5 Minutes with… Ana Chreih
Ana Chreih is the co-founder of Better, “a strategy-led and radically creative consultancy shop” based in Romania.
Combining structure, soft skills, and creativity, Ana’s journey in advertising has been shaped by a deep-rooted curiosity towards human behaviour, fine-tuned by her media psychology degree and master’s in social influence.
At just 23, she was given the responsibility to stand by the commercial director and lead major partnerships at the Romanian Post, the nation’s largest government-owned company. There, she shared the table with banks, insurance companies, and Western Union managing teams to devise plans for navigating projects in a complex network. So, when she transitioned into advertising at the age of 25, she used those skills to bring departments together, resulting in her first campaign – The Money Channel’s ‘Feedback is Fifty’ – winning a Silver Drum in the process.
In the years since, Ana has held key roles in new business and integration at McCann and Publicis, tackling challenges across sectors spanning alcohol to telecoms in both local and international markets. And the accolades have kept coming. Vodafone Romania’s ‘Sunday Grannies’ earned a Gold Fibra and National Library’s ‘Selfies with Classics’ was shortlisted, while her account, Dedeman, won a Grand Effie, securing Gold in Retail.
LBB’s Zara Naseer caught up with Ana to plot her ascent, hearing how the switch from communism to capitalism during her childhood set off her fascination with branding, as well as her tips for building trust between teams, avoiding burnout, and exploring Romania.
Above: National Library 'Selfies With Classics'
LBB> How did you get into advertising? Was it a purposeful decision or more of an accident?
Ana> I was only seven years old when Romania switched from communism to capitalism and private-owned businesses started to appear like mushrooms. I remember being fascinated with naming and branding, even at that early age. Also, when everyone else switched TV channels during the advertising breaks, I kept watching with interest.
I became aware of this passion during the last year of university, at Universita degli Studi di Padova, where I took a course in media psychology. As a graduate, I had the opportunity to get a job in a marketing department, but my goal was to get into an advertising agency. So I can say it was quite purposeful.
LBB> From your studies of psychology and social influence, are there any particularly fascinating insights that have shaped how you do your job?
Ana> What guided me throughout my career in project management was the fascination I have for human behaviour. I always try to understand the unique reality of every person I work with, be it a colleague or a client. And for me, humans are always first – above projects, KPIs, deadlines. This is what made me able to build such lasting relationships along the way, and deliver some very elaborate projects with a high level of team motivation.
LBB> As a project manager who’s had to unite some very large teams, what are the most common challenges you’ve come up against when trying to build trust and alignment between individuals and groups? How do you tackle them?
Ana> I always begin by mapping the entire organisational culture to understand each project's broader context. Then, somewhat intuitively, I cluster people according to their needs and motivation types. I pay careful attention to every stakeholder/participant in the process, ensuring they feel understood and accommodated, while simultaneously working toward our common goal behind the scenes. For me, success comes from being consistently available with positive energy for both clients and internal teams.
One significant challenge I faced was working within a highly informal structure composed of diverse cultures during the Coca-Cola regional projects. The upside was that this environment created ample space for innovation and improvisation, providing valuable learning opportunities throughout the process.
LBB> Out of the projects you’ve worked on, which one represents the biggest milestone in your career, and why?
Ana> Back in 2008, the agency where I worked had to implement significant layoffs. As a junior employee who remained, I suddenly found myself responsible for numerous clients and projects on my own. I had to immerse myself in extensive reading and constantly ask questions because I genuinely struggled to understand the tasks and industry terminology. This situation forced me to quickly build relationships with colleagues across all departments I collaborated with and develop a deep understanding of their roles. This experience ultimately helped me a lot in my future career.
LBB> From your behind-the-scenes experience, what does it take to turn a good idea into an award-winning campaign?
- The tension: The issue it solves is clear and relatable.
