How to rethink your communication to transcend the boundaries of BtoB How can we leverage strategy to build brand awareness and brand awareness to build brand awareness? How can we connect with consumers on an emotional level? 🤖 It is by relying on the virtual that Dassault Systèmes transforms reality… And it is normal that they want to make it known.
😎 We held the microphone out to Anne Lokiec, Corporate Communication Strategy Director at Dassault Systèmes and member of Club We Are COM🚀 Between innovation, reputation, and immersive experiences, Anne reveals the major challenges facing the communication teams at Dassault Systèmes!
Hello Anne, what are the specific characteristics of strategic communication, particularly in the BtoBtoC field?
In the B2B world, marketing is often considered the main driver of business generation. At Dassault Systèmes, we recognize its importance, but we also know that it is not the only engine of growth. Reputation also plays a crucial role. That is why we place communication at the service of brand awareness, convinced that recognition of our brand sustainably strengthens our commercial impact. Our goal? To be recognized, in the broadest sense, by the general public and all of our stakeholders. Building a reputational foundation means connecting with people first and then building the brand.
From an employer branding perspective, awareness is also our ambition. Dassault Systèmes is very well known among engineers, but our activities are far more varied. We need to highlight the breadth of our professions and the diversity of our expertise to attract the talent of tomorrow.
Ultimately, it is by exploring new spaces of expression that a recognized company can become a well-known brand.
Building a reputational foundation means connecting with people first and then building the brand.
At We Are COM we are curious, we would like to know how the Communications Department is organized at Dassault Systèmes?
Reporting to a member of the Executive Committee, our Communications Department benefits from invaluable strategic support. It is structured around several complementary areas: strategy, reputation, web & AI, internal communication, editorial, event planning, as well as our incubator, the 3D EXPERIENCE Lab.
The strategy division, which I lead, covers all topics related to external communication: key messages, major brand campaigns, corporate films and visuals, branding, sponsorship, as well as measuring the company's reputation in France and internationally.
It is by cultivating close collaboration between the departments, under the leadership of our Communications Director, that the consistency of our communication actions is ensured at the group level.
For the past few years, you have been making a strategic shift towards a more BtoBtoC approach; what was the starting point for this new dynamic?
Our purpose is to improve the lives of consumers. You may not know it yet, but Dassault Systèmes solutions have made it possible to design a whole host of objects that you use every day: your sports shoes, your refrigerator, your car, your smartwatch… : )
This omnipresence contrasts with the relative discretion of our name in the minds of consumers. We therefore decided to adopt a more distinctive way of communicating with a more immersive and emotional approach, moving away from traditional formats.
Last year, we chose to stand out at Piccadilly Circus by showcasing our expertise on a giant 3D screen. Our innovations, particularly in health, urban development and manufacturing, have illuminated the walls of London, thanks to a unique immersive experience. This sensory and emotional activation clearly illustrates the strategic shift we have initiated.
How does your team ensure consistency between your institutional communications, your social media presence, and your internal content?
For the past two years, we have chosen to structure our communications around a central tool: our Content Hub. The idea is simple: in a large group, everyone creates content on their own, often without coordination. So we decided to bring everything together.
We brought together all the relevant teams—communication, marketing, branding, etc.—to jointly identify the key themes to highlight throughout the year. For each theme, we defined the key messages, the competitors' positioning on the topic, and the content already available, created by the various organizations.
Everything is centralized in the Content Hub, a common repository from which everyone can pick and choose ideas, talking points and ready-to-use materials.
And it doesn't stop there: we continue to enrich this database with new contentSometimes we even use "hook" campaigns to broaden our reach and connect with more audiences. For more business-oriented targets, we also design more specific formats to go further.
This is our way of combining a clear and consistent approach with a real playground for creativity.
This is our way of combining a clear and consistent approach with a real playground for creativity.
Dassault Systèmes has adopted a new brand identity: “Virtual Worlds for Real Life”. Can you tell us more about the ambitions behind this tagline?
In line with our strategy, This signature aims to clarify our mission to our audiences, to remind them that we do not do virtual in itself, but that we use the virtual to improve the lives of consumers, patients and citizens. It's a way of highlighting how present we are in people's daily lives.
