant. We strongly felt the political and economic situation at the beginning of the year, when marketing budgets were invested with great caution.

Overall, however, it was a year that built value rather than simply consuming it for the Highlight Group.

The agency’s 2025 balance

For the group, 2025 was a year of strategic consolidation. This was the direction assumed at the beginning of the year, which we managed to follow consistently while developing our portfolio in a healthy way.

We were more selective in pitch participation and focused on clients and projects with long-term growth potential. One of the year’s most important achievements was the increase in integrated projects, where BTL was part of the strategy, not just execution.

2025 also brought international expansion: new clients and projects delivered in markets such as Germany, Slovakia, and Croatia, alongside other European markets where we’ve been active since 2020.

For Highlight PR, 2025 meant strong team consolidation, attracting new talent with a high level of seniority and relevant skills, aligned with our strategy of offering integrated communication services to our partners.

Overall, it was a year that confirmed both our direction and our way of working.

Challenges and satisfactions

Challenges were mainly related to constant efficiency pressure, increasingly short implementation timelines, and project complexity—especially in an international context.

Satisfaction came from solutions that delivered measurable results, successfully implemented regional projects, and confirmation that our model—based on seniority, agility, and solution-oriented thinking—works and is relevant both locally and internationally.

What happened to the creative industry in 2025

In 2025, the creative industry became more pragmatic. It confirmed that efficiency matters just as much as the idea, that live experiences are extremely relevant when well designed and supported by digital amplification, and that creativity must be directly connected to results.

The surprise was how quickly the industry conversation shifted from “what do we do that’s spectacular” to “what actually works.”

What was disproven, what was confirmed

The idea that AI “kills” creativity was disproven—it proved to be a valuable tool when properly integrated into existing processes.

What was confirmed was the constant pressure on ROI and relevance, influencing all marketing decisions.

At the same time, 2025 showed that adaptability, process clarity, and maturity in ways of working have become essential across the industry.

The factors that most influenced the industry

The industry was decisively shaped by economic instability, the rapid acceleration of AI adoption, consumer fatigue toward irrelevant messaging, and the growing need for real, meaningful experiences that create connections beyond the digital space.

Hot topics of the year

Key topics included AI, efficiency and budget optimization, immersive experiences, tightly budget-controlled premium experiences, reusable content, and the increasingly close integration between BTL, retail, and digital.

Trends that truly mattered in 2025—and what was just noise

What mattered:

  • AI integrated into workflows, not used as a gimmick
  • Hybrid solutions: live + digital
  • Useful content, not just viral content

Noise:

  • Excessive AI hype without clear objectives
  • Big ideas unsupported by a realistic implementation plan

Your unpopular opinion about AI

AI doesn’t make us more creative. It makes us faster—but there’s a risk of blending into the crowd if we’re not very clear about what we want from it and what problem we’re trying to solve.

What you learned about AI this year

That the difference isn’t made by the tool, but by how you integrate it into the process. Used correctly, AI greatly supports efficiency, personalization, and speed.

One thing creatives still don’t fully understand about AI

I think most creatives already understand that AI doesn’t replace strategic thinking. The challenge remains how we use it—not as a universal solution, but as a tool that supports a clear direction and a well-defined idea.

AI-generated tagline for the creative industry in 2025:

“Creativity loading… please do not unplug the humans.”
Your feedback:
It’s a fair statement, but slightly romanticized. The reality of 2025 is more pragmatic: people remain essential, but creativity works even better when technology is intelligently integrated and used.

The word of the year in the creative industry

Efficiency

The coolest thing in the industry in 2025

Rapid adaptation to changes in consumer behavior through projects focused on utility, relevance, and real connections—not just visibility.

The best campaign of 2025

There were many strong campaigns this year, both in Romania and internationally. At the end of the year, however, I naturally look first at the projects we developed ourselves.

For Highlight Agency, the most complex and visible activation of 2025 was Lidl Content Store, implemented at the Beach, Please! festival.

It was a strategically built project, adapted to current consumer and content creator behavior, generating real interaction, relevant content, and strong social media resonance, demonstrating what BTL can do when conceived as a business tool.

What 2026 looks like

A more cautious year, with even stronger focus on optimization, cost control, and tactical solutions. The market will be attentive, selective, and oriented toward immediate results.

New trends that may emerge, and where

Trends may develop around deeper integration between BTL, retail, and data; highly targeted local experiences; and smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable productions.

A trend you’d like to see disappear in 2026

Pitch processes based exclusively on unpaid work, without a clear framework or a real evaluation of the time and expertise agencies bring.

Plans for 2026

In 2026, we’ll focus on integrated projects and real partnerships, not transactional relationships. We’ll continue investing in clearer processes, team protection, and the development of tactical and regional activations, solutions that combine creativity with operational rigor.

Changes you’re planning in your activity

We’re focusing on integrated projects, tactical and regional activations, and better integration between BTL, PR, retail, and digital, with an emphasis on efficiency, relevance, and rigorous execution.

The most important lessons from 2025

2025 reaffirmed that efficiency doesn’t limit creativity—it disciplines it—and that stable, highly senior teams truly make the difference in delivering relevant projects.

What you say to 2026

Be gentler than the forecasts, and leave room for good projects and solid partnerships.