Authenticity, innovation, humor, commitment, responsibility… 🤨 What are the ingredients of original and impactful brand communication?
"Brand communication means communicating continuously, while reasserting yourself in a more original way from time to time.” declares Cassandre Combret, Head of brands at Seazon (FoodChéri)
Decoding the latest urban campaign from the ready-to-eat meal delivery service. 🥗
Ready to find out how the brand hacked the Paris metro stations with communication as fresh as its dishes? ????
Hello Cassandre, to begin with, how would you define brand communication?
La communication brand, it is the one that expresses the pillars of a brand. A company is a living entity, which is based on values, which is defined by a reason for being, which stands out through strengths… Everything that makes a brand what it is must be conveyed through the brand communication discourse.
Everything that makes a brand what it is must be conveyed through the brand communication discourse.
Seazon is a young brand, born in 2018. What communication strategies do you put in place to make yourself known?
Like my previous definition, everything is played out on brand pillars, especially when the brand is not yet widely known. To gain visibility, we regularly reaffirm our strengths, namely the practical aspect – delivery method and consumption method – and the responsible aspect – priority given to short, organic and labeled circuits – of our ready meals.
As for the strategy, to quickly increase its notoriety, it seems to me that partnerships are essential. Whether with brands or with content creators, the influence activations are a great way to communicate in an impactful way on a large scale.
What is the Affi'Bike format? Can you tell us more about the behind the scenes of your new campaign, which “hacks” urban spaces?
Affi'bike is a format that is still relatively unknown, even if it is attracting more and more brands. The idea? Quite simply, a bike that travels around town all day, to make a display visible, to highlight a message as close as possible to its customers. The affi'bike is a very advantageous format, while being eco-friendly, it guarantees great visibility at a lower cost, especially if the weather is in your favor as was the case for us. 😀 I would add that The bicycle was not a trivial choice for Seazon, since it recalls our mobile side, our service which delivers customers directly to their homes.
On these advertising bikes, we chose toto appeal through humorr, by developing immediately striking and instantly understandable messages. These messages were designed to echo our previous poster campaign in the Paris metro. This is why all our word games include names of well-known metro stations. And it is in front of these stations that our affi'bikes distributed promo codes, in the form of flyers.
It is with theagency Pills, from the Crépills media, that we designed this urban communication campaign and its digital deployment. Social Media allow for a localized experience in space and time, to be provided to as many people as possible and over time.
I am convinced that a brand that exists in the minds of consumers is a brand that knows how to alternate between lasting formats, permanent media. : website, blog, newsletter… And more occasional formats, particularly on social networks. Brand COM means communicating continuously, while reasserting yourself in a more original way from time to time.
We have chosen to engage through humor, by developing messages that are immediately impactful and instantly understandable.
Do you think that humor is an effective lever for communicating in a memorable way?
Yes and no! The most important thing in any communication action is to attract attention, to arouse interest. Certainly, Humor is a great way to captivate your audience, but it's far from the only one. I would say that humor is not an end in itself, it must serve the message more by retaining attention.
Transparency is also a very interesting lever. We communicate our commitments CSR through partnerships with brands, with content creators and especially with our producers. Indeed, to promote more responsible eating, for people and for the planet, what could be more transparent than highlighting our producers and their work?
Humor is not an end in itself; it must serve the message more by capturing attention.
In your opinion, what will be the major challenges for brands, and therefore for communicators, in the years to come?
Unsurprisingly, I would say that The biggest challenge of tomorrow will be transparency. 😀 More than ever, communicators must listen to consumers to constantly adjust to their new needs and expectations. To build an affinity brand that is close to its community, it is essential to consider consumers by taking their feedback into account.
At Seazon, following feedback from our customers, we swapped our plastic trays for kraft trays. However, this transformation did not happen overnight: it requires time, a certain budget, the design of several prototypes, etc. Throughout this process, we have communicated transparently., explaining step by step the difficulties we encountered. For me, this is good committed brand communication.
Finally, do you have any last advice to give us?
Remember that communication is not only achieved through huge, ultra-expensive marketing campaigns. COM means bringing a brand to life on a daily basis, by presenting it with transparency, fun and humility.
I would add that not everything is about success. If you want to make your brand more human, don't hesitate to also communicate about its mistakes and its fears. A more credible brand is a more real brand.
3 things to know about Cassandre Combret
His sources of inspiration? Cassandre loves @thesocialfood on Instagram, their recipes and visuals inspire her in both her professional and personal life. On the podcast side, she listens to “Génération Do It Yourself”, their business approach opens her chakras. 🙏
His favorite COM campaign? Have you seen Swile's LinkedIn campaign for 100K subscribers? Cassandre found the concept of posting a job offer to recruit their 100.000th subscriber, simply brilliant! An inspiring campaign, 100% creative and for zero euros.
His passions ? Discover new places, explore new atmospheres, especially restaurants and wine bars. We are not DirCOM of Seazon for nothing!
