PAUL South Africa: Celebrating five generations of French art de vivre

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1 PAUL South Africa: Celebrating five generations of French art de vivre PRISM AWARDS ENTRY CATEGORY: Launch of a new service, product or category

2 Summary: Following months of anticipation, and fulfilling the dreams of patisserie aficionados, February 2017 saw PAUL finally open its doors in South Africa, in the upmarket area of Melrose Arch - a cosmopolitan hub of food and drink, fashion and entertainment. FleishmanHillard was tasked with leveraging its rich French heritage, while repositioning the brand locally as an upmarket French experience during its launch. Success was to be measured by not only driving feet into the flagship space, but also creating an association with the French art de vivre (art of living). Statement of Opportunity: World-renowned, with a global footprint of 673 stores and a rich heritage dating back to 1889 in Northern France; the brand prepared to launch locally in 2017, while setting out to change its every-day coffee shop and bakery positioning, prevalent in established markets, to an up-market French experience. By leveraging PAUL s rich heritage of madefrom-scratch recipes passed down through five generations and highlighting its true French style, FleishmanHillard had the opportunity to position the bakery-restaurant as the new heart of artisanal food in South Africa. PAUL South Africa 2

3 RESEARCH Sector: Prior to the launch in February, FleishmanHillard used social listening to research the local food and beverage sector. Following data sifting, a trend emerged amongst consumers, demonstrating interest in hand-crafted, artisanal items, which they talked about on social media. Social listening also congregated that in the preceding five years, there had been 56,396 social media mentions centred on artisanal topics. Insight: FleishmanHillard deduced that South Africans embraced artisanal and craft products, with authenticity and exclusivity being the key emotive drivers. We placed this growing trend at the centre of our approach to differentiate PAUL from recent launches, and other competitors including Vovo Telo and Fournos, ensuring it stood out in a saturated casual dining market. 84% of this conversation happened in the preceding three years, and 37% in the preceding year alone. Competition: Major international launches in South Africa s food and beverage sector, such as Krispy Kreme in 2015, and Starbucks in 2016 attracted widespread attention. PAUL South Africa 3

4 PLANNING Objectives: Introduce PAUL South Africa: Attracting feet into the restaurant. Generating high-end lifestyle and foodie (tier one) coverage of PAUL to create awareness of PAUL s rich heritage, its menu offering and its bespoke interior design to position it as authentically French. Driving the conversation around its premium, customised offering by securing between baking experience attendees, a positive media attendance at the launch, and conversation on social media. Position PAUL SA as a bespoke, luxury brand. Timeframe: 3 months. Audience: The high-end consumer, attracted to luxury lifestyle brands, traditionally LSM 10, all races. Positioning: To bring the artisanal positioning to life, FleishmanHillard emphasised PAUL as a dining experience that embodies the French art de vivre (art of living). To highlight the artisanal flair and craftsmanship that forms the essence of PAUL, FleishmanHillard set out to use language and collateral that shifted perceptions of PAUL from everyday to high-end, in turn distinguishing it from competitors. Collateral: FleishmanHillard consulted client that the existing collateral, which represented an everyday bakery brand, didn t resonate with the local positioning. We produced local visuals in order to capture simple, beautiful food shots on black backgrounds to accentuate the brand luxury. Panning and 3600 shots created a sense of experience beyond the static visuals French music and voice-over artist brought the authentically French positioning to life, while slow motion played on the French art de vivre. Communication channels: Social media: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Traditional media: Print, online and broadcast. Influencers: Owned platforms. Message vehicles: Events: Blogger and stakeholder. Digital: social media channels, influencers. Media: Interviews, press releases. Content production: Video, images and creative design. PAUL South Africa 4

5 EXECUTION Teaser: FleishmanHillard set up social media pages to create excitement and awareness about the upcoming launch. This also attracted followers who would act as ambassadors; by disseminating owned content and generating their own content that spoke to PAUL s positioning. Exclusive baking class: To emphasise exclusivity, we hosted an invitation only baking class for bloggers with PAUL s Master Baker, Richard Blades, and fifth generation chairman of PAUL, Maxime Holder. The first-hand experience of its craftsmanship and heritage offered attendees the opportunity to make French bread the PAUL way. It preceded the official opening to create online hype, and generate public interest. The response to the baking experience was overwhelming - people gathered in front of the restaurant with requests to join, and enquiries on Facebook streamed in about opportunities to book a baking session. Proactive Facebook Live: The baking classes were not extended to the public, instead we recommended that Blades and Holder host a class via Facebook Live. This extended the experience to the growing social community, while remaining exclusive, as well as creating another touchpoint to land the hand-crafted and authentically French messaging. Exclusive interviews: To emphasise its exclusivity and stature, only select high-end glossy, and broadcast media were given the opportunity to interview Holder ahead of the official launch. This approach ensured bespoke coverage in the high-end lifestyle (tier one) publications such as Business Day Wanted, Joburg Style etc. Stakeholder launch: The build-up phase was followed by a stakeholder launch, complete with accordion player, unicycle jugglers, and mimes linking back to the French art de vivre and ensuring that the evening was highly sharable. Guests posted pictures of the interior, the setting and the food for increased excitement on social media. Four days later PAUL opened to the public. PAUL South Africa 5

6 EVALUATION Results Metrics: Social Media Results : R 2,739,369 Total AVE Lifestyle Coverage 7:1 Return On Investment 3,478,260 Total Social Reach 46,090 Engagements You and your team need to be congratulated on a magnificent job done surrounding the recent PAUL opening which has been an unqualified success. Kevin Hedderwick, former CEO, Famous Brands Objectives Outcome Measure Feet into restaurant. Exceeded One hour waiting time for a table during the first week at a 180-seater restaurant. PAUL SA hit its forecast for its second operating weekend by midday on the Saturday of opening weekend. 50% workforce increase within the first two weeks to keep up with demand. Generate lifestyle coverage aligned to messages. Drive the conversation with a positive media attendance (15 20) and conversation on social media. Position as a bespoke, luxury brand. Exceeded 73% of coverage appeared in tier one media. 69% were lifestyle publications, including images of the interior, the menu and messaging. R2,735, AVE in lifestyle coverage, 7:1 ROI (1:1). Exceeded Traditional Hosted 27 high-end lifestyle and foodie publications and bloggers at the baking classes. Hosted 24 high-end lifestyle and foodie media and personalities at the launch. Social New social platforms (in 3 months): - 3,478,260 Social Reach - 17,762 Facebook fan growth - 1,600 Twitter follower growth - 46,090 Instagram engagements - Approximately 200 user-generated content pieces were shared. 91% positive sentiment on social channels. 3,700 followers watched the Facebook Live video, attracting more requests for public sessions. PAUL trended on the baking class day and the stakeholder launch day. Met The creative collateral produced by FleishmanHillard was adopted by PAUL International for use globally. From the first day, customers started emulating this collateral on their social media platforms, taking the role of third-party endorsers. The calibre of social media engagements assisted in creating a luxury, high-end positioning with posts from Expresso, News24, and Sunday Times. CLICK HERE to watch more PAUL South Africa 6