Finally, our signature, both short and dense, reaffirms our scientific role: to create virtual twins to transform and improve real life.
And in practice, what communications strategies are you deploying to embody this new brand identity and engage your stakeholders?
Implementing a signature across all brand tools is a significant undertaking. We've successfully deployed our signature across a number of tools: on print materials like our latest annual report, or digital (website, social media). But we're still working on it, and it's far from finished. We need to get all organizations on board with this transformation (Marketing, HR…), and in all countries… it takes time, especially in an international company. 25,000 employees.
To illustrate this signature, we designed 7 visuals around our major themes: health, cities, education, industry, science, environment and food. It was on large screens, placed in strategic living spaces – in train stations and airports – that we showcased the tangible impact of our software on real life.
We are omnipresent in people's daily lives, something that passers-by were able to understand instantly.
So, can you tell us about your initiative: “The Only Progress is Human”? Do you have any recent experience to share with us?
This initiative was designed to raise awareness of the world's major challenges. “The Only Progress is Human” aims to show that every innovation can tangibly improve our lives. We chose to communicate our impact through 10 real-life experiences, in a sensitive and immersive way. "The Only Progress is Human" was created to raise awareness of the major challenges of our time. Through this initiative, we highlight how every innovation can truly improve our lives. Our goal is to demonstrate how Dassault Systèmes actively addresses 10 major societal challenges such as cities, health, energy, and many others. We have chosen to communicate our impact through 10 concrete, immersive and sensitive experiences, which illustrate our contribution to these challenges.
From the 3D projection of a future city in Korea, to the creation of the LinkedIn account of the avatar of Emma Twin, the virtual twin of Dassault Systèmes who shares her daily life, everything is designed to bring innovation to life in a different way.
How does our software transform energy management to support the emergence of more sustainable solutions? Our most recent activation was the "Energy Experience" Act. Through a web app and with the encouragement of hosts and hostesses on cargo bikes, the public was able to discover our clients' innovations projected in augmented reality onto major Parisian monuments. This is how the Arc de Triomphe was transformed into a vertical farm, and how the current of the Seine was converted into energy.
To promote this exceptional operation, we invested in kiosks in the capital and placed an immersive 3D screen in the Saint Lazare station. This campaign reflects our ambition to make progress tangible, by combining technological innovation and real-life staging to mobilize citizens around the challenges of tomorrow.
It was through a web app and encouraged by hosts and hostesses on tricycles that the public was able to discover the innovations of our clients projected in augmented reality onto the greatest Parisian monuments.
In your opinion, what will be the major challenges for brand communication in the coming years?
This may seem a little trivial, but I am obviously thinking of artificial intelligence. In a world where content can now be mass-produced, it's no longer enough to simply produce; you have to produce truth. The goal: augmented truth! 🙂
In other words, we will have to produce without overproducing, prioritizing the consistency and authenticity of our communications… while training teams with this (r)evolution.
On the AI side, Dassault Système has its own solution. As for the rest, we are proceeding by test and learn.
In a world where content can now be mass-produced, it is no longer enough to produce, you have to produce something real.
Before we part ways, do you have any final advice to share with us?
Dare! To make things happen, you have to experiment, sometimes make mistakes, but always experiment. Not daring to try is boring. And above all, be prepared for any eventuality, ready for what will be said next. To dare is to know how to anticipate and to have fun.
4 things to know about Anne Lokiec
His mantra? A quote: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression," which translates to "You will never have a second chance to make a good first impression."
His favorite media? Anne enjoys the free-flowing, short-format format of the media outlet “L'Importante,” whose creators she knows well, and the offbeat approach of the 18/20 news program on Les Échos. In addition, she also listens to numerous podcasts with her daughters, such as Amelia's journey into the heart of history.
His favorite COM campaign? Anne particularly enjoys advertisements from the 90s and their unique humor. Do you remember that lottery commercial? A touch of misogyny, a good dose of fun, and a lot of lightheartedness—take a look.
More recently, it was the Dove brand campaigns that caught Anne's attention, for their exemplary consistency and obvious commitment.
His passions and commitments? Her children! Anne also enjoys Pilates and cooking, and she loves to entertain. As for her volunteer work, she mentors students at Sciences Po, a school she remains very attached to, having attended herself.
