Douyin/TikTok: a first-class marketing tool for brands?https://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/DouyinTikTok.jpg16781119AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
Douyin, aka TikTok, has become the leading Chinese social media app. Secret recipe of this “sweet and sour” app.
Douyin is a hip short video app launched not so long ago in September 2016. In November 2017, ByteDance, the holding of Douyin, bought the US Musical.ly app for 1 billion USD. Since then, the app has seen exponential growth over the last 3 years, becoming hugely popular among China’s young social media users. The app currently has 250 million daily active users (DAU) and 500 million monthly active users, and is gaining millions of new users every month. 60% of Douyin users are female, and around 70% reside in China’s top-tier cities. Outside of China, the app is known as TikTok and targets users aged 10 to 18. It has 2.5 million users in France alone, and has recorded more downloads than giants like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram in recent months.
The sweet: huge marketing value for advertisers
Leveraging its massive popularity among Chinese millennials, the app has obvious value to luxury marketers like Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel which are placing advertisements on the platform in China.
Beyond ad placement, Christian Dior has an official account on Douyin with a posting schedule synced to the brand’s operations in China. Photo: Jing Daily illustration
Content and format are key in determining if a video will go viral on Douyin. A good video should motivate followers to regenerate secondary content for secondary communication. In general, Douyin content is fairly down-to-earth and even sometimes distasteful. It would be easy to think that such a platform create a mismatch between Douyin’s audience and luxury clients. But in recent months, Douyin has also started to expand its e-commerce functionality to allow brands and retailers to capitalize on their traffic. Christian Dior, for example, added a store on the app that allows users to place orders. Social selling is a real phenomenon in China, and viewers can easily transform into impulsive buyers. It is therefore easy to see the benefit for marketers in using such a platform to push brand content and trigger sales.
The sour: a not so friendly app
Many foreign countries have tried to alert their youngsters to the dangers of the dark sides of social media (narcissistic behavior, bullying, addiction). TikTok is no exception to this, and has recently been under criticism due to the disconcerted facility to publish content that then spreads like wildfire onto various other platforms.
TikTok’s main feature is nothing fancy, since the app is basically a karaoke machine. Users take selfies singing and dancing. But its secret weapon lies in the challenges issued to all users on a weekly basis, such as trying different outfits or shoes on in 15 seconds… This scheme develops addictive behavior. Special effects and make-up are included to allow users to look like their idol. Like on any other social media platform, the ultimate goal is to get as many “likes” and “followers” as possible striking stereotyped and sexy poses. TikTok has become the ultimate narcissism platform. Many users try their best to look like their idols. If they fail, they risk being bullied and mocked. Indeed, it is not rare to find aggressive and sexist comments sent to users who post videos of themselves.
In a nutshell: impressive growth of its user base, but Douyin is still not a par with the WeChat ecosystem
TikTok has gained massive notoriety among youngsters. Like all other social media, users must be highly cautious about the content they post on it. TikTok is clearly the first ever “developed in China” social app with a clear agenda of conquering the world (not only China and Southeast Asia). Despite its fame, TikTok is still no match for the current social media marketing king WeChat. WeChat has a complete ecosystem, from social media, videos, to mini-programs and payment. Douyin is by no means a threat to it for now.
By Stéphane Joly, Global Key Account Director, Altavia Europe
Sales communication: new technologies serving print productionhttps://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/OFFSET.jpg16831115AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
Interview with Francesco Lascala, Managing Director of Publishing, Altavia Italia.
What innovations in printing have brought about the greatest changes with regard to your work in recent years?
The most interesting changes that we have seen in recent years relate to major technological innovations where large print runs are concerned. I’m talking about all those broad technological innovations that allow you to print more copies at a greater speed and with more options in terms of to foliation, without compromising on the most important characteristics for the leaflets that we print in terms of quality and service; if anything, it improves them.
What trend or what type of printed product could really improve the mix between traditional printing and digital media over the course of the next ten years?
I think that the trend for printed media in general may prove more popular over the coming years because the time has come where the ‘offline’ commercial offering has everything it needs to offer a high level of customisation, a mix, and to provide advice to consumers with the promise of an ad hoc service. Digitalisation allows us to offer a tailormade paper product that can be moulded to reflect various consumption patterns. Nowadays, players in the mass distribution sector (and indeed all other retailers) have the option of grouping their customers and understanding their needs in real time by observing their buying trends.
Francesco Lascala, Managing Director of Publishing, Altavia Italia.
What service or added value is today’s customer looking for in addition to the printed product itself? What are we working on to strengthen our reputation as consultants?
Customers are always asking more of us… We are a services and communications platform, so we enjoy and indeed have a duty to meet their expectations. Customers are increasingly looking to ‘match’ a consolidated paper goods offering with the opportunities that the digital sphere presents in other communication contexts. What they want from us are new opportunities to improve this mix that we are in a position to offer within the framework of a highly organised and controlled operation.
What job within the printing sector has had the greatest impact on you over recent months?
