In an exclusive double interview, Business Review spoke to Dare Digital’s Head of Digital Content & Social Media Alexandra-Georgiana Andrei and Chief Growth Officer Ruxandra Florescu to find out more about the company’s future plans, the evolution of the digital marketing industry and how it continues to deliver innovative, end-to-end services to its clients.
Ruxandra Florescu, Chief Growth Officer, Dare Digital
Ruxandra, what are the main growth areas that Dare Digital will focus on in the coming years, and how do you plan to drive expansion both in Romania and abroad?
Our growth strategy is focused on two pillars: enhancing customer experience through digital transformation to personalize customer interactions and enriching our workplace culture to attract and retain top talent. This approach is complemented by expanding our market presence, supported by a team with extensive experience in delivering business outcomes for both local and international brands across multiple markets, and incorporating sustainable practices in all our operations that are aligned with global standards and customer expectations.
Going forward, the company aims to deploy a comprehensive growth strategy that includes enhancing its technological capabilities to stay ahead of industry trends, penetrating underserved markets, and continuously improving customer service. It will also continue to focus on developing its employees with a bespoke ERP system to help it achieve its long-term goals. This platform provides a comprehensive framework that allows for effective monitoring and optimization of campaigns.
Dare Digital offers a wide range of services, from branding to smart digital media solutions. How do you think diversifying your services contributes to the overall growth and resilience of your company?
We believe that in 2024, communication for communication's sake will no longer be effective and will not deliver the results marketers desire. It is crucial that all types of communication are goal-driven, tailored to consumer needs, and deliver tangible business outcomes for clients.
Our growth strategy therefore includes the integration of a diverse team of experts. By bringing together our expertise in marketing, consulting, e-commerce, IKA listings and other niche areas in integrated projects, we provide practical solutions that deliver tangible business results. This diversification of services not only serves different market needs, but also strengthens our business model, making it more robust against economic changes and increasing our ability to innovate. By entering new markets and capitalizing on new trends, we reduce the risks associated with relying on a single service line, capture a broader consumer segment and ultimately facilitate the achievement of our clients' goals and KPIs. This strategic diversity is essential not only for the expansion of our services, but also for strengthening our resilience and continued growth.
Dare Digital has a unique model where your core team is supported by a vast network of collaborators, but how do you manage scalability and seamlessly integrate these collaborators into your projects? What challenges and advantages does this model present?
We manage scalability by dynamically adjusting team composition based on project demand. Our model is designed to scale efficiently by leveraging a core team that sets standards and workflows, and extending them through a network of contributors. The core team assesses project requirements on a daily basis and strategically assigns contributors to ensure optimal resource utilization and seamless project integration.
As part of our internal working methodology, we continuously invest in community building and training programs to ensure and maintain the quality of the entire project. When it comes to the actual onboarding of our partners,, Each collaborator is brought on board through a structured process that is aligned with our core team's strategy and the specific needs of the project.
This customized integration not only maintains consistency but also turns scalability into a seamless process rather than a challenge. Advanced project management and CRM tools, integral to our business growth methodology, strengthen this integration, ensuring smooth and efficient operations at all levels. This technology-first approach makes scalability easier to manage by providing real-time updates and facilitating collaboration across different geographies and time zones.
As Chief Growth Officer, how do you see the digital marketing industry evolving? What new opportunities do you see emerging for agencies like Dare Digital to better serve their clients and stay ahead of the competition?
The digital marketing industry is rapidly evolving with advancements in AI and machine learning, enabling more personalized and efficient marketing strategies. We stay one step ahead by continuously adopting these technologies to better predict customer behavior and optimize our marketing efforts. As (not-so-new) platforms such as TikTok and emerging technologies redefine media consumption, our team is actively leveraging these new channels to deliver the content that audiences care about most, giving our clients an edge in a competitive landscape.”
There is also an increasing demand for sustainable and responsible marketing. We see this as an opportunity to innovate how we create and deliver content, ensuring that our strategies not only meet our clients' needs, but also align with wider environmental and social goals.
