Mini-fairs for Communication professions We Are COM X ISCOM, reveal to you the path and daily life of communicators. What are the creative professions? 🎨 You will know everything in this episode # 5!
Creation in communication: quèsaco?
Creativity without strategy is called Art. Creativity with strategy is called Advertising.
Jeff Richards, American artist
✅ The objectives of the creative professions remain identical to those of all communication sectors: make your brand known, make it attractive and generate behavior with a target.
Creation is omnipresent in communication strategies. An innovative and relevant approach considerably strengthens a brand's identity. This builds and solidifies its territory of expression. 💪
Creativity in communication can be illustrated both in the creation of a logo, slogan, a design or a client experience. However, it is also present where we do not expect it, on more corporate. Take the famous supplies brand BIC as an example: it has managed to present its activity report (usually textual and unattractive) in a graphic, playful and glossy manner. 😉
So, what are the jobs in the creative field?
The main jobs atadvertiser :
Le storyteller is the professional specializing in brand history. By successfully targeting the expectations of the various public, he sets up a real narration, which he then adapts to the different communication media. 📖 This story creator must therefore have a good analytical mind and of course be creative, all with an excellent knowledge of dissemination techniques.
👉 The graphic designer is THE creative par excellence. Giving a deep creative impulse to strategic intentions, he is also in charge of the production and realization of all communication media. A good culture of image and in digital are essential to him. He divides his time between monitoring and coordinating projects.
Finally, the brand content manager is the real brand manager. It manages the strategic development, which is based on an assiduous and permanent watch: analysis of the markets, trends and attitudes of the moment. Sensitivity and a spirit of synthesis are very useful to him, obviously with a very global culture of communication. 👀
Product designers, art buyers or even game designers can join the team.
The main jobs in agency :
💡 In an agency, the real pilot is the Creative Director: he manages all the creative aspect, from the analysis of customer needs, to the management of production teams, including the development of a precise creative strategy. Above all, the Creative Director must be rigorous and charismatic.
It goes without saying that this pilot surrounds himself with creative talents like the Artistic Director. The latter is responsible for the visual expression of the brand, its graphic embodiment. In addition to a very rich creativity, team spirit and knowledge of the software solutions are required. 🛠
The agency also employs creative professions such as decorators, advertising managers, copywriters or even audiovisual editors.
🎙 Expert opinion
To go even further in the creative professions, professionals share their experience with us. On the agency side, we ask The Twins, a shock duo made up of Laura Thonier, Artistic Director andAlain Fleury, Creative Director. While on the advertiser side, we receive Romuald Chemineau-Gricourt, Director of the Creative Factory and external communication in Employment center.
???? Hello to you three! Can you tell us about your job?
The Twins : We have created our creation studio to support brands and institutions in developing their personality. We manage projects in pairs, from their conception to their realization, obviously going through the creative phase.
Romuald Chemineau-Gricourt: I am in charge of the external communication of Pôle emploi and I manage the Creative Factory. The Creative Factory is where ideas and concepts are born and tested. I coordinate the communication actions of the establishment, thus managing the strategy of creation, production and diffusion of content, I also ensure the consistency of the brand's discourse.
🤔 Why and when did you decide to focus on the communication (and creation) sector?
Laure Thonier - The Twins: From an early age I was passionate about drawing, already the artistic side appealed to me. In Terminale, the Plastic Arts option, which I chose, reinforced my choice to orient myself towards the field of creation. However, I did not want to be an artist: I do not like the blank sheet and indeed prefer to meet needs and objectives. It was then quite naturally that I opted for communication. This sector has the advantage of constantly reinventing itself, the issues are extremely varied depending on the customers and targets. We never get bored !
Alain Fleury - The Twins : As for me, I would say that I have a more "artistic" side. Corn it seemed important to me to exercise an activity that takes part in economic and societal issues. It was quite by chance that I found myself in the field of communication, but I liked it instantly. The great interest of my job is that it fluctuates according to changes in society, it is multi-faceted.
Romuald Chemineau-Gricourt - Employment center : After two years of law, I turned towards communication by integrating ISCOM. I grew up in a family of painters, bathing in the universe of creation. However, I did not want to go to art school, I did not feel the need to exercise an “artistic” profession in order to be able to express myself. I wanted to confront myself with the work of ideation and reflection. The upstream phase upstream of a realization: that's what interests me.
???? What does a typical day look like in your calendar?
LT : First a coffee! 😀 The days are long in communication, even if since we founded our studio, we are more in control of our time. In general, we start by developing a schedule for the day or the week, depending on the projects and any “rushes” of the moment. It is essential to start the day knowing what to do. On a daily basis, I also manage relationships with clients. Being a small team, we cannot delegate this task.
