[Point. And start over] Cătălin Rusu: From time to time, it’s useful to become a junior again in something, to break the bubble of your own experience, and to dive into the unknown

Change. 2023 was about many changes, and every time I had the chance for change, I thought of a saying from Winston Churchill who said he had nothing against change if it was in the right direction. I focused on this detail, and it showed positively by the end of the year, and it will definitely be seen this year as well.

It was a year with everything, with pleasant and less pleasant surprises, but it seems that all of them contributed to action. I managed to put into practice the vision I’ve had for almost 16 years since co-founding Rusu+Bortun.

I believe that the duty of an entrepreneur, especially a creative one, is to propose a lifestyle, a mix between the professional and personal that expresses freedom and personality. I also believe that you can’t be creative only in connection with client projects; you have to return to your own backyard and find a business model that has something unique. The business concept must be creative, and then the execution should match. Otherwise, the market will devour you. It’s full of classic models that the big players have learned to execute well on a global scale.

I’ve learned a lot from basketball, the performance sport I practice. Without constant effort and teamwork, you can’t express yourself at your best. From time to time, it’s useful to become a beginner again in something, to break out of the bubble of your own experience, and to dive into the unknown. I’ve learned that giving and receiving trust is essential for growth. Technology has saved me time, and I managed to be involved in several projects.

For Rusu+Borțun, it was the best year creatively since 2008. We won 9 awards at the ADC Romania Awards Gala: silver for Strategic Planner of the Year, three bronzes for Creative Director of the Year, Copywriter of the Year, and Art Director of the Year. We are the 4th most creative agency in Romania in 2022 according to ADC, the local creativity festival.

And 2023 looks promising as well. The TV and KV in our campaign for Bixtonim from Biofarm turned out to be the most creative works in October and November.

And we also have a bronze for Electrica Furnizare. It’s relevant for us that our work is validated by the top 15-20 creative directors in the market. We felt like influencers when we saw how our campaign for #iubimlafel from MozaiQ was received. Congratulations for the initiative and collaboration between multiple agencies. So, it’s possible!

We’ve created integrated campaigns that people liked and sold. “Boiler, daddy!” for Electrica, “Clogged nose, like mom!” for Bixtonim, “Radu, do you see the medical visit?” from Superbet Club, “Make your magic and relax!” from MagicJackpot feat. Adrian Mutu, or “An ugly pizza for delicious people” for Apollo111 Pizza. We worked on comms and digital for Eazy Asigurări, Alexander Hughes, Stretto Plug-in from Alka Group, and Trutzi.

Together with Blindspot and Revista Biz, we launched #365daysofRomania and are promoting Romanian values globally, in Times Square, with the help of Romanian brands.

We are launching Brand Growers as a strategy, rhetoric, and brand design agency with Alina Tudose and Razvan Chifu (former McCann). We’ve been working together for 20 years and have had a business plan since 2017. We have launched and relaunched several brands, including Magmatik, ZYX Group and ZYX Books, Eazy Asigurări, Investimental, the Photography Resource Center, #365daysofRomania, Insurtech Talks. We have also started identity processes for Hotnews.ro and Romstal.

At Apollo111 Theater and Apollo111 Bar & Terrace, we launched Apollo111 Pizza – Detroit Style.

As Board Member ADCE – Art Directors Club of Europe I was part of the merger project between ADCE and The One Club for Creativity, with a global goal.

I continued to consult for entrepreneurs and executives, building brand and marketing ecosystems alongside entrepreneurs and boards, and creative ecosystems for the brands we work with.

I slowed down a bit with start-ups, investing only in Vatis Tech and real estate. Otherwise, it’s been low risk. I’m glad to see that the start-ups I’ve invested in (Blindspot, Tokinomo, iFactor) are growing and preparing for the next level.

Sports. In the four years since I’ve been playing performance basketball, my focus and organization have transformed. I’ve had the best years in terms of business results and creativity. I accomplish much more in less time, with less stress, and everything has become clearer and simpler. Sports require constant effort and get you used to incremental progress. Nothing happens overnight. You need passion and a plan, head down and work, learn to receive feedback, and be patient.

Giovanni Perini from Romstal taught me to do walking talks, Herastrau park walks, chatting. It somehow reminds me of history, of Versailles and Trianon. Those people knew what they were doing when negotiating while walking. So, since the summer, I’ve organized walking talks and running talks with friends and business partners.

I’ve almost completely given up on nostalgia in business. I try to bring relationships into the present, and if they still make sense for the future, great. If not, they remain beautiful memories that brought us here, but as this section says, sometimes it’s important to draw a line and start over.

Giovanni Perini from Romstal taught me to do walking talks, Herastrau park walks, chatting. It somehow reminds me of history, of Versailles and Trianon. Those people knew what they were doing when negotiating while walking. So, since the summer, I’ve organized walking talks and running talks with friends and business partners.

The last Ceylan, About Dried Herbs, is very close to me. It’s about the relationship between aging and hope, between the arid and the fertile as an exception. The play with perspectives and the extraordinary patience with which the director builds the story. My mind is quite set, due to advertising, on 30-60 seconds, and I often fall asleep during feature films, even short ones. But Ceylan’s storytelling keeps you engaged for almost three and a half hours.

The latest Ken Loach movie was also something I really liked, and I believe our society should watch and discuss it. There’s a good person in each of us, a person who, when they can no longer do good for themselves, turns to others, to those who need their help and presence. And, slowly, hope begins to grow, encompassing families, neighborhoods, and larger communities. Let’s remember that when we feel helpless and without a phone, someone else might need us. The story of TJ and Syrian immigrants in a British village is a fresco for many places in the world. Grab a pint of Guinness and watch The Old Oak.

What I talk about when I talk about running brought me back to Murakami, one of my favorite writers since I was 20. Mental discipline deserves to be trained in everything you do, confidence grows with patience, not just exposure and courage. There were also Kundera and Javier Cercas.

A very speculative approach, the common place they started from and how they managed to express the values of an Italian brand like Fiat. And, as for the sales and the CEO’s involvement in the story, all respect! Not to mention the execution, which is wonderful.

In business, I started working with some agency founders halfway through last year on a project for an alliance of complementary independent agencies (branding, creation, digital, PR & events, media). Together, we exceed a turnover of 10 million euros. I believe that independent agencies that work well together for clients and the vibe of their teams deserve to collaborate in a structured way. I hope to launch this project and have a proof of concept.

Personally, I’ve been thinking a bit about what I want to do after I stop playing basketball. I hope to reach my goal and promote, but what’s next? I would love to go back to philosophy; I feel like studying, I’m somehow in the mood for academia after 20+ years of putting things into practice. I discovered the Philosophy Podcast, which is very funny. Baby steps, each resolution is a start-up.

Above expectations. Change does its job if you’re ready for it.