“
Hi everyone, it's Vincent
”.
Smiling at the video, the 33-year-old launches into the presentation of a bicycle.
Supporting gestures and calm voice, he could easily pass for a youtuber specializing in sport.
In reality, this logistics manager for Lidl, a fan of triathlon and badminton, did not know the camera a few months ago.
It was during an internal competition organized by the brand that he became the official ambassador of the brand's sports department.
Objective, for him and the ten other muses selected last March, to embody Lidl on social networks through videos and publications, which take up the codes of these platforms.
The initiative, launched four years ago by the brand, aims to identify Lidl France on social networks.
The latter are emerging as a significant new communication space for distributors in France.
According to the latest report from the Unified Barometer of the Advertising and Communication Market (BUMP), the distribution sector, whose net spending on communication represented 9.1 billion euros last year (up 3. 5%), has doubled the weight of its online advertising investments between 2019 and 2022. Digital now represents 22% of expenditure and complements actions in traditional media such as TV, radio or the press.
Among these players, Lidl is the leading advertiser in France across all sectors, with 557 million euros gross (excluding degressives and negotiations) invested in advertising in 2022, according to the Kantar Media institute.
At the same time, the German giant's brand has been working on its digital strategy for a decade.
"
It's a way to be a player in everyday life for Internet users
," explains Isabelle Schmidt, director of communication for the group in France.
A shift began when the brand decided in 2012 to break away from its discount image.
"We have repositioned ourselves on the convenience supermarket niche, with the enhancement of our brand's products
," she continues.
Humorous videos and vox pops
For Vincent, being the brand's sports muse is a good way to get out of his comfort zone.
"
I'm in the shoes of a TV presenter for the time of these videos and I can work on my eloquence
", laughs the young man.
This activity represents a paid contract in its own right, renewable for one year and which is added to the initial contract of the employee.
The concept seems to work: in total, Lidl France's YouTube channel has 230,000 subscribers, and its Instagram page has more than 500,000 followers.
Other retailers are adopting the same digital strategy and showcasing their employees.
On TikTok, for example, it has become common to see the cashiers of Leclerc or Carrefour stores shine in humorous videos.
The spectator can observe them feigning reactions of surprise in front of the eccentric questions of fictitious customers or, even, leaving the shelves when an interlocutor claims not to have the loyalty card of the store...
@carrefour_rosnysousbois
Let's discover together the promotions of the beauty catalog #carrefourfrance #carrefourfr #offer #promo #prixchoc #petitprix #petitsprix #prixcasse #bestoffer #promodeouf #prixenbaisse #prix #prixbas #catalogue #lorealparis #maybeline #makeup #maquillage #mascaratelescopic #accordparfaitloreal #anticernes
original sound - Carrefour_rosnysousbois
Leclerc has even launched, on his TikTok account, vox pops on supermarket news.
“
Do you know the application my E.Leclerc?
“, asks a succession of passers-by the presenter of the video, before presenting the operation, in a publication which has accumulated nearly 9 million views.
And if some Internet users make fun of these formats and complain about these employees forced “
to imitate, in order not to be fired, the dance of Wednesday Addams on the shelves of supermarkets
”, they often reach a million views.
A communication all the more buoyant since, since inflation, the race for visibility on social networks is accelerating for major brands.
According to INSEE, in April, the rise in food prices reached 14.9% over one year and consumers are constantly looking for discounts and promotions.
The “
good plan
” hashtag on TikTok alone has more than 260 million views.
"
Internet users seek to consume less expensively, by viewing formats such as shopping returns or product tests
", analyzes Cécile Thomas, head of influence within the Edelman agency, which supports Intermarché in its digital strategy.
“
For brands, the whole issue is based on the existence of an identity of their own on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook
,” she continues.
More effective than a banal advertising post, the personification of the distributor becomes the watchword.
Influencers, effective press relations
The big brands have understood this and also go through influencers to establish themselves on the web.
"
The content creators allow us to discover what are the trends among the products we distribute
", remarks Liselote Kirkelund, in charge of marketing for the Swedish brand Normal.
They allow them to retain a specific community, often the youngest (18-35 years old) but also women.
“
We have a lot of feedback on the
“
Haul products
”
, videos in which the influencer unpacks, in front of his subscribers, his Action purchases
”, notes Laura Carbone, director of communication at Action.
Distributors form long-term paid partnerships with some of them.
Like Lidl, who has been working with the influencer Poussine (174,000 subscribers) since 2017. Last Christmas, this mother of a family, wearing a sweater in the colors of the brand, made a video on Instagram to present the products from the distributor's Deluxe range.
"
In a reel, she showed her shopping, the meal prepared with our festive products and finally her Christmas Eve table
", describes Isabelle Schmidt.
And these new marketers are proving to be very demanding of themselves.
"
They can redo a photo or a video more than thirty times, so that it suits them
", observes the director of communication.
"
Unlike press offices, which are overwhelmed with information, they are able to speak repeatedly on the same subject
", adds Cécile Thomas.
She takes the example of the Intermarché loyalty card, whose new products are regularly presented by the brand's partner influencers.
Reduced costs
An advertising strategy that costs distributors less.
“
Our relationships with influencers are managed like press relations and have little impact on the advertising budget
,” confirms Isabelle Schmidt.
“These
savings contribute to offering low prices to our customers
,” says Laura Carbone.
These new formats complement or even replace other, more traditional ones, such as the paper coupon magazine or street poster campaigns.
For example, Intermarché reserves the latter for the highlights of the brand.
"
On the contrary, on social networks, we have intensified our investment to make it a regular communication tool
", admits Perrine Vignon, marketing and communication manager for the Intermarché de Provins.
This use of digital should go on accelerating.
Kantar Media, which regularly offers reports on the investments of major brands, also provides additional monitoring dedicated to Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
By the end of May, the research institute will present more precise data on their use of social networks as well as on the strategies and budgets involved.