Alexandra Georgiana Andrey, Head of Digital Content & Social Media
Alexandra, can you tell us some of Dare Digital’s upcoming initiatives in the areas of digital content and social media? How do you see these strategies evolving to keep up with the dynamic digital environment?
The digital landscape is constantly evolving and honestly, you can’t tackle social media unless you’re dynamic, willing to take on challenges, and willing to try new things, formats, small features, and newly emerging platforms.
It's a daily task. It's a dynamic, ever-evolving environment where trial and error are the order of the day, where there are both challenges and opportunities for brands, and where new features emerge regularly. This fluidity requires businesses to remain agile and adaptable, ready to capitalize on new opportunities and pivot their strategies to keep up with changing consumer behaviors.
Despite the changes in daily life, social media is not all new. Social media results come from properly implementing branded content and smart tactics on a daily basis to drive reach and engagement, followed by a smart media approach to amplify your communications and reach the right target audience.
Dare Digital stays on top of social media trends, algorithm changes and new technologies, adapting all its features to the life and key points of each brand. We use this dynamism to our advantage and stay ahead of the curve by smartly and effectively combining content and media to generate tangible business results.
We are an agency that works with brands every day. We don't just focus on big cross-channel campaigns. We strive for everyday content, not just to celebrate intense moments, but for big and small, contextual pieces that are relevant to our target audience. And really, life is like that too.
As digital technology rapidly advances, how is Dare Digital incorporating innovations such as AI and machine learning into its content production and social media strategy? Can you provide an example of how these technologies have enhanced a project?
We are aware of the potential of AI and machine learning in content creation, leveraging data-driven insights to help us create more personalized and engaging content that is aligned with our audience’s preferences. However, we cannot ignore the human touch that is essential to capture a particular tone, entertainment value, and properly contextualize each social media post.
However, we use AI-powered analytics tools to analyze social media data and identify trends and audience demographics to refine your content strategy for maximum impact. Additionally, machine learning algorithms help optimize content performance by predicting user behavior and recommending the most effective content pillars and approaches, streamlining the communication process on social media platforms.
As Head of Digital Content & Social Media, what approaches do you find are most effective in engaging customers and building a strong, lasting brand in the digital space? Do you have any recent success stories that highlight these strategies?
Storytelling, combining real-time content, authenticity, and interactivity, is key to engaging users and building strong relationships in the digital space. We aim to build content that fosters trust and credibility while at the same time building stories that connect with audiences on a deeper emotional level. Creating compelling narratives is a must, especially when dealing with a crowded digital environment. Meanwhile, paid PPC strategies help drive better KPIs with your content by using your media budget effectively. Moreover, interactivity plays a key role in driving engagement and building meaningful relationships with clients, which is crucial during the actual conversion phase of larger campaigns.
Recent successful campaigns we have worked on include integrated communication campaigns and social activations for leading Romanian brand ALCALIA, CESAROM, healthcare giant Glovo, and several other brands. We are currently running online and offline activations to leverage each medium for business purposes. We approach the most simple and sincere moments of each brand's journey with the same enthusiasm as we do the peak moments of communication.
The digital marketing industry is constantly evolving. How do you stay ahead of market trends and ensure Dare Digital's content and social media strategy remains relevant and impactful?
I believe in a proactive approach to stay ahead of market trends. We continuously monitor industry upgrades and analyze data to ensure our strategies are relevant and effective. Leveraging data-driven insights and embracing a culture of feedback within multiple teams with diverse capabilities, we optimize what works and scale quickly, allowing us to easily adapt to changes in the digital landscape and take advantage of new opportunities.
Our success lies in our ability to combine creativity, strategic thinking and a hands-on implementation process that enables us to engage with our clients and build strong, lasting brands in the digital space.
Through our thorough approach to content creation, target audience engagement and smart paid media campaigns, we have achieved great success for our clients. Remaining agile, adaptive and forward-thinking ensures that Dare Digital's content and social media strategies stay at the forefront of industry trends, deliver measurable results and drive business growth.
