Tatiana Tuhan, Social Media Manager at Leonidas Romania: Building digital communication for a premium chocolate brand

An interview with Tatiana Tuhan, Social Media Manager at Leonidas Romania, about the challenges of digital communication for a premium brand, social media strategies, viral campaigns, and how creativity and constant adaptation to trends shape success in the online environment.

Tatiana Tuhan has been the Social Media Manager at the company Leonidas Romania since 2019. Tatiana has over 10 years of experience in the online environment, and before working in several digital agencies in Romania, she graduated from a Master’s program in Social Media and Online Marketing. While working in Digital Marketing agencies, she collaborated with more than 35 brands, including major brands in the beauty, food, and automotive industries. Currently, she manages the digital campaigns of the brand Leonidas Romania – Belgian Chocolate.

C&B: If we were to look at a narrative thread of your career, what were the key moments that defined it?

Tatiana Tuhan: The key moments in my career have been the many brands and campaigns I have managed over time, as well as the diversity of brands I have collaborated with. Having experience working in an agency, where the pace is fast and brands come from very different industries, you accumulate a lot of information from various fields.

I have run campaigns for both B2B and B2C brands, in areas such as IT courses, real estate, automotive, food, beauty, baby products, and many others. This allowed me to gather extensive knowledge from different niches and learn how to manage efficiently all the challenges that the online environment brings.

Then, of course, a very representative key moment came in 2019, when I transitioned from working in an agency to joining the internal team of the Leonidas brand, where I continue to work today.

C&B: What challenges do you encounter most often when managing online communities for a premium brand like Leonidas?

Tatiana Tuhan: Among the challenges for the Leonidas brand we can mention educating and informing the audience, maintaining the perception of a premium product, as well as balancing exclusivity with accessibility.

Since 2009, one of the main objectives has been to inform and educate the public about the importance of ingredients and the impact that the quality of raw materials has on Leonidas products. Therefore, we emphasize the real benefits of Leonidas products, such as being made with 100% cocoa butter, without palm oil, and with fresh ingredients, in order to guarantee the freshness and refinement of every praline.

When it comes to managing online communities, social networks tend to favor speed and trends. We try to adapt to these dynamics while always preserving values such as standards, quality, and the refinement specific to the Leonidas brand and its products.

We also place major importance on the experience customers have with the brand, from the first interaction, whether online or offline, all the way to opening a box of pralines. We put a strong emphasis on the relationship with the customer, empathy, and maintaining premium standards in communication, just as we do with Leonidas products and services.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?

Tatiana Tuhan: When working in the online environment, obstacles can always arise because the speed at which this field evolves is very high and sometimes overwhelming.

The creativity that I can explore in the digital environment was one of the things that attracted me from the very beginning. Ever since I studied this field, I knew I wanted to work online and create campaigns that help both brands and customers, building a real connection between them.

Of course, every brand has its own particularities, and precisely this challenge of developing communication strategies based on each brand’s specific characteristics has helped me push my limits and express my creative side.

One of my ambitions has been to help brands and constantly find new ways to manage communication strategies and campaigns in the most creative ways possible, while also delivering strong results.

C&B: What did you look like at the beginning of your journey and how do you feel you have transformed up to the present?

Tatiana Tuhan: The beginning of my journey in marketing started during my university years. I studied Communication and Public Relations, and during that time I completed internships at digital agencies, including one very well-known agency.

That’s where I discovered this creative world and, although the pace of work and information was overwhelming, I loved the freedom to experiment with new ideas. At that moment, I realized that this would be my path, and since then I have followed this professional direction.

I have been working in online marketing since 2015, and every agency and brand I have worked with has contributed to my professional growth.

However, today managing communication in the online environment is even more challenging. Platforms, trends, and user expectations evolve constantly, and in order to remain visible and relevant you must keep up with these changes and adapt strategies in real time.

Currently, we are starting to develop strategies that include elements dedicated to content optimization for AI and LLMs. In such a constantly transforming digital landscape, these changes bring new challenges, and constant adaptation becomes essential.

C&B: If we met your team or collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?

Tatiana Tuhan: In the digital department, I manage most of the activities as a “one-woman show” 🙂 however, I work closely with Ion Codreanu – the importer of Leonidas Romania – in order to make the best decisions regarding communication strategies and the online campaigns we run.

Having a close relationship both with the team and with external partners, I believe they would say that I am dedicated, responsible, sometimes even a “workaholic”, but at the same time that I have a sense of humor and enjoy bringing a good mood into the team.

C&B: What is the most important decision you have made that changed your trajectory?

Tatiana Tuhan: The most important decision professionally was moving from agency work to working directly for a brand. The pace of work, the mindset, and the focus changed, and the strategy shifted toward strengthening the brand’s presence in the online environment.

For me, this was one of the best decisions I have made, and I still truly enjoy what I do. The role is challenging because it requires constantly finding tactics and strategies to remain relevant in the online environment. At the same time, it motivates you to stay updated with new developments, use your creativity constantly, and stay focused on growing the brand.

C&B: What qualities do you look for in an influencer or creator when evaluating a potential collaboration?

Tatiana Tuhan: First of all, we must ensure that the values of the content creators we collaborate with are aligned with the brand’s values. It is important for us to work with influencers who share respect for quality, attention to detail, and appreciation for premium experiences.

