In a world saturated with polished rhetoric, overplayed promises, and overly calibrated storytelling, a question arises… 🎭 What if the best communication strategy was simply to tell the truth?
La We Are COM team wanted to explore this form of communication, which no longer seeks to sublimate, but to reveal. 🚀 An inspiring encounter with Charlotte Fessou, Communications Director of the group Yes Care and the personal service brand O2. 👉 A lesson in communication without artifice, which reminds us of an essential thing: sincerity cannot be decreed, it must be proven.
Hello Charlotte, to begin with, how would you define brand communication?
That's a big question… I would say that brand communication, especially in the world of personal services, is not just an exercise in visibility, but a real strategic lever.
At Oui Care, we are convinced thatA brand only exists if it makes the reality of the company visible, legible and understandable. In other words, the communication of a brand like ours must reflect the commitments that our employees make on a daily basis in the field.
Personal services professions contribute enormously to society. Yet, they are still too often overlooked and misunderstood. Our employees and their expertise are the strength of our company. It is up to our communication strategy to capitalize on this strength.
Finally, Communication must start from reality, make it understandable, and turn it into a driver of trust and pride.both internally and externally.
Brand communication (…) is not just an exercise in visibility, but a real strategic lever.
Just out of curiosity, how is the communications department of Oui Care, a leading home care group, and its various subsidiaries organized?
Today, the communication strategy for Oui Care and its 16 commercial brands is organized on two levels. On the one hand, The group's communication department conveys the vision, values and commitments of our company. (a mission-driven company since 2024). On the other hand, our commercial brands communicate in a more operational way, by drawing inspiration directly from the realities of teams on the ground.
More specifically, how can all of this be orchestrated smoothly and coherently?
By finding himself behind a common purpose "We care for people and their environment by contributing to the well-being, well-being, and well-being of everyone, in the diversity of their expectations, while paying equal attention to our employees and our customers."and by distinguishing themselves through unique brand personalities that reflect the field.
What are the communication challenges for a brand like O2?
In the first place, We are committed to raising awareness about our professions. These are professions that are essential to society, and unfortunately undervalued. Beyond this desire to highlight our expertise, we also fight against undeclared work, a scourge of the sector. Awareness is truly needed!
O2 must also communicate pedagogicallyto remove the barriers related to personal care services. Today, many people still hesitate to ask for help with everyday tasks, not because they don't feel capable, but because it involves such personal matters. Our role is to to demystify these practicesand to remind everyone that these jobs are based on real skills, which bring comfort, serenity and quality of life.
Finally we want to make our service a solutionO2 is currently the only brand on the market capable of supporting its customers and their families through all stages of their lives: from beginning to end. This is a truly unique positioning, both for customers, for their families, and for our employees who wish to broaden their career prospects.and on which we must capitalize.
Awareness is truly necessary!
O2 recently unveiled its latest campaign dedicated to supporting senior citizens. What makes it innovative?
It's not innovative in substance, but in form, by deliberately choosing the truth. In a society where 9 out of 10 French people want to grow old at home, the demographic stakes are significant! That's why, We felt it was necessary to communicate with sincerity and honesty, showing real clients, real assistants and real families, without staging.
Initially, a precise script had been prepared. But it quickly ended up in the bin, as the actual interactions made so much sense. A moment of life spontaneously shared between Odette, 100 years old, and Maria, the assistant who has accompanied her for more than 10 years, cannot be scripted.
Beyond this truth of a moment in life, we wanted to make the caring families visible to remind everyone thatA senior citizen depends on an entire emotional ecosystem, and the people around them should also be taken into consideration.
Finally, O2 advocates “doing things together”, a very important anchor point for us! We do not aim to do things “in place of seniors”, but to support them towards autonomy, always leaving them the choice. It was essential for us that this strong methodology be present in our campaign.
In a sector that is still sometimes stereotyped, how do you change perceptions through your public statements?
Starting from reality! Authenticity strengthens both the trust of our clients and the pride of belonging of our employees, by valuing, without filter, who they are and what they do.
"Aestheticizing" our professions through the choice of actors doesn't change the way we see them, but rather disguises them. When we address real life stories and very real problems, Why would you want to show fake people?
The diversity of our clients and employees is our greatest strength. Therefore, I am firmly convinced that it is the human being, their know-how and their interpersonal skills, that must be valued in order to change mentalities.
It is the human being, their know-how and their interpersonal skills, that must be valued in order to change mindsets.
At O2, you address both clients and stakeholders (recruitment). How do you integrate these two aspects into your communication strategy?
These issues are inseparable! Employees, prospects, clients… All are elements of an important balance, this is what we call the symmetry of attention. At Oui Care, we firmly believe that everything is connected, that a fulfilled, well-trained and well-supported employee makes for a fulfilled customer in turn.
Communication in personal services touches on intimate matters. How can we communicate with sincerity, balancing emotional closeness and brand positioning?
Balance always… It is about communicating accurately, between truth and respect for privacy, reflecting the work our caregivers do every day.
Sincerity cannot be decreed; it is lived and proven! We therefore capitalize on evidence-based narratives, particularly through real-life testimonials. Of course, reality is imperfect. But this imperfection is also what makes it credible and human. Imperfection is more demanding than perfection: it requires taking responsibility, but it builds confidence.
Sincerity cannot be decreed, it is lived and proven!
Before we finish, do you have any final advice for We Are COM readers?
I'm going to share our team philosophy with you. Always be relevant, while remaining fair. Good communication is not that which attracts attention, but that which creates buy-in. Making noise is pointless, it doesn't create any connection.
3 things to know about Charlotte Fessou!
His source of inspiration? The field! Charlotte draws her inspiration from this inexhaustible source of learning. It reminds her why and for whom she does this job. Her motto? “Take your job seriously, without ever taking yourself too seriously.” Because, even though the stakes in personal care services are extremely high, communication must remain simple.
His favorite COM campaign? Charlotte particularly appreciates the recent campaigns by AXA and Macif, very emotional spots, always truthful.
More recently, it was Celio's super original activation (which had lost its "L"!) that caught her attention. Simple, modern, and just crazy, take a look!
His commitments? Unsurprisingly, the issue of caregivers is what motivates Charlotte. Having been a caregiver herself, Charlotte knows how difficult it can be to get the right support. She calls on businesses and public authorities to take action.
