“One insight can spark a thousand ideas – but an idea will never become an insight.”
At the joint workshop of FleishmanHillard and Kreatív magazine, respected professionals of the field came together to think about one of the most defining yet often misinterpreted elements of communication: the insight. As the event’s highlight, Anita Balaton, founder and managing director of FleishmanHillard, Ervin Sallai, creative group head at ACG, and Gergely Dolezsai sat down for a roundtable discussion moderated by Orsolya Ganzler. Alongside nostalgic memories, deep professional reflections and decades of experience emerged: what truly makes an insight work — and what happens when it doesn’t?
The bridge, the spark, or the question itself?
The discussion did not follow classical definitions; instead, the meaning of insight unfolded through personal experiences and iconic campaign examples. Many agreed that a well-crafted insight is not necessarily an answer — it is more often an unspoken question, or even a sense of absence. A human truth so self-evident in hindsight that it makes us ask: “Why didn’t we think of this earlier?”
According to Ervin Sallai, a good insight is powerful precisely because it can be phrased in simple, natural language while still offering a new perspective — but only if the brand truly has an answer to it. As Gergely Dolezsai put it: the insight is the spark that triggers the chain reaction. If it’s there, everything starts moving. If it isn’t, the campaign consumes money and time — and what remains is frustration.
Watch the full discussion on our channel:
https://youtu.be/9MVVUDHATb8
When a strong insight becomes the soul of a campaign
One of the most exciting moments of the roundtable was recalling what many referred to as the “foundational experience”: the OTP Pension Fund campaign. The now-iconic “You Can’t Work Forever” slogan did not emerge from a pre-written creative brief, but from deep, collective thinking in which strategy, PR and creative perspectives jointly uncovered the target group’s true motivations.
The insight behind the campaign — that many people don’t save for retirement not because they can’t afford to, but because they believe they will “work forever” — articulated a real consumer attitude. This made it possible for the campaign to excel not only in communication but also in business terms: new sign-ups increased by 30%, 2.5 billion HUF in new contributions were made, and the campaign film became the most effective Hungarian commercial of the year.
Speaking the same language — not only with each other, but with the consumer
Another important thread of the conversation explored how PR, creative and client teams collaborate when they share the same insight. As Anita Balaton highlighted, a truly powerful insight works when every discipline can build on it — this is the key to real integration. Without this, we end up hearing sentences like “add a PR leg to it,” which not only weaken the strategy but also jeopardise the campaign’s success.
All contributions pointed to the same conclusion: insight is not an idea, but a foundation. A bridge between the consumer and the brand — and a bridge among industry professionals as well. And although creatives, PR practitioners and marketers often speak different languages, a strong insight provides a shared one.
Takeaway: be bold and stay curious
In the closing round, the participants encouraged the audience never to give up on insights — even when they seem uncomfortable or complex at first. As Anita Balaton phrased it: “One insight can spark a thousand ideas, but an idea will never become an insight.” According to Gergely Dolezsai, the artistic and business aspects of communication can only meet meaningfully when we truly understand the consumer. And if we understand them, we can have meaningful long-term conversations — from campaign to campaign.