Production jobs always require an intense routine, but every time we prepare for a job that deviates a little from what we’re used to we get very excited about it. A great example would be one particular project that Altavia Italia oversaw from start to finish involving the Carrefour Market magazine Vivi di Gusto, distributed at sales outlets on a monthly basis, for which we were involved in the whole process, from publishing and layout to printing. Even these past couple of months, we have been back working on new innovations in terms of graphics and content that will be even more targeted towards the brand’s customers.
Looking at things from the end-user or consumer’s perspective, can you tell us about your favourite shopping experiences?
I don’t do the food shopping at home because I don’t have a lot of time, but I do like to be able to stroll around shopping areas. I like traditional high street stores and I like some of the new outlet and open-air concepts where you can spend a few hours on a weekend. I go to these places now and then, but I’m often paying more attention to our printed products on display! I really liked CityLife, which offers a real ‘experience’ that’s not just your average commercial ‘box’. Everything there is so beautifully presented and the walkways are just so interesting and exciting.
A CSR policy for your retail business: a simple bonus?https://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/alessandro.jpg1600945AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
For companies today, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the most commonly-heard and crucial topics. Alessandro Capelli, CSR Manager at Altavia Italia, brings his expert eye on the subject.
How have market expectations changed over the last few years? How is the construction of a CSR plan changing?
Over the last few years, a number of things have happened. First and foremost, since 2008, we have been suffering the effects of one of the worst economic crises the modern world has ever seen. This crisis, far from being a passing phenomenon, has had radical impacts even on development models. Citizens of the western world seem to have got the message and, over the last ten years, this has changed both their consumer awareness when making a purchase and their lifestyle in general. They perceive a crisis generated by huge amounts of capital, uncontrollable in real life: billions lost in a day, a financial game which most citizens cannot understand, but which has a major impact on the most fundamental aspects of their lives. This is why companies that are able to build relationships of trust with consumers and the local area, through concrete and easily understandable measures, are destined to grow and become stronger.
Secondly, the entire scientific community today is warning us that the world we live in is prey to a genuine energy, environmental and social crisis: for the first time, this warning concerns the immediate future, i.e. our generation and that of our children. Moreover, thanks to the increasing spread of social networks, people have more direct access to (and therefore oversight of) companies’ activities. This means that nobody can now hide behind ‘green-washing’ policies; there is thus increasingly less space for ‘spin’ as regards transparency and sustainability. Either you are, or you aren’t: that’s the point. Companies which are not sustainable suffer from a poor image and are losing more and more market share. Therefore, the real difference compared with the past is that CSR is now a strategic component of development for all businesses.
Corporate social responsibility is now developed in various directions, not only with regard to the environment, but also society as a whole. In social matters, above all, greater attention is paid to what happens ‘in the neighbourhood’ – the focus is no longer solely on crises which are affecting the other side of the world, but also projects with an impact on the local area.
Do you feel that a good CSR strategy offers greater benefits to consumers or the companies that implement them?
Good CSR strategies work if they guarantee benefits to consumers, companies and the planet. CSR works when it is able to build alliances. Therefore, when companies integrate sustainability into their production processes, they do so both because it is the right thing to do and because, from that strategic vision, they manage to increase their credibility and reputation for sustainability, including over the long term. For companies, there should be no competition between commercial development and sustainability; it should not be considered a tax to pay, but rather a virtuous element enabling construction of a business which will be able to last for the next 50 years.
On the other hand, when confronted by a business which they can recognise as sustainable, consumers will have more trust in what they consume. As we have said for some time now, there is no difference between consumer and citizen: a person who ‘consumes’ is an all-round citizen. And when he or she buys, it is with the awareness that such choices have an impact on the world we live in.
What are the most important challenges faced by CSR today?
I think that the fundamental challenge is to make SCR the rule for everyone and for every company. It would be lovely if, in the future, CSR could become a ‘given’. Imagine a future where the expression ‘CSR’ is no longer even necessary, because all companies already have to and indeed want to implement sustainability policies, with no need for any special announcements. The main challenge for CSR in the future will be the concept of circularity, in other words managing to integrate all production phases into a circular economy mechanism, both as regards environmental impact and their capacity to generate economic and social resources. The development of every company would thus not be at the expense of the local area, but genuinely to its benefit.
Altavia Italia has developed a number of CSR projects over the last few years. Could you tell us which Altavia project you feel gave you the greatest satisfaction or generated the best results?
From a symbolic perspective, an important first step was the ‘Porte ouverte’ dinner, which we held at Altavia. It was organised following the Paris attacks of 2015, when French citizens created the hashtag #PorteOuverte to use on social networks, followed by an address, to indicate a hiding place for those fleeing the attacks. We organised a dinner called #PorteOuverte at Altavia, together with certain social cooperatives and some of our partners, a chance for the people at Altavia (employees, friends, partners, etc.) to meet a group of Syrian refugees and unaccompanied foreign minors. The initiative lasted for only one evening, but was of great significance, both for what it represented and for the emerging idea that Altavia could be a meeting place, open to the public.
#PorteOuverte thus marked the origins of a new concept, Altavia Open, which has become a fundamental focus for Altavia today. Creating a space where we do not merely establish a company, but rather build a business in harmony with the local area, and developing a place where people can spend time, come to eat and work, be together and feel good – these have become the cornerstones of our new idea of CSR.
