4 Points to Consider When Outreaching in France

Although based in the UK, Kaizen has an international reach. When it comes to Digital PR, we regularly work with multinational clients wishing to launch cross-market campaigns. Whether it’s France, Italy, Germany or further afield, international outreach is an integral part of our strategy at Kaizen.

Of course, each country works differently and requires a different approach. It is important to be aware of these differences in order to build successful campaigns and outreach strategies.

France is a very popular media market among our clients. Read on to learn the top things to consider when launching a campaign in the land of good food and wine.

1. Include unique data

When developing a campaign for France, it must include exclusive information or unique data analysis relevant to french journalists.

A campaign that is just about desk research will not work because writing stories is the job of the journalist. It is important to think “how can I bring this person something new that is out of their scope of work?” 

Highlighting figures or key findings in the headlines is essential to attract the attention of French journalists.

2. Identify the right formats

It is important to know what types of campaign and email formats work best in order to be most effective and get coverage.

In France, as mentioned above, anything that includes unique data will have a better chance of being picked up by journalists. Think city indexes and surveys. Of course, the topic must be relevant to the client and the panel must be large enough to be credible.

On the other hand “ready to be published” listicles are generally not the ideal campaign format as they don’t bring huge amounts of value to journalists.

Expert commentary is a complicated format to use – while it is useful to use to back data, a campaign solely based on it is difficult to be covered by French journalists.

Tip: Exclusives are not used very often in France but we do target specific publications using different angles.

3. Don’t overlook regional angles

Local angles can make all the difference in France, giving the campaign an edge and making it more likely to get coverage and links.

In France, local newspapers are most often interested in figures relating to their region or inhabitants. These are very popular outlets that target a specific and generally loyal population, with the regional daily press being read by 18.8 million people and the regional weekly press by 7.7 million. But ultimately, a well-defined and relevant strategy must be established in order to hope to be published.

4. Consider reactive PR

Linking your campaign to current events is a key part of outreaching to journalists in France. This allows the campaign to be more widely embedded in the current media landscape and to have a better chance to catch the eye of writers.

Some topics have more chances to be successful: lifestyle, health, food, entertainment (tech, video games). 

Topics such as politics and economics are more touchy so it’s important to be extra careful with the data. Talk to a French native to get a full understanding of whether your content is appropriate for a French audience.

Key Takeaways

Understand who you’re writing for when outreaching to French journalists. Use relevant and local data, create an appropriate format for your contact list and stay tapped into regional trends in France.

We recently launched a successful French market campaign for Reebok, targeting regional and lifestyle journalists with local data. You can read more about this campaign here.

Are you looking to gain coverage in the French market? Get in touch and find out how our Digital PR team can make that happen.