During my internship in Havas Event, a French event agency, I have been impressed by the difficulty companies have to integrate social networking websites to their communication. I have two particular examples, both different but bringing interesting issues and solutions to this problem. The first one is a general public exhibition and the second a car launching.
“hellodemain” exhibition / Orange
Context: Orange, the French network company, decided to organize an exhibition in Paris targeting general public. The aim was to promote and introduce Orange’s intern innovations (produced by their R&D department) for the coming decade.
Communication campaign: Orange put an important budget in their online communication campaign, and used a dedicated web-agency – Publicis – to take care of these aspects.
This strategy had different aims:
- they wanted to increase the exhibition awareness,
- being the best in class in term of online presence (important when they position themselves as a major innovation impulse)
- internal impulse (the exhibition was also an internal cohesion event)
They opened the page in the end of May – the exhibition was happening from 23rd to 26th of June. The agency fed the page with a lot of news, photos, teasings about innovations, then videos, reports and games. The page was mostly used to convey information about the different innovations showed during the exhibition and relaying feedbacks.
They managed to gather about 8,000 fans. It is a good success regarding the fact that the exhibition was a one shot and needed some awareness creation.
Comments: Despite the satisfying number of followers and the quality of the content, the “hellodemain” facebook page made me somehow disconcerted. A significant part of the fans were Orange employees or involved in the event (as myself). If this page could be considered as a “best practice” in terms of content, the ROI is questionable… was it relevant to spend that money for so few following people ?
It is a fact that the quality of a Fanpage is more judged regarding the content and the quality of delivered information than the number of followers… The success of a Fanpage is related to the relationship you build with the web user. But an event is a short-lived product. Is it relevant to invest money to use a Facebook page only for 3 months? Even if the budget allocated only covers the exhibition period, is it a tool that event organizers should use systematically in their communication plans? Nothing is less sure…
Regarding the “hellodemain” case, I am convinced that its implementation was more a fashion thing that a strategic idea.
Context: the French automobile constructor revealed the new DS5 in Shanghai, just before the auto show. The event was a private press conference gathering also Chinese and European VIP. One of the particularities of the automobile industry is that it enjoys a large number of aficionados. These consumers are very involved in the brand and follow its news and new products launchings closely. It was important for Citroën communication department to make them feel part of the event as much as the journalists present during the show.
The system was here smarter than Orange’s one, because their strategy was relying on a Fanpage already strong. They count more than 350,000 Fans and have a very good content policy. They release regulars information, photos and reports about their work. They organize games built on the different cars worlds.
The facebook strategy was very simple but efficient
- phase 1: invitation to the direct diffusion of the reveal, joined with some officials photos (showing for example the lights of the car)
- phase 2: teasing photos of the event (the covered DS5, the structure were took place the event…)
- phase 3: live diffusion of the reveal of the car (end of the press conference: video show + live comments of the designers)
- phase4: replay available on Facebook and Youtube
Comments: this strategy paid. The DS5 gathered a lot of Facebook comments, but had also an important buzz effect. The Facebookfans forwarded the video and it created a buzz effect. They counted more than 123,000 views on the English video and 70,000 views on the French one.This viral effectiveness was never part of their communication plan and got above the company’s expectations.
This strategy was much more efficient than the Orange’s one, and for me it’s because Citroën took the time, budget and energy to build a community around their Brand. The Facebookpage is very rich, complete and dynamic. The followers are involved in the brand and often asked for comments, answers and participation. This Best in class position is reinforced by the “DS5 launching” example. This event was never meant to target the general public, but thanks to a coherent and efficient web communication, it became part of the Citroën’s fans brand experience. For me a true success.
The use of the Facebook creation in Event stays complicated. My experience showed me Facebook stays a community creator more than everything and it fits with difficulties to the short-lived format of the event. However, it can be a powerful tool to connect an event to a general communication plan – like Citroën did – if it is done smartly.