Gabriel Pătru on the Attention Economy: Why Strategy Without Action Is Just “Storytelling”

Gabriel Pătru, co-founder of MKA Strategy Studio, talks about strategy as the foundation of business, about leadership that starts with the right questions, and about the freedom that arises when you no longer have anything to prove—only something real to build.

Gabriel Pătru is a communication and marketing strategist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of MKA Strategy Studio.
With a career shaped in international groups such as IPG and WPP, Gabriel now works at the intersection of strategic clarity and business movement. He served three terms as president of IAB Romania, founded the Motogolan brand, and is known for his clear vision and direct style. He believes that branding is more than an image exercise—it is a business foundation, and in the attention economy, the real difference is made by those who know not just how to capture attention, but how to transform it into action.

C&B: How would you describe yourself in one sentence to make those who don’t know you curious?
Gabriel Pătru: A man. Who turns chaos into direction, ideas into action, and attention into movement.

C&B: If we were to look at the narrative of your career or business, what were the key moments that defined you?
Gabriel Pătru:

1. When I moved from planning to authentic strategy.
2. When I realized authenticity is not a risk but a competitive advantage.
3. When I chose to stop placing others’ validation above my own direction.
4. When I decided to stop working for “what is requested” and instead for what truly matters.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment in your journey so far, and how did you overcome it?
Gabriel Pătru: When I realized success didn’t fulfill me because I was living it from the outside. I understood I was living for others’ validation, not my own vision. When I gave up recognition as fuel, I gained something extremely valuable: the freedom to create from essence, not for applause.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?
Gabriel Pătru: To create spaces—in thinking, in business, in teams—where truth can breathe and personal responsibility can flourish. Where decisions are made from clarity, not fear. Where strategy isn’t just a document but a form of applied lucidity.

C&B: How did you start out and how do you feel you’ve transformed?
Gabriel Pătru: In the beginning, I was the “smart guy” delivering what was expected. Today, I am the person who creates what’s missing. I moved from adaptation to architecture. From performing in a system to building a better one.

C&B: If we met your team or collaborators, what would they say about you?
Gabriel Pătru: That I point out what needs to be said, even when it’s uncomfortable. That I don’t offer ready-made solutions—we build them together. And that when I join a project, I go all in—as a partner, not a vendor.

C&B: What’s the most important decision you’ve made that changed your path?
Gabriel Pătru: To stop selling services. And to start offering partnership. I chose to be the person who creates value where real leaps can happen—not just someone who applies patches. That decision gave me clarity, focus, and freedom. And it led to MKA.

C&B: How did you shape your leadership style and decision-making process? Was it natural or learned?
Gabriel Pătru: It was more unlearning than training. I realized a leader doesn’t need all the answers but must create space for the right questions. Today I decide quickly, but not hastily. Always guided by a sense of purpose.

C&B: What sets your business or professional approach apart from the rest of the industry?
Gabriel Pătru: What truly sets MKA apart is our obsession with impact:
We transform strategies into action and ensure that the solution we deliver is implemented exactly as designed.

We refuse to work on autopilot. In an industry where many teams deliver “strategy” as a beautifully packaged document—often disconnected from operational reality—we go all the way. We understand the client’s internal context, ask uncomfortable questions, zoom out when the client’s team is lost in details, and build directions that can actually be implemented.

We work side by side with the client—not from the sidelines. And we follow a simple rule: no strategy is good if it can’t be explained in a meeting with the sales team or activated in 10 seconds in an ad.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now, and what moments bring you the most satisfaction?
Gabriel Pătru: My mornings are ritualistic—coffee, silence, ideas. Then come strategic sprints—some of thought, others of execution. What brings me the most joy? When a client says: “Now I understand why it wasn’t working.” Or when my son asks something that makes no “adult” sense but contains pure truth. That’s where real life is.

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do, and how do you apply them daily?
Gabriel Pătru:

• Truth—even when it’s uncomfortable.
• Clarity—as a form of respect.
• A sense of reality—because strategy without impact is poetry.
• And humor—because every serious path needs a good joke now and then.

C&B: How did the idea for your business come about, and how did you choose the name?
Gabriel Pătru: MKA emerged as both a response and a statement. Both Andrei Bălan, my partner, and I were tired of seeing beautiful strategies without impact.

MKA stands for Marketing of Kinetic Attention.
Because today, attention is a resource even scarcer than time and money. But not just any attention—the kind that moves. That transforms. That creates action.
We believe strategy is only alive if it generates movement. Not if it merely sounds good.

That’s why our name is more than an acronym—it’s a statement:

• Marketing—not as noise, but as architecture of meaning.
• Kinetic—because without movement, everything remains theory.
• Attention—because if you don’t capture and honor it, everything you say remains invisible.

MKA is not an agency. It’s a catalyst for brands, leaders, and teams who want more than to sound good—they want to make things happen.

C&B: If you were to send a message to people who follow your example, what would it be?
Gabriel Pătru: Build something you can live in, not just something that looks “successful.” You don’t need more. You need something more true. The rest will follow naturally.

For Gabriel Pătru, success isn’t about external validation, but about building something that truly matters. Between strategy, action, and truth, he always chooses the kind of movement that leaves a mark.