- The team: Advertising is a team game; maybe this is why I like it so much. Aside from having a great coach, cheerleaders and top players, the team is only as good as the weakest player on the field. I’ve seen quite a few brilliant ideas go to waste because the media guy wasn’t involved or the PR wasn’t strong enough or even the creative was not edgy enough.
- Relationships: The client/agency team is in tune, they trust each other, and work together towards the common goal.
- Lastly but most importantly – an MVP: Be it the creative director, the project manager, or even the strategist – that person who has the passion, the motivation, and the grit to develop the idea to its fullest potential, and who brings energy to the process in all the key milestones. The one that keeps the bar high and inspires the rest.
LBB> How do working on regional accounts like Coca-Cola CEE challenge or inspire you differently from local campaigns?
Ana> The process is inherently more complex. We work with multiple cultures, both as target audiences for our campaigns and within our creative teams. Personally, I find it an exponentially greater challenge to understand and help such diverse individuals collaborate effectively. However, the rewards are proportionally greater, especially since we're not operating from an economically dominant country. People are often surprised to discover that a creative hub is led from Romania, which brings us immense pride.
LBB> You’ve spoken previously about experiencing burnout after fully throwing yourself into each project that came your way. What signs warned you that it was coming? And how do you maintain your balance now when leading an entire company of your own?
Ana> It took me five years to have the courage to go into entrepreneurship. During this period, I worked a lot on self-development, mainly focusing on how to balance my priorities better. What helps is that I’ve changed my focus from proving myself to going only towards what excites me. I’ve learned to stop and celebrate any small victory before venturing towards the next KPI.
Truth be told, the new model that we apply – where we employ people based on their fit with the project and also position ourselves as consultants versus suppliers – does help a lot!
Above: Vodafone Romania 'Sunday Grannies'
LBB> What are you recently most proud of and why?
Ana> When I talk to former clients or work mates and they are happy for us, it makes me so proud. I feel that I built a strong legacy and all the years of hard work were not wasted. Also, when I call people to employ them on projects and they are so happy to work together again. But mostly, I am proud to see my ideas and thinking come to life in a more direct manner. Nothing brings more joy than the CEO of a company calling me to ask what we’ve done to his team that made them come to work so happy the next day!
LBB> What are your most exciting plans for Better?
Ana> In 2023, [Raluca Kovacs and I] created a space where true partnership and passion serve as core values, beyond revenues and fame. A space so safe that real problems are put on the table and collaboration is key to solving them. A space where brands get clarity, relevance, excitement and momentum.
We founded Better as a strategy-led and radically creative consultancy shop. We chose this name because ’better’ is the attitude that we both embrace: we believe in constant evolution through lifelong learning.
We also consider creativity to be the most effective growth engine for business. We are inspired by the companies that shake their industries by using creativity. What excites us is to work in solid partnership with our clients, and to drive marketing innovation and disruption together .
At Better we filter the relationships we seek. We look for partners with:
- Exciting problems to solve.
- An ambition that matches ours.
- A great internal culture.
- An entrepreneurial mindset – despite their size.
- The desire not only to grow, but to be the best in their field.
We strongly believe that creativity belongs in the boardroom and shouldn’t be trapped in the creative department anymore. We empower our partners and want to drive change in the market through workshops that we organise both for clients and agencies. Our aim is to help people build relevant brands in a healthy manner.
LBB> Outside of work, what's inspiring you right now?
Ana> Summer is a very vibrant season in Romania. The big cities become cultural beacons, while the countryside, with nature in bloom, transforms into a real-life adventure realm. I’m also looking forward to music festival season – we host some truly outstanding events. Speaking of which, we recently had an inspiring professional moment when we advised a client on launching a financial product tied to Untold, one of Europe's largest music festivals. Untold is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, which promises to be a blast.
So, if you haven't made summer plans yet, Romania should definitely be on your list!
I'm also extremely excited – this time professionally speaking – about attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The Romanian creative community is well represented there, and I'll get to reconnect with former colleagues who now work abroad at leading advertising agencies. There's nothing quite like the feeling of cheering them on when they win awards!
