Paris

Core Capabilities

Fleishman-Hillard France, founded in 1987 and based in Paris in the heart of the business hub on Boulevard Haussmann, has the particularity to be composed of multicultural consultants coming from various sectors and with diverse backgrounds. By relying on the talent and specific savoir-faire of its consultants, Fleishman-Hillard France offers its clients its expertise in the following fields:

• Analysis and Strategic Counsel
• Media Relations
• Public-Speaking Training
• Public Affairs
• Issues Management and Crisis
• Event Organisation

Analysis and Strategic Counsel

Employees, clients, investors, local communities, journalists, associations, NGOs, the general public, every company is exposed to the scrutiny and critical view of many players that are more and more informed. In order to optimize the conditions of their success, companies must build and maintain their image through various audiences.

Our consultants counsel French and multinational companies in the management of their image and their reputation. Our method? To become part of your team, to embrace your company's culture, to master the issues linked to your industry sector, and build communications programs at both local and international levels based on public relations, public affairs, media relations, public-speaking training, crisis prevention, and crisis management. Fleishman-Hillard France develops tailored programs, from diagnostic to implementation to result measurement. Our process:

• Image audit of the company/organisation/reputation
  • Analysis of strengths and weaknesses in the industry sector
• Definition of the strategy, objectives, and content development
  • Definition of the positioning of the company and its brands
  • Definition of the key-messages, development of Question-and-Answer documents, drafting of position statements, speech development
  • Selection of communications channels
• Development of communications programs with opinion leaders
  • Identification and selection of key audiences
  • Qualified mapping of key opinion leaders and production of trends reports on sensitive national and local issues
  • Implementation of educational campaigns
• Implementation of the communications plan, definition of a schedule, and follow-up
• Result measurement
• Implementation and coordination of national and international communications programs
  • Understanding of local specificities and adaptation of activities to local constraints and habits
  • Consistency of methodology, messages, and results
  • Regular reporting
  • Result evaluation
  • Optimal budget management
  • One simple invoice

Media Relations

The media represent a key public of opinion leaders and a key audience in the communication of companies.

Our consultants develop and maintain privileged relationships with the online and off-line media on a daily basis: national and regional media, news and business press, women's magazines, specialized and trade media, television, radio, and the Internet. Fleishman-Hillard puts its media relations expertise at your service in order to build the image of your company and its brands. Our process:

• Definition of the strategy and objectives
• Development, preparation, drafting, and distribution of media materials:
  • Drafting of key messages and Question-and-Answer documents
  • Development of position papers
  • Drafting and production of press releases and media kits
  • Development of media procedures
• Handling of a press office
  • Identification of editorial schedules and speaking opportunities
  • Organisation of group sessions or one-on-one meetings with spokespersons to encourage media coverage (interviews, press conferences, press trips, site visits, etc.)
  • Media monitoring and analysis
  • Management of journalists' queries
  • Media coverage analysis and measurement
  • Counsel on online newsroom development

Public-Speaking Training

Delivering a convincing message, capturing an audience's attention, playing with the power of words and the strength of an argument without ever forgetting the audience being addressed should not be improvised if one wants to keep control.

Fleishman-Hillard France has a long-established experience in public speaking and media training, developed for more than 15 years, in many business sectors and with a variety of topics. The Fleishman-Hillard France team comprises professionals who know the rules of the game and how to work efficiently with the media and rely on a tried-and-tested methodology.

Focused on the individual and tailor-made to individual needs, this public-speaking and media-training programme is based on a specific philosophy and methodology that provide participants with a clear, relaxed understanding of "the rules of the game" and the appropriate expression techniques to deal with the media. This program, which is based both on theory (25%) and practice (75%), recreates sensitive situations and deals with delicate issues related to the client, so the participant can learn how to disarm the most difficult attacks.

Fleishman-Hillard France is registered as a training organisation.

Public Affairs

Nowadays, a greater number of companies are faced with the need to build and maintain regular and long-term relationships with their institutional environment.

This is all the more true since public authorities do play a significant role in the economy, as is the case in France.

In order to meet the different needs of companies and organisations, Fleishman-Hillard France has developed a global public affairs offer, thanks to the expert knowledge of the French institutional environment.

This offer comprises the following services:

Monitoring the institutional environment

• Understanding and following up on the evolution of the institutional, political and social environment, anticipating the regulatory and legislative risks, identifying opportunities in France and in Europe, thanks to a tailored monitoring service.

Implementation of a sustainable public-affairs policy

• Providing the company with its own network of institutional contacts and key messages to deliver to the public authorities. Acting on the institutional context in a proactive way by initiating and maintaining the dialog with the national and European institutions, as well as regulatory and control organisations.

Development of a lobbying campaign

• Limiting or suppressing the legislative and regulatory constraints to protect the competitive advantages of the company.

Communication with the public sector

• Approaching and communicating with the public sector (Administration, local communities, public-health sector) when the traditional business relationship is not adapted.

Institutional environment audit

• Identifying the main stakeholders in a specific sector, knowing their position on key issues, and the evolutions of the sector Fleishman-Hillard France provides companies with strategic information through a methodology of direct approach of opinion leaders.

In France, Fleishman-Hillard uses the expertise and methodology developed on an international basis while adapting them to the local specificities of French public affairs.

Issues Management and Crisis Communications

Restructuring plans, site closures, public-health crises, accidents, pollution, product recalls, lawsuits, rumours...caught in a difficult situation, a company is rapidly put under scrutiny by various publics that are more and more informed, which contributes to making it more vulnerable. Attacked from all sides — on the Internet, by the media, by public authorities or associations — the company runs the risk of seeing its image damaged in the eyes of its clients, its potential clients, its shareholders, and the general public, with direct consequences on its activities and financial results.

Monitoring, prevention, and anticipation are the cornerstone of issues management. In order to be prepared, should a crisis occur, Fleishman-Hillard France provides companies with proactive and reactive support:

Crisis prevention:
Risk identification, implementation of procedures, and development of tools:

• Media-monitoring, setup of an early alert system
• Risk and vulnerability audits
• Development of structures, procedures, and specific communications tools
• Development of position statements and drafting of internal and external messaging

Training and simulation exercises:

• Development of real-time scenario-based simulation exercises
• Training/coaching for executives and their teams

Crisis management:
Fleishman-Hillard counsels companies in case of a crisis, in real time and through the whole duration of the crisis, thanks to its dedicated team, ready to act in emergency situations.

Event Organisation

Internal or external events, seminars, conferences, anniversaries, open-doors . our team puts its expertise in event organisation at your service:

• Definition of communication objectives and targets
• Development of creative and made-to-measure concepts
  • Creative format and content
  • Adaptation to the audience's psychodemographic characteristics
  • Selection of spokespersons and speakers
• Research and selection of unique and well-suited venues
• Requirements specification, development of feasibility studies
• Organisation and coordination
  • Ongoing liaison with the suppliers
  • Logistical organisation of the event
  • Coaching of speakers and rehearsals
• Regular reports on the progress of operations and follow-up