Some of the free events, open to the public, organised for #AltaviaOpen in the Altavia Italia courtyard
In connection with this, we are also extremely proud of our participation in ‘Milano Sei L’altro’, a project organised by the Cariplo Foundation, which seeks to establish an alliance between the public and private sectors, between businesses and non-profit enterprises. The project was built around the concept of community welfare, the idea that companies can actually constitute resources for their local area.
The fourth project I would like to discuss, which falls within the CSR initiatives connected with our main activity, was the ‘Together Without Walls’ communication campaign for two major events in Milan (held on 20 May 2016 and 21 June 2017), which sought to portray Milan as a city which will only be able to grow if it builds bridges, rather than walls. We feel this is ‘societal’ CSR, in the positive sense of the term – we worked together to communicate a message that we all believe in passionately.
A scene from the ‘Together Without Walls’ event organised in the Altavia Italia courtyard
Then, the environment is obviously absolutely crucial for us. By handling the whole range of printed communication, we can keep up to date all the certifications which guarantee not only reforestation for the paper we use, but also a low impact of our production process in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.
In this sense, once again as regards the press, the final project I would like to mention is Positive Sourcing®. This project arose from the idea of integrated CSR, envisaged not as a gift, but rather a mechanism that generates skills, professionalism and commercial development, for a purpose crucial to the values we believe in, such as making the employment of disadvantaged persons economically sustainable.
What do we do for the CSR of our clients?
For us, sustainability is a very serious matter. One of the areas of expertise at Altavia Italia is supporting retailers in developing their CSR strategy. We call this ‘Retail Humanization’, because we feel it is crucial to reinforce their sense of citizenship and awareness of sustainability issues, while helping them to share this commitment with their clients, so that their projects and initiatives become a real competitive advantage.
Retail Humanization: one of the 7 Altavia Italia value propositions
Raid Amazones: for Sophie Vaux, “It’s all about being together and helping one another”https://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/R-A.jpg16001067AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
In October Sophie Vaux took part in the Raid Amazones in Sri Lanka. The account manager relished the challenge and togetherness of the adventure race. She tells us more about her love for sport and readiness to leave her comfort zone.
How did you get to where you are now?
I was working as head of advertising at a PR firm. It didn’t take long for me to gravitate to the production side of things, and when I was hired to oversee print production for pharmaceutical laboratories, I knew I had found my calling.
Seven years ago, I joined Altavia In Store where I was put in charge of POS. It was a great opportunity to develop the more creative aspects of my job. POS is a vibrant, dynamic and all-encompassing line of work. We work with all kinds of materials, dealing with various practical, functional and creative dimensions. It’s very rewarding and stimulating.
How did you come to love sport?
I came to Altavia just as the firm was launching its exercise programme. It was an opportunity for me to really get back into it, and I met Alexandre, who’s a terrific coach. In no time I was hooked!
When I went to the mountains on holiday, my cousin took me trail running. With the Pyrenees and the Jurançon vineyards as our setting, it was simply glorious! My first run lasted 45 minutes, and I not only enjoyed it but also ran at a pretty decent pace.
When I got back to Paris, I called up some girlfriends who had been trying to convert me to running for some time, but the idea of jogging in the city had never appealed to me. We started running together and I loved it.
I started competing in short runs like the 10km Boucles du 17e and the 16km Paris-Versailles starring the famous hill, and the Course Royale, a 15km run through the legendary gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
The hardest race I’ve taken part in so far is the Raid Amazones in Sri Lanka this October.
What is the Raid Amazones?
It’s a charity race for women only, and in 2018 it was held between 10 and 20 October. It’s made up of two 16km and 10km runs, a 15km canoe race, a 48km mountain bike race and a 23km Bike & Run race. I signed up with two very sporty friends and our team was sponsored by an executive friend.
We trained under Alexandre, the Altavia coach, who put together an individual training plan for each of us.
Would you say the Raid Amazones is an opportunity to leave one’s comfort zone?
Sophie Vaux and her teammates
For sure. It really tests your limits. In fact, it pushes you well past your limits and makes you realise just what you’re capable of. Raid Amazones runners are able to take up the challenge and tap their hidden reserves in large part because everyone helps and looks out for one another, everyone works as a team.
What did you enjoy most about this unique experience?
I was really moved by the generous spirit that infuses the event. For example, at the end of the race, the two winning teams each receive €1,000 to give to the charity of their choice. Two other teams picked at random also receive €1,000. I liked how you don’t have to be a winner in order to help a charity you support.
Every year the Raid Amazones supports a local charity. What cause was highlighted this year?
This year, the Raid Amazones decided to support Reconstruire et Vivre, a non-profit organisation set up by a Frenchwoman right after the 2004 tsunami. It seeks to rebuild homes destroyed in the disaster.
What caught you most by surprise during the race?
For the canoe race we trained on the Aisne river near Compiègne (in northern France). But in Sri Lanka we saw that canoeing on a river is one thing and canoeing on the sea is quite another!
The weather was also a bit of a challenge. Even though we were lucky enough to train during a very hot summer back in France, with very similar conditions, it was much more intense in Sri Lanka. It was 10°C hotter with 60-80% humidity! That really takes it out of you.
