The key word of the French mass distribution company? Proximity ! An essential player in the country's city centers, the Casino group advocates proximity for all of its employees, its brands and their points of sale.
La We Are COM team had the chance to exchange with Christophe Piednoël, Director of Communications, Public Affairs, CSR of the Casino Group. Brand communication, challenges internal et external, policy Report, crisis management... An inspiring reflection on the world of communication and its challenges.
Hello Christophe, what definition would you give to brand communication?
The mark is a flag. Firstly, it guarantees internal belonging, a membership under which employees unite, like the citizens of a country. On the other hand, it generates emotion from the outside world, allowing different audiences to identify with it.
The role of brand communication is to manage, develop and preserve this flag.
The mark is a flag.
How is your Communications Department organized?
The Casino Group has started a restructuring project. Our Communications Department will be shared, it works for all of the group's entities and thus becomes guarantee of consistency and performance of all of our communications.
Nevertheless, each of the territories of expression specific to our brands are respected. These enjoya powerful imagination anda DNA that is unique to them. Our Communications Department is responsible for ensuring the consistency of the group's image.
How do you coordinate the communications of the group's multiple brands? How does group speaking emerge?
Depending on the specificity of the topics, the spokespersons may vary. General management will speak more on the structuring and strategic aspects of the group, while cross-functional themes will be more entrusted to business experts. Our different brands also have spokespersons to communicate in their specific territories.
At a time of internal reorganization within the Casino group, what are your major challenges externally and internally?
Challenge, that’s the word! Our strategic plan presents a triple ambition: to restructure, consolidate and develop the group.
Once again, we focused on consistency. Today, following our sale of our hypermarkets and supermarkets, all of our brands are local businesses (Monoprix, Franprix, Casino, Cdiscount, Naturalia, etc.). This bias is in line with current consumer trends which are more similar than ever.
In fact, two consumption models oppose each other: distance trade, one that requires traveling by car and whose success is based solely on price, and local commerce, an increasingly attractive business where the customer goes to a store that resembles them.
Concerning the internal side, here again the challenge is significant, since we need to bring 27 employees on board this new adventure. To carry out a project successfully externally, it is essential to bring together the internal team by providing them with all the explanations necessary to understand the issues and the role of each person.
Current consumer trends are more affinity-based than ever.
Moreover, in terms of internal communication, how can we engage Casino employees in France?
Currently rolling out an internal strategy focused around the three fundamental axes of transparency, trust and spirit of initiative. These are pushed to employees, in order to reintroduce the group into a merchant trajectory. Being a trader is the heart of our business. We simply need to become traders again.
More concretely, this work is managerial work. I am convinced that internal communication must emanate from the right mix of hot COM and cold COM. In a world where we sometimes feel a little isolated by digital invasion, we must restore a place for human exchange. In other words, we must know how to put our communication tools at the service of a fundamentally human managerial relationship.
Within the Casino group, for example, we are going to develop our video productions, to strengthen managerial proximity.
I am convinced that internal communication must emanate from the right mix of hot COM and cold COM.
More precisely, how does the Casino group commit to responsibility (CSR)?
CSR remains one of the Casino group’s strong points, pioneering numerous responsible advances. We are, among other things, at the origin of the creation of the “animal welfare” label for mass retail products.
At Casino, we are also very proud to be a major player in territorial solidarity. Local businesses have a real societal role to play in rural areas, as well as in city centers. To strengthen this territorial anchoring and go further in our commitments, we are going to develop new local services. The possibilities are multiple!
Finally, on the internal side, parity is almost perfect with 49% female employees.
As a crisis communications expert, how can you anticipate, and if necessary, manage a crisis?
Do you know the saying: “ you don't repair the roof of your house when it rains » ? 😊
I would say that to effectively manage a crisis, it is essential to have a good vehicle and a good driver. The vehicle is the procedure, the device previously thought out and developed by the company in calm weather. The pilot is the crisis management experts, those capable of managing social networks and the stakeholders at the heart of the storm.
I would add that it is important to set goals when a crisis arises. What should we preserve above all? Internally, image, public authorities, business? We won't be able to do everything. When a crisis grows, it is therefore absolutely necessary to be collectively clear on the objectives to be achieved.
And let's not forget that a crisis can sometimes lead to a positive rebound.
You don't repair the roof of your house when it rains!
In your opinion, what will be the future major developments in communication, particularly in the field of mass distribution?
The impact of PRESENCE on our businesses is obviously very powerful. AI is positively disrupting communication through all the means it provides. However, we must remain vigilant in the face of all the new abuses that it also generates.
Another question arises, that of sources of information. Increasingly, traditional and journalistic media are being neglected in favor of other less qualitative, or even manipulated, sources of information, such as Social Media. I believe that communications departments today have every interest in (re)emerging quality journalism.
How can we combat these types of misinformation? By detecting biased information as quickly as possible, thanks to a good culture of prevention and alert. The time factor is absolutely decisive in a crisis situation. There is nothing worse than a great press release, validated and revalidated, which appears 24 hours after the battle.
Would you say that brands have a political role to play? How can they influence society?
This is a real subject, particularly with regard to large international groups.
The globalized economy is no longer relevant, today a bloc economy is emerging : democratic or non-democratic bloc, Western bloc or Asian bloc, etc. Also, when a company is challenged on social networks for taking a political stance, it undergoes contradictory pressures depending on the political line of the countries in which it is established. She is ordered to take sides. And let's remember that saying nothing is taking a position, that silence is a message.
These subjects are real problems for communications departments. It would be necessary to put them more regularly on the Comex agenda. What values do we defend? And what are we prepared to do or not do to defend these values? Huge question!
Saying nothing is a position, silence is a message.
Finally, would you agree to give us some communication advice?
Communication is a sector in which you have to look far ahead. Don't overreact to daily news, don't succumb to immediacy. It’s better to focus on what’s important than what’s urgent. So, set clear goals and look far ahead.
3 things to know about Christophe
His daily sources of inspiration? Christophe is guided by his values, he wants to do things he believes in. It is a real source of satisfaction for him to be able to align his personal values with those of his company.
His favorite medium? The coffee machine. His latest inspiring read? “ Information war », from the historian David colon, a book that is at once interesting, documented and disturbing.
Her favorite ad? The Cadbury gorilla, playing a Phil Collins solo on the drums. It doesn't take much to move him.
His passions and commitments? Christophe is keen on scuba diving, especially with sharks. He states: “ sharks are much more harmless underwater than on the water » ! In terms of commitment, he has carried out scientific missions with sharks in Polynesia.
