Here is a text I wrote some years ago that I found in my personal archives. I endorse and proudly sign this because it still reflects the views that I have regarding my vocation: communication.

Today, time is always lacking and the pace is accelerating each year. The field of advertising and marketing is becoming increasingly complex, as consumers have developed their own antibodies to cope with “intrusive” advertisements. It is not surprising to see more and more daring campaigns that ultimately do not represent the brand’s values and cause it to get lost in the crowd. Like individuals, companies have their qualities and faults that make each one of them unique (at least, that is what companies should strive to do: be unique). Don’t forget that it’s always easier to imitate others because if an error occurs, you can just blame them or comfort yourself with the idea that you are not the only one in this situation.

It would be easy to conclude that there is no miracle solution, but I don’t think that is the case: the mere fact of focusing on what you do best is a good start. If people recognize you and appreciate you in a niche, take advantage of this opportunity to create campaigns based on your product’s attributes and boast about your singularity. Avoid creating campaigns that promote the category instead of your brand. Building for the long term and respecting your values in your communications are the solutions that will give you the possibility to be unique.

Après avoir lu le livre de Jim Collins « Good to Great », dans lequel on fait l’analyse de 11 entreprises, retenues pour leurs incroyables performances boursières supérieures à celle de leur secteur, j’ai remarqué que Pharmaprix était en train de réaliser ce que Walgreens a fait voilà quelques années aux États-Unis.  Je ne sais pas si Pharmaprix va réussir à obtenir autant de succès avec la même stratégie, mais voici un extrait du livre « Good to Great » qui vous fera comprendre mieux mon observation.

« Le groupe s’est embarqué dans un programme de remplacement systématique de toutes les implantations médiocres en implantations pratiques, de préférence situées aux angles des rues pour que la clientèle puisse y accéder et en sortir vers plusieurs directions. Si un magnifique emplacement à un angle se libérait à quelques centaines de mètres d’un magasin Walgreens rentable et bien placé, l’entreprise fermait ce magasin (même s’il devait lui en coûter un million de dollars) pour ouvrir un superbe nouveau point de vente en angle…Alors que Walgreens ne se concentrait que dans les villes où son concept commodité/concentration pouvait être appliqué, nous n’avons trouvé aucune trace d’un concept de croissance cohérent similaire chez le concurrent Eckerd. Négociateurs dans l’âme, les dirigeants d’Eckerd sautaient compulsivement sur les magasins achetables, sans thème unificateur apparent. »

Je vous invite à lire le livre de Jim Collins pour la suite et pour comprendre, entre autres, ce principe basé sur la concentration des stratégies simples qu’il nomme le concept du hérisson.

After reading Jim Collins’ book « Good to Great, » in which he analyzes 11 companies selected for their incredible performance on the stock market (better than all other companies in their sector), I noticed that Pharmaprix was doing what Walgreens did a few years in the United States. I don’t know if Pharmaprix will be as successful using this strategy, but here’s an excerpt from the book « Good to Great » that will help you better understand what I’m talking about.

« The company embarked on a program of systematic replacement of every poor location by ‘practical’ ones, preferably situated on street corners so that customers can access and leave the store from several directions. If a beautiful location at an intersection was available a few hundred meters from a profitable and well-positioned Walgreens store, the company would still close the store (even if it cost a million dollars) to open a wonderful new outlet situated on a corner… While Walgreens’s stores were only found in cities where its convenience and concentration concept could be applied, we found no trace of a coherent and similar growth concept with its competitor, Eckerd. Negotiators at heart, Eckerd’s leaders were compulsively jumping on buyable stores, without any apparent unifying theme.  »

I invite you to get Jim Collins’ book and continue reading to understand, among other things, this principle based on the concentration of simple strategies that he calls “the concept of the hedgehog.”

Voici un démo que nous avions fait dans le cadre d’un pitch chez Remax  en 2007 pour leur campagne Opération Enfant Soleil. Nous avions travaillé avec Halogen pour le tournage et la majorité des gens dans le message était de l’équipe technique.

L’objectif du client était de démontrer que les agents Remax avaient, depuis longtemps, une  forte implication sociale et surtout que Remax est l’un des plus grands donateurs.

Pour la création, nous voulions éviter l’utilisation de clichés comme des enfants malades ou d’une vedette.  Nous voulions permettre aux agents Remax d’être mis de l’avant tout en évitant de prendre tout le crédit.

Malheureusement, nous n’avons pas eu le mandat, mais je suis tout même fier de ce que nous avions présenté. Encore merci à l’équipe.

Here is a demo that we made as part of a pitch to Remax in 2007 for their Operation Enfant Soleil campaign. We worked with Halogen for filming and the majority of people in the message were the technical team.

The client’s objective was to demonstrate that Remax estate agents have been, for a long time, very involved in this cause, and especially that Remax is one of the largest donors.

Creatively, we wanted to avoid using clichés such as sick children or a celebrity. We wanted to allow Remax estate agents to be recognized but not take all the credit.

Unfortunately, we did not get the contract, but I am very proud of what we submitted. Again, thank you to the whole team.