What did the local people make of it all?
Sophie’s friends on Rais Amazones third day
This year the event took place in a low-tourism part of Sri Lanka. The region suffered 26 years of civil war (between the government and the Tamil Tigers) and severe depopulation. In 2004 the tsunami compounded the misery.
The 2018 race was held there to put the area back on the tourist map, show off its natural beauty and promote it as a completely safe destination with lots of fun things to do.
The local people aren’t that used to foreigners. So, you can imagine how surprised and amused they were to see 270 women running and biking past their rice paddies! They were very curious and interested in what we were up to.
A few weeks later, what does the Raid Amazones mean to you?
It’s all about being together and helping one another!
Raring to do it again – perhaps with an ALTAVIA team!
Étienne St-Denis, a passion for wordshttps://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Etienne-st-denis.jpg16771119AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
CloudRaker’s Creative Director Étienne St-Denis has had a passion for writing since he was 16. Four years ago, he published his first novel, “L’absence”. We look back on a rich and diverse career, shaped by decisive encounters, in which writing eventually took centre stage.
Could you tell us a little about your career?
I started work in an advertising agency, Twist Image, in 2001, before gaining my university diploma. There were 6 of us at the time. Six years later, the agency had no fewer than 125 staff! Over the years, we fine-tuned our range of services and specialised in the digital field. I learned a great deal on the job, by reading books. Twist Image is today part of the WPP group and has been renamed Mirum. I then joined the digital team at SidLaee, where I also stayed for 6 years. We upgraded the agency’s range of services by diversifying it and proposing more digital experiences, whether on the web or in sales outlets, including through the use of tablets or interactive projections, etc.…
You witnessed major changes back then, such as the arrival of smartphones…
Exactly. And this changed both the way people surfed the Internet and our approach to it, including new factors such as small screens or data caps, etc. We had to reinvent ourselves. Following this experience, I worked Freelance and 3 and a half years ago I joined CloudRaker. At that time, the agency was at a strategic turning point and was looking to reconsolidate its range of products and services.
Tell us a bit about CloudRaker
CloudRaker was founded in 2001 and has always been specialized in the digital industry, also adding consultancy work and content production over the years. CloudRaker has also launched its own paper magazine Cloud & Co.
What was your key challenge when joining CloudRaker?
This was to refocus on interactive aspects and experience design. In particular, the agency developed the Action Shot application, aimed at the general public. The principle involved is to capture several moments of action in a single picture. More than 2.6 million people use this app worldwide! When CloudRaker joined the Altavia Group a year and a half ago, we naturally focused on the retail sector.
Could you tell us a little about yourself and about your love of writing?
Between the ages of 12 and 16, the two great loves of my life were drawing and the guitar. A little later, for financial reasons my parents suggested that I should look at a career in graphic design and that I should keep the guitar playing as a hobby. At the same time, while still at high school, I developed a growing interest in the humanities thanks to my philosophy and French teachers . This new interest gave me a new way to express my creativity. It’s highly complementary. Writing is a more tangible and more long-lasting medium than music, for example. And it requires more thought. At least that’s been my experience of it.
How did the idea come about to write a book?
I’d been writing short stories since school and I wanted to set myself a challenge and to find out if I was capable of seeing a project through to completion. The mental ability of finding just the right words is one which is quickly lost…
Could you present your book?
It’s called “L’absence” and it came out 4 years ago. I intended it to be a very personal book and I deliberately chose to write in the first person. I also wanted to give it a philosophical aspect, without it becoming pretentious however. I set about designing it in the same way as I do in my day-to-day work, when I’m designing websites. I drew up a plan, a sort of “user experience map” using two rows of post-it notes. Each post-it note represented an event. The top row symbolised the psychological development of the character and the bottom one the key moments from their life.
Little by little, at a rate of a chapter a month on average, my book took shape.
It then required proofreading and revision, not an easy task when you’re working alone. I therefore got several people to read my book, which gave me some perspective: even if writing is a very personal experience, you should never forget that the end goal is to share the results with others.
What is “L’absence” about?
It’s about understanding that we experience death at different times in our life. As an example, the first chapter adopts the point of view of a 5-year-old child. The second explores the thoughts of a 16-year-old teenager.
How was the book published?
The Société des Ecrivains proposed an arrangement to me, halfway between traditional publishing and self-publishing, with them handling the editorial work, from proofreading to printing, while I had to manage the promotional side by participating in events for example. During the launch in Montréal, I realised that I certainly wasn’t a “pro” when it comes to organising events!
Have your colleagues read “L’absence”?
Most of my colleagues have read the book and almost all of them liked it. They particularly appreciated the fact that the viewpoints change as you progress through the chapters, creating a wide variety of atmospheres.
Do you have any plans for a second novel?
Yes, definitely! For the time being, the draft is called “Le Duel” and it explores the idea that each of us wants to leave their mark on history and to find their raison d’être. A serious subject which once again I seek to develop in a not-to-serious way.
