Our “Frontline insights” series brings together perspectives from B2B marketing leaders who are navigating the industry’s challenges in real time. We're exploring what's working, what's not, and how teams are adapting to economic uncertainty, shifting buyer behavior, and the latest technologies.
This conversation features Cristina Siscanu, a Marketing & Communications Expert with over 9 years of experience in tech startups and B2B marketing.
Currently based in Venice and working as a MarCom consultant on multiple projects, including the Iceland Eclipse Festival, Money Motion, and Capital 33, Cristina shares what happens when fundamentals meet flexibility and why community matters more than transactions.
Last year required constant adaptation across Cristina's client base, but some principles proved their lasting value.
Within this adaptability, content quality became critical. Brands started prioritizing substance over templates. Cristina noticed that more and more brands were returning to the fundamentals: excellent copywriting, a strong journalistic narrative, and thorough research.
Community building yielded results that paid campaigns could not match:
Cristina noticed a clear change in client behavior, which led her to focus on community:
The engagement at in-person gatherings is stronger, with a real hunger for genuine connection and professional communities where people feel they belong. The transactional model is giving way to something deeper:
What surprised Cristina most wasn't a specific tactic but how values-driven communication became an operational necessity during Romania's turbulent election period:
But the flip side of this approach to communication created a constant tension:
As Cristina puts it, this shift in communication wasn’t just about simply updating the content calendar. It was something deeper:
In this context, event communications evolved as well, with social media channels shifting from awareness to supporting mid-to-bottom funnel actions. The shift reflected a larger need for marketing to achieve tangible results.
When it comes to flexibility, it goes beyond just its impact on content. The elections also affected budgets. Until the end of H1, companies remained cautious, budgets stayed flexible, and a wait-and-see attitude prevailed. After June, optimism grew, and the focus shifted toward business. But the lesson extends beyond that specific period:
Cristina's approach to AI reflects her broader philosophy about maintaining authenticity while embracing new tools:
For research, AI tools help synthesize information quickly, but the fundamentals still require human judgment.
As Cristina puts it, the real value isn't in the tools themselves, but in how thoughtfully you integrate them into your workflow while maintaining what makes your work authentically yours.
When asked about the most important skills for B2B marketing leaders right now, Cristina identifies a combination:
Resilience means having the stamina to keep going when strategies don't work, when budgets get cut mid-year, or when external events force a complete rethinking. Adaptability means being comfortable with discomfort and guiding teams through change without pretending to have all the answers.
But there's a third essential element:
This combination of resilience, adaptability, and empathy shows up practically in how Cristina tackles one of marketing's toughest challenges: balancing long-term strategy with the need for quick results.
She describes it as needing both a North Star and constant route adjustment. The long-term vision - brand positioning, core values, and the community being built - must remain consistent. However, the tactics for achieving that vision must be fluid.
Stakeholder education becomes essential here. Marketing and public relations are marathons, not sprints, and some outcomes, such as genuine community building or earned trust, require time. You cannot rush authenticity. The key is to be open about what can be measured quickly and what takes time, and to consistently communicate the benefits of both approaches.
Cristina anticipates several changes that will reinforce her focus on authenticity and community. Regarding AI integration, she anticipates a split between brands that use AI as a crutch and those that use it to amplify their authentic voice.
Community-driven marketing becomes even more central as people crave genuine connection and belonging. Brands that can facilitate these spaces, whether online or in person, will have a significant competitive advantage. The transactional model is dying. The relationship model is taking over.
Values matter more than ever. After the tumultuous political climate, audiences are more discerning about which brands they support. They want to know what you stand for, not just what you sell. And budgets will remain dynamic rather than fixed, with marketers planning in six-month cycles instead of annual roadmaps. The need for agility while maintaining strategic direction has become permanent.
Her advice is simple:
Build genuine relationships with your audience, team, journalists, and industry experts. These connections outlast any trending platform or algorithm change.
Relevance isn't about being everywhere doing everything. It's about being meaningfully present where it matters.
Spread the word with other marketers on the front lines so they can learn from these insights, or at least breathe a sigh of relief, knowing they're not the only ones navigating this chaos.
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