Ana Toma about brand strategy, marketing and building brands with lasting impact

Ana Toma, Brand & Marketing Consultant with over 14 years of experience, discusses brand strategy, marketing, leadership, responsibility and building brands with lasting impact.

Ana Toma is a Brand & Marketing Consultant with over 14 years of experience in brand and marketing strategy. She works alongside entrepreneurs and marketing professionals to transform vision into clear directions and actionable strategies, helping teams make better decisions and build brands with a clear sense of direction. She believes in the value of methodology, clarity, and things built well, for lasting impact.

C&B: What is the mission you have taken on through your work?

Ana: If I were to describe what I try to do in my work, I would say that I help entrepreneurs and marketing teams transform vision into direction and ideas into strategies that can be put into practice.

From my experience, I see that a good strategy lies at the intersection of vision and methodology. I have met people who had a very strong intuition about their brand and a natural understanding of their business, but who needed structure to transform that vision into a direction that teams could follow.

At the same time, I have come to understand strategic frameworks and processes because they provide structure, help organize information, and support decision-making. But they are a means, not an end in themselves. The value of a strategy becomes apparent when it transforms a vision into a concrete direction and an action plan that can be taken forward. Of course, the relevance and quality of the product or products being promoted also play a defining role in the success of a strategy.

C&B: What is the most important problem you see today in the field you work in, and how do you think it can be solved?

Ana: From my experience, one of the major challenges I encounter is that most businesses have a good vision, but not the structure needed to transform it into a coherent way of working.

In many cases, they rely on intuition, which forms the foundation for building a strong brand. When the business begins to grow, this intuition-based vision needs to be communicated and transformed into a working model for the entire team.

I have met entrepreneurs who have a very good business instinct and a very strong brand. And I know that this ability — perhaps an innate one for some people — to identify opportunities in the market and make bold decisions is extremely important. However, for a brand to grow in a healthy way, it also needs a consistent strategy to translate that vision into a form that people in marketing teams can understand, apply, and carry forward.

C&B: What is the most valuable lesson you have learned throughout your experience and believe is worth passing on?

Ana: I will give an example for the younger generation, for those who are just starting out. Over time, I have learned that visibility and professional value are two different things.

At the beginning of your career, you want to be noticed, you want recognition for what you do well, and then you want to learn more. And these things matter and can be motivating. But I have come to feel that they need to be built on a solid foundation: taking responsibility for what you do, being curious to learn from what you have done, and having the desire to know more about your work. I believe that one of the things that has helped me the most has been taking responsibility.

And curiosity is an asset. It helps me learn about what is happening in the world outside of work; to learn from experienced people whom I respect; and to keep going when the growth process is not always linear. At the same time, I have also understood that it is important to be in a place where you can grow and where you share the same values of responsibility, professionalism, and the desire to build.

I would conclude that, for me, professional fulfillment lies in the balance between what I leave behind and what I manage to gain from a professional experience.

C&B: If you had the opportunity to change one single thing in Romania, what would it be and why?

Ana: If there were one change I would like to make with the goal of improving things, it would be to somehow encourage people to place greater value on the care and dedication that go into doing things properly. Not simply in the sense of striving for “perfection,” but rather doing things with intention, responsibility, and respect for those who will be affected by the decisions we make and by our work.

We can be talking about a project, a product, a service, or a collaboration with others, but I believe that the difference lies not only in what happens at the end of the day, but also in the process of building. I do not think this is the most powerful change, but I believe it is a change in behavior and perspective that could have long-term effects.

When we do things better and in a more responsible way, we gain more trust in ourselves, in other people, in teams, and in the communities we are part of.

C&B: How can we work together to help people, companies, and communities develop in a better way?

Ana: I believe development actually begins when we build together, not simply when we work together. From my experience, the most successful projects were not those in which someone had all the answers, but those in which team members were open to listening to different perspectives, contributing ideas, and taking responsibility for the shared outcome. I believe that when there is trust, communication, and collaboration, each person can make the most of their strengths, and the team can arrive at better solutions than any individual could find on their own.

For me, success does not only mean achieving our objectives, but also how we achieve them: through mutual support, involvement, and the willingness to learn from one another. Ultimately, I believe that true professional maturity emerges when you move from asking, “How can I succeed?” to “How can we succeed together?” It is precisely this shift in perspective that transforms a good professional into a trusted colleague and a valuable partner for any team.

Ana Toma’s experience highlights the importance of clear strategy, responsibility and collaboration in building strong and sustainable brands. From turning vision into actionable direction to developing teams and communities, professional success is not only about the results achieved, but also about how those results are built.