Meituan: a risky gamble on the futurehttps://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/meituan.jpg16771119AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
Super applications such as WeChat –TenCent–, Alipay –Alibaba– and Meituan are very popular in China
Although Alibaba and Tencent are now well known to the European general public, the same cannot be said for another Chinese giant, founded in 2010: Meituan. The start-up, which is now a member of the highly exclusive “super apps” club, went public last year. So it must be a flourishing company with rapid growth…? The reality is very different. Here’s an update from Stéphane Joly, Key Account Director at Altavia.
Meituan: an introduction
When the start-up was founded by entrepreneur Wang Xing in 2010, its business model was based on online group purchases of products and services, giving customers access to significant discounts, like Groupon. Over the years, Meituan considerably expanded its offering:
In 2015, the company bought Dianping, a participative restaurant and hotel listing platform with 200 million active users per month.
Meituan also set out to conquer the home meal delivery sector, pitting the company against Ele.me, owned by the Alibaba giant.
The 2.7-billion-dollar purchase of the Mobike self-service bicycle company – with 320 million customers! – expanded Meituan’s offering still further.
Lastly, the start-up recently entered the VTC(chauffeured vehicle) reservation market.
“Super applications such as WeChat –TenCent–, Alipay –Alibaba– and Meituan are very popular in China; it’s a phenomenon you don’t find anywhere else!”, Stéphane points out. “WeChat has already exceeded one billion users, who spend several hours a day using the messaging services, but also extensively use the WeChat Pay m-wallet. As for Alibaba, more than 600 million Chinese people use it very actively to pay for everything and anything on a daily basis. And then Meituan, with its mere 200 million users, arrives… That’s a big deal!”
But unlike its two main rivals, Meituan is used only in the Chinese market. Its reach beyond those borders is considerably smaller.
A gamble on the future
“Wang Xing, the founder of Meituan, arranged for his company’s flotation on the Hong Kong stock exchange,” says Stéphane. The event took place in September: Meituan was valued by investors at nearly 53 billion dollars (45 billion euros)! It’s worth putting that figure into perspective by comparing it with something more familiar to us: groups like Accor and Carrefour, whose valuations are much lower.”
So are we witnessing the rise of a new “unicorn”? Only time will tell. In 2017, Meituan lost a cool 3 billion dollars. “The start-up is investing enormous sums, and spending colossal amounts of money – hence the need to go public,” explains Stéphane. “Meituan is operating in a booming sector in China; so you can consider this valuation as a gamble on the future. It’s the same thing Amazon did back in the day. But the gap between the valuation and the annual losses is wide enough to make this a genuinely risky gamble for Meituan!”
Chinese pragmatism
So what will happen in years to come? Will Meituan have a strong enough stomach to continue its commercial fight for market share against the Alibaba group’s Ele.me, which has a war chest and a market valuation for its group which is ten times larger? “As is often the case in China, pragmatism wins out: Alibaba and TenCent have both invested in Meituan’s capital, Stéphane reveals. So if Meituan were to succeed in turning this tale into a real success story, the two giants won’t have lost their shirts entirely.”
Care Commerce culture: making a difference, creating preferenceshttps://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/41318658_hiweb.jpg16781119AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
It is no longer possible to create a strong, sustainable relationship between a customer and a brand without a strong social commitment from the brand. Values such as generosity, empathy and benevolence now play a key role in the expectations of consumers, particularly the younger generation. Let’s consider what makes a successful initiative with Thierry Strickler, Retail Market Intelligence Lead at Altavia.
According to an October 2016 study by KPMG, values such as generosity, empathy and benevolence are particularly highly valued by the 18-25 generation. “The vast majority of young people see generosity as an important quality: perhaps even the most important one,” Strickler says. “Initiatives undertaken by some retailers demonstrate a genuine ability to empathise with customers. These customers are treated in an unprejudiced way by brands who meet them in a problem area and offer solutions. ”
Such initiatives promote the creation of a strong, sustainable relationship between the brand and its customers. “The Care culture is a lever for differentiation, is Strickler’s assessment. The brand is moving beyond its primary function of selecting and selling products or services: it starts to make a difference and, over time, to create preferences. A brand that pays attention to its staff, its customers, and its impact on society and on the environment is a brand that builds the foundation of its own future and continuing success. ”
A few examples:
Swiss company Migros is about to launch a platform named AMIGOS, which puts customers in touch with one another. The goal: to facilitate deliveries between neighbours. The solution is for people of reduced mobility, or people for whom time is an issue. In return, the “delivering” customer will receive 7 euros for the first bag of shopping, plus 1.70 euros for each additional bag.
In the same vein, the Belgian retailer Colruyt has created the Aporto mutual assistance social network for people who have reduced mobility, limited time or no car. A neighbour can do their shopping at Colruyt and deliver it to them.
Carrefour has used its “Foire aux vins” promotion to thank customers who buy one or more bottles of wine, sending them an email with the corresponding tasting Or how to strengthen customer-brand links!
Wegmans has implemented technology for use by the visually impaired. Thanks to a free application and a smartphone camera, customers can be guided around the store by a team member.
Tesco spends an hour each week modifying its stores to enable autistic customers to do their shopping in peace: softer lighting, no music or tannoy announcements… an environment tailored to specific requirements.
For the second consecutive year, the Bio c’est bon organic brand has offered its loyalty card holders the chance to have packs of water delivered free of charge to an elderly person during August. Another service provided a drop-off “plant care” service for holidaying customers.