AF : I would add that there is no such thing as a "typical day". We evolve over the long term, responding to projects: reflection, research, documentation ... We regularly pool our progress and reassess our issues. Dialogue with the customer is essential in order not to get lost. This is where communication differs from free practice: legitimacy does not belong to us and we must constantly question ourselves.
R. CG. : It is true that with the advertiser, when we call on agencies, it is essential to take stock regularly. An initially good idea can very quickly turn out to be bad, depending on a current phenomenon for example. The daily life of a communicator is never frozen, it is above all a questioning. We must perpetually question ourselves!
💪 What is the most stimulating part of your job?
R. CG. : The most stimulating in our professions is the daily challenge. How to promote a complex product? You have to find a good idea, develop a suitable story. Our business is exciting because we are constantly learning. Communication is constantly evolving, according to economic, social, human and technological changes… We must perpetually readjust ourselves to the world around us, while remaining open to that which will arrive tomorrow. For example, ten years ago we wondered about the presence of Pôle emploi on Facebook. Today, we are wondering whether we should not close our page… And tomorrow who knows?
(I.e. Which communication campaign are you most proud of?
AF: We have produced numerous illustrated materials for the “Aides” association (public display, activity report to raise awareness among deputies). It is always very interesting to put your work for the benefit of a cause. We have developed a blurry / crisp visual concept, to highlight what all too often people don't want to see. The idea was to encourage people to face the suffering of society, "the hidden face of discrimination".
LT: We have benefited from very few resources to carry out this campaign. We had to be inventive: scan tears, make photo montages. It's very simple, but most often efficiency is not very far from simplicity. The success of this awareness campaign was such that the association renewed it this year.
AF: Another project was close to our hearts, a long-term work with Crédit Agricole Ile-de-France. Human collaboration was above all a success. Our objective was to update the brand identity, through a graphic charter, in order to adapt it to new formats.
LT: More concretely, we have bet on a strong digital dimension. Our illustrations are reminiscent of digital screens. We had to bring dynamic to our clients' visual identity, but also a touch of freshness through soft colors and a simple design.
R. CG : We recently developed a television campaign on France Television channels, " One minute for the job". The idea was to be alongside people in difficulty and to deliver good practices, advice, tutorials. Our new signature takes on a more playful and rhythmic dynamic, first and foremost to reassure. Once again, communication creates a great story to respond to a problem, which is not always obvious.
↗️ What are the major developments in the field of creation?
R. CG. : Today we are facing a strange situation. More than ever, bright and colorful communications, such as the Binoculars project for Crédit Agricole Ile de France, are the order of the day. Without forgetting of course to be realistic and inclusive. In the past, creation built a fantasy world, today we tend towards more authenticity. With the advent of social networks, the real and the human are at the heart of everything. And this also applies to communication. Faced with the virality of these new media, the communicator must perpetually exercise extreme vigilance. A bad buzz arrives very quickly, spreading in a few minutes to the entire territory. Once again the questioning is required. When I finish a creation, I question myself and I question the people around me. We must always ask ourselves the question of understanding and especially that of interpretation.
AF: I agree with Romuald. With digital transformation, interaction and responsiveness are becoming major issues. This disrupts the daily life of communicators, constantly on the lookout for this world which reacts and sometimes even overreacts. The experience of the real is gaining momentum, the customer wants to experience the authentic. The message can no longer be content to be passive or single-channel.
😷 Has the recent health crisis turned your daily life upside down, your way of communicating?
AF: It is obvious that we are now less into creative risk-taking. We no longer know what tomorrow will bring, changes will be inevitable. However, being a very small structure, this health and economic crisis had only a slight impact for us. In general, communication will always meet a need, no business can ignore it.
R. CG. : For Pôle Emploi, a public utility service, we had to maintain the link with our job seekers at all costs. We have reinvented our communication in record time, a challenge for the communication teams. The latter have mobilized more than ever. It was necessary to remain available and to reassure as much as possible. We therefore carried out a poster campaign, which describes our state of mind: “ online or behind a mask, we're here for you. »
✅ Do you have any advice for students and future communicators?
AF: I would say that the key word is " curiosity "! You have to learn about what surrounds you, in order to acquire a multiple culture that will nourish your creativity. It is also essential to develop a certain sensitivity in the face of the world, knowing it is not enough, you have to come to understand it.
R. CG: Indeed curiosity and sensitivity are essential in the field of communication and particularly in that of creation. I would add that it is important to stay strong on your positions, you have to have convictions to hold a line of creation and succeed in arguing and defending it. Be careful, however, to be convinced yes, but while remaining humble so as to never miss a necessary questioning.
Romuald Chemineau-Gricourt,
Director of the Creative Factory and External Communication, at Employment center