Authenticity, naturalness, and credibility are also essential so that the collaboration remains relevant both for the creator’s community and for Leonidas.

We try to stay active within the communities of content creators who share the same values as we do. In addition, we have noticed increasing interest from content creators from Generation Z, who are curious to experiment and discover the Leonidas product experience.

C&B: How would you describe your role as Social Media Manager in the success of Leonidas Romania’s digital communication?

Tatiana Tuhan: The role of Social Media Manager for a brand like Leonidas Romania comes with challenges specific to the niche and to the way customers perceive premium brands.

In online communication for such a brand, it is important to emphasize the real benefits of the product and what differentiates it, so that the audience understands the value and quality we offer.

In order to remain present and relevant, we are active on social networks and post daily on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, following communication pillars, and we place strong emphasis on User-Generated Content. We always appreciate when customers send us photos and share their experiences with us. We are also present and active on TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Social networks act as a bridge between the brand and the customer, both in the case of online orders and purchases made in physical chocolate shops. There are many cases where customers visit the physical chocolate stores with a photo of a product they saw in our posts, purchasing it after being influenced by social media.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now and which moments bring you the greatest satisfaction?

Tatiana Tuhan: A typical day starts with a coffee, reading emails, and checking messages received from the community on social media. I also try to make time to regularly read blogs from online platforms to see what’s new, and after that the day’s activities vary depending on the tasks scheduled.

The moments that bring me the most professional satisfaction are when we receive positive feedback messages from customers, five-star reviews, and the moments when I see that a campaign performs well and generates very good results.

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do and how do you apply them every day?

Tatiana Tuhan: The values that guide me are quality, attention to detail, and responsibility. Every day I try to apply them through the attention I give both to our community and to the campaigns and strategies we run. Creativity is also very important for finding innovative solutions to keep the brand relevant in the online environment.

Collaboration with the team is very important in order to make correct and efficient decisions. Any idea or campaign that involves the entire operational flow must also be approved by the rest of the colleagues. These principles are reflected in every project and interaction, both personal and professional.

C&B: How do you adapt content for special occasions (holidays, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, etc.), and which campaign had the biggest impact?

Tatiana Tuhan: The content we communicate online is always updated and adapted to special seasonal collections. In order to maintain premium standards in the online environment as well, the photo and video content we create for each collection is produced with the help of professional photographers and videographers.

For every campaign we create dedicated messages and visuals and integrate special thematic offers to strengthen the customer experience with the brand. The campaigns with the biggest impact are those for March 1–8, Christmas, and Easter. During these periods, email marketing campaigns generate very strong results.

We also place strong emphasis on customer loyalty campaigns, since a large portion of those who purchase our products return consistently. These campaigns allow us to maintain close relationships with loyal customers, offer them personalized experiences and offers, and show appreciation for their loyalty, strengthening the long-term relationship.

One of the campaigns with the biggest impact was the “How it’s made Coeur Framboise” campaign, organized around the time of Mărțișor. During the campaign we hosted live sessions in the largest Leonidas chocolate shop in Romania, the Leonidas Dorobanti Chocolate Shop, together with the Leonidas Belgium Master Chocolatier, who prepared the Coeur Framboise praline step by step.

The campaign had a major impact online, generating a high level of awareness thanks to influencers and customers who created and shared numerous photo and video materials on social networks.

C&B: What was a campaign or viral moment that exceeded your expectations and what lessons did you learn from that experience?

Tatiana Tuhan: “Chocolate for the Soul” Campaign

One of the campaigns that was both successful and had a strong emotional and social impact was the “Chocolate for the Soul” campaign, where we organized live mental relaxation sessions together with a psychologist and psychotherapist.

The initiative started from the uncertainty and stress people felt during the COVID period, with the aim of offering moments of relaxation and calm, combining the psychological benefits of chocolate consumed in moderation with online live sessions focused on mental health and emotional balance.

The number of registrations was limited, but we had to extend the campaign period because it had an impressive impact among participants.

“My Sweet Moment Leonidas” Campaign

Another impactful campaign was “My Sweet Moment Leonidas”, aimed especially at a younger audience. During the campaign, 30 selected participants received a Leonidas Ballotin as a gift and had to integrate it into an Instagram Reel capturing their own Leonidas moment.

Participants posted the Reels on their Instagram accounts, tagging our account @leonidas.romania, using the campaign hashtag #MySweetMoment and the “Invite collaborator” feature so we could manage and track all the Reels. Participants who accumulated the highest number of views won one of the three prizes: a Leonidas Ballotin Classique offered monthly for three months, six months, and one year.

Viral ASMR Leonidas Praline Reel

We also had a viral Reel that reached over two million views on Facebook organically. It was an ASMR-style video in which we rated Leonidas pralines while cutting them in half, creating a satisfying moment that stimulates craving.

From all these campaigns we try to learn what resonates most with customers and shape our communication messages and strategy based on the most successful projects.

Tatiana Tuhan’s professional journey reflects the fast evolution of the digital environment and the importance of continuous adaptation in a field where trends, platforms, and consumer behavior are constantly changing. Through creativity, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of online communities, she contributes to strengthening the digital presence of the Leonidas brand in Romania.