Lastly, the new services that generate a sustainable relationship between a brand and its customers are based entirely on customers’ needs. Carrefour has understood this fact, offering free home delivery for nine months to pregnant women. Total, for its part, took advantage of the heatwave to offer a “baby survival kit” at motorway service stations. Examples of this trend are becoming more and more numerous. And that’s good news.
Innovations of the month: UntieNots, mangoo ID and Teepshttps://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/41403115_hiweb.jpg16781119AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
In September, Altavia Coach presents three innovative solutions for the retail sector: UntieNots, mangoo ID and Teeps. Three promising start-ups which have already proved their worth in the eyes of a number of prestigious clients.
UntieNots : 100% personalised digital offers to replace mass promotions
By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, this start-up founded by Cédric Chéreau and Zyed Jamoussi is disrupting loyalty programmes and promotions in the retail sector. The solution can send millions of web pages, including personalised promotional offers, to its client retailers’ individual customers. An algorithm is used to identify the affinities between brand products and customers, and calculate an expected spend on each of these brands or categories. Professional deals are offered, inviting individuals to spend a certain amount during the month to unlock a reward. Shoppers playing the Loyalty Challenge receive load-to-card coupons and play “gamified loyalty challenges” to earn personalised reductions on their favourite products.
Who is the core audience? Supermarkets, and first and foremost the food sector. Several trials were conducted in 2017 with Auchan France and the omnichannel version of UntieNots was rolled out across the company in March 2018. Tomorrow’s clients Specialist distribution: Séphora, Leroy Merlin, La Fnac, etc.
Cross-border expansion
UnieNots is also carrying out consulting projects (data, personalisation) with retailers in countries like Argentina, China, Brazil and Canada, and deploying the solution internationally is very much a short-term goal.The next challenge will be to invest in US, by opening up a first office over there.
Mangoo ID : extending the shopping experience with e-receipts
Founded in June 2016 by Charlie Chelli, this Parisian start-up provides marketing solutions based on computerised till receipts.
The starting point behind the project? When a customer purchases a product in an online store, they systematically provide their email addresses. This means that pure players have a major advantage over physical stores.
So, to give physical stores the same opportunity, mangoo ID has come up with a solution integrated into the till software that sends customers computerised receipts by email.
For retailers, issuing e-receipts means that they get an average of 20% more customer email addresses, without having to implement a loyalty programme. And what’s more, these emails generate excellent opening rates – between 60% and 80%. And finally, computerised receipts sent by email become fully-fledged communications tools: mangoo ID can incorporate all sorts of opportunities for interaction into them, based on the retailer’s needs. In the email, mangoo ID can also ask customers what they thought of their in-store shopping experience; a very good way to improve store management, or identify – for example – those retail outlets whose teams perform well! Conversely, negative customer feedback helps identify those stores where corrective action needs to be implemented. Each customer can also rate the product they have purchased. This can significantly increase conversion rates on the website.
For individual customers, e-receipts are an environmentally-friendly initiative, as well as being a means to make returns, exchanges, guarantees and expense claims easier.
The next challenges for mangoo ID?
Win over very large players, with up to 500 stores. And try and win over three other vertical segments: luxury goods, furniture-household appliances and the restaurant sector.
Create and manage Ambassador programmes for brands. That’s the challenge that Teeps has set itself, a start-up created by Sonia Zarowsky and Fabrice Berger-Duquene.
Ambassadors can perform several types of operation:
personal product recommendations. For example, a very good customer of Décathlon or someone who is passionate about diving might recommend a personalised selection of equipment to a particular beginner who doesn’t know what sort of thing to go for. It might be an online recommendation, but could also be offline, in which case the Ambassador and the customer would arrange to meet up at a sales outlet.
Ambassadors are also asked to produce content (photos, videos, tutorials, etc.). Off on a diving trip to the Maldives? The Ambassador will take selfies under the water, will recommend their diving mask through his or her own social media, adding a link to the product sheet… Here, the aim will be to recruit new customers in the Ambassador’s circle, in the knowledge that he or she isn’t necessarily an influencer, with 10,000 followers. What is important here is to rebuild a relationship of trust, an authentic connection between the brand and the customer, using the Ambassador as the driver.
One of the objectives might also be to answer any questions that customers have on given subjects or to coach someone who could become an Ambassador.
The Ambassadors can exchange their points, which they collect in a kitty, for physical rewards (gifts), experiences (taking part in events) or vouchers.
In addition to its technological expertise, Teeps can manage these Ambassadors with the help of a dedicated team, and create communities structured around topics about which people are passionate.
The start-up’s current clients include Aramisauto, Kyriad Hotels, Bréal (part of the Beaumanoir group), Cosmétique Active and Sanoflore. And it will soon be adding La Redoute, Cosmétique Active – a L’Oréal subsidiary in Spain and Germany. Teeps is appropriate for all sectors!
The six main markers driving physical stores in 2018https://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/64706975_hiweb.jpg16781119AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
“A great deal of thought goes into the way in which Aesop stores are respectfully integrated into their respective neighbourhoods”
The brick-and-mortar retail concept has been redesigned. There were those who thought that e-commerce would wipe out everything in its way, confining physical stores to the history books. But that definitely won’t be the case! Consumers – particularly the younger generations of them – have a real need for in-store experiences. Well-established retailers, working closely alongside start-ups, have already shown that they were willing to do something and could redesign the physical retail outlet. We take a look at what this all means with Thierry Strickler, Retail Market Intelligence Lead at Altavia.
Six key factors are driving physical stores nowadays.
1- Soul power
This is where stores have architecture that stands out – unique locations which elicit genuine emotion from their customers.
When we talk about soul power, some of the retailers we think about include:
– The Galeries Lafayette, and its flagship store’s temple to fashion and Parisian chic, crowned with a magnificent dome, which has been classified as a building of historical importance since 1975. A symbol of artisan expertise of old, a unique space, known all over the world;
– American grocery store chain Trader Joe’s, which was set up in the 1960s and has retained its hippie ethos – its customers can enjoy a memorable offbeat ambience as they shop.
– Australian skincare brand Aesop: each and every store is completely unique, reflecting the brand’s DNA. A great deal of thought goes into the way in which the stores are respectfully integrated into their respective neighbourhoods,
– and Starbucks, whose coffee houses are a break from today’s fast food approach to beverages.The brand recently opened a 2700 m² Starbucks in Shanghai employing 400 people. Digital technologies are seamlessly woven into the coffee house – thanks to a partnership with Chinese online shopping website TaoBao. And customers can sample the latest coffees or learn about the secrets of coffee roasting – all via a dedicated app.
Customisation – for products, the offering and customer relations
Adidas and its Knit for you programme – a temporary concept showcased at its Berlin pop-up store at the end of 2016 – is a fine example of this second marker. How does it work? Leave the store with a bespoke pullover created in only four hours. Customers get a laser body scan and can experiment by having different patterns projected onto them; They then choose a colour combination.The only limitation is the material – merino wool is the only one they can use. The pullover is ready to be knitted. It’s hand-finished, washed and dried… and then four hours later, it’s ready! Speed is the key factor in this concept: both in terms of the production process and in responsiveness to customer demand.
Another example? Nespresso and the channels they use to talk to their customers – no matter what their preferences are (store, web, hotline, etc.). The resulting relationships end up being ultra-customised.
3- The community
Some retailers are particularly adept at communicating on the basis of a system of values with which their customers identify. These brands usually create a particular kind of world – such as the Rapha Cycling Club, a US-based Internet pure player that sells top-of-the-range bikes and accessories. It has succeeded in creating locations, associated with clubhouses that can be accessed by paying a small monthly subscription, so people can take part in rides and meet other enthusiasts.
Australian retailer Deus Ex Machina creates hybrid locations underpinned by powerful values, such as friendliness, freedom, culture and creativity. At a Deus Ex Machina store, customers can purchase vinyl records, motorbikes and surfing wetsuits, as well as having coffee or getting something to eat, while sharing their enthusiasm with other customers.
4- Experience
Provide an atypical, memorable experience that will elicit an emotional response from customers. That’s the challenge that brands like juice bar and coffee shop chain Joe & The Juice have risen to. This café – which only sells fresh fruit juice and coffee – no alcohol! – turns into a nightclub at the end of the day. Here, the role of the sales staff – party people, bar staff, DJs and “ambience creators” all in one – is crucially important. They are the ones who bring in the community and then develop its loyalty.
Another example? Sonos. Realising that many customers purchase speakers and sound systems that they have first experienced at friends’ houses, the Californian brand decided to focus on an immersive sales approach. It has installed huts, each featuring different ambiences, in its Soho store in New York, so customers really can enjoy a fully-fledged in-store speaker experience.
5- In-store digital technologies
The fifth marker forges closer ties with customers, so brands can interact differently with them. This is a particularly good way for brands to overcome some of the problems associated with small town-centre retail areas – when there are limits to how much stock they can keep. The solution? Enable customers to submit orders via digital terminals. We are right at the focal point – where online and offline converge!
European fashion retailer Mango, which has entered into a partnership with Vodafone, has fitting rooms with connected mirrors to improve the customer experience. So if the trousers that you picked up from the store shelves are too large or too small, you can easily contact one of the sales staff from the fitting room and have a pair in the right size brought right over.
Decathlon City is also leveraging the full potential of digital technologies, doing away with the shortcomings of the in-store shopping experience (customers can talk to sales staff from the fitting rooms, the self-service checkouts take mobile payments, etc.).
6- CSR
More and more brands, increasingly environmentally aware and keen to avoid the bad buzz that the wrong decisions can create, have decided to provide customers in search of a reasonable and reasoned consumer experience with concrete solutions. Space10, developed by IKEA, is a laboratory where people can think about future modes of consumption. This forum for innovation, based in Copenhagen, is in line with the principles of the circular economy and has already launched pilot projects in Japan (IKEA buys back old sofas from its customers so it can recycle them) and London (rental service, for students in particular).
For IKEA, the logic behind the idea is sound for two reasons: they get to be a company committed to the environment, as well as coming up with services that meet their customers’ needs.
Lego also embodies this sixth and final decisive factor. The brand says it’s invested $150 million in setting up a materials centre for sustainable development. Indeed, every year, 31 billion Lego bricks are manufactured throughout the world! Lego has decided to launch a range of bricks made from sugarcane. The Danish company is clearly on the right track!
Blockchain in retailhttps://altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/blockchain2.jpg17131096AltaviaAltavia//altavia-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Altavia-White.png
Blockchain has been all the rage in the past few years. From cryptocurrencies to data privacy, they have been revolutionising transactions of data and money. But one question remains: will this revolution affect retail? If so, how? Samet Ensar Sari, Managing Partner at Altavia Dekatlon, draws upon on his experience and knowledge of marketing, branding and blockchain to analyse and explain how blockchain will affect the retail sector and what retail companies could do to prepare for the massive change that this technology will bring about.
Current trends in retail
Currently, all aspects of both the communication and retail spheres are evolving together. The retail sector used to be very complex, with many divisions such as HRE, marketing, stores, that were all managed differently. This was before the digital revolution we are currently undergoing. The arrival of giants such as Amazon and Alibaba considerably blurred the lines between offline and online retail. Borders, be these national or digital, have disappeared, giving way to an altogether new type of retail, which has dramatically changed customers’ expectations regarding retailers. And as any retailer knows, a customer-focus is genuinely the key to long-lasting retail success. There is no doubt that marketing and sales channels, and even stores, are changing. The example I like to use pertains to the movie industry but is applicable here. Indeed, Blockbuster took a long time to jump on the bandwagon of online TV, which cost them millions and allowed giants like Netflix to take over market share.
The digitalisation of the customer experience means first and foremost a rise in transparency and credibility. Having more information available means customers ask to know more about retailers. They also demand a more innovative and fast-paced industry, where we see a rising number of companies beginning to collaborate with start-ups. Partnering with a variety of sectors also allows retailers to cast off their previously narrow outlook on markets and gain insights from a varied range of actors. Finally, this cannot be sustained unless there is effective communication both internally and externally. While 10 years ago, social media had not yet been conquered by companies, and intranets were purely professional, it is rare today for a retailer not to have a presence on Twitter, if only for customer service.
There must be a focus on the developments now appearing in the industry. Disruption is part of markets and by not understanding that, retail companies risk a lot – even their own survival. Ultimately, the passion of retail will win out.
Blockchain and retail: friends or foes?
I think this depends on whether a company chooses to adapt or not, because disruption and adaptation go together.
First, we need to understand what blockchain is. As the technology behind Bitcoin, it was created in the hope of circulating information quickly and securely. For money transfers, for example, this eliminates the need to trust a third party while ensuring that a record is created, whose authenticity can be verified by the community. For example, the start-up TenX in Singapore connects a customer’s cryptocurrency wallet to their Visa wallet, allowing consumers to use their Visa to spend their cryptocurrencies. These ground-breaking start-ups will influence consumer behaviour and ultimately create a need for retailers to adapt their behaviours. Accordingly, blockchain will enable retailers to adapt to their customers’ behaviour and grow their customer base.
Many are thinking that the blockchain revolution will influence the retail sector at a purely financial level, but I believe this is not the case. In fact, there are many possibilities ahead of us: contracts that can self-execute without any authority could be one of them. Essentially, it will become a global decentralised source of trust – but not everyone is ready to embrace it.
The influences of blockchain
We can see today, for example, that the retail industry can be affected by different uses of blockchain.
One of those uses is inventory management. The retailer Walmart started to work with blockchain to track every product from purchase information to consumer information. By tracking these data, highly accurate analytics can be obtained, thus giving some retailers a chance to enhance their supply chain system.
Another application is tracking operations, coaching, resource control, which is an application already developed by a few European start-ups. This will allow companies to meet the expectations of consumers in terms of transparency while improving the quality of their products and services.
The processing of loyalty programs and claims could also be simplified, as demonstrated by the start-up Warrentees, which represents the rights of consumers in the market. Their customers are able to access information and receive immediate service in the event of malfunction through an automated program, ushering in the reign of smart contracts.
There is no single way in which blockchain will affect companies. Retail companies must use this approach to create more value for their consumers by implementing and improving the quality of increased numbers of new services. In the future, blockchain will be a determinant of a retailer’s survival: it’s therefore a matter of adopting a short-term vision versus a long-term one.
Managing the risks
Of course, first movers will have a chance to make an impact on potential customers, to gain a competitive advantage in the industry, and to disrupt the retail industry through this application, but they would be taking greater risks. Indeed, most companies today are not ready. It is not an easy technology to understand, especially since, once adopted, it will affect every division within the company and its related industry. Of course, there are ways to learn more and to influence the form that the use of blockchain will take. The advent of consensus, immutability and cryptography for retailers will be a challenge. Indeed, retailers’ associations are also being formed to create rules around the uses of this technology. It is essential that companies contribute to this discussion and that their individual needs are met.
I think that there is no doubt that blockchain is the next big revolutionary technology. Market research suggests that blockchain could reach critical mass in terms of adoption by 2020 and consumer approval by 2025. That is why I believe that retailers need to overcome this challenge by turning it into an opportunity, together.
