The MMMédiashow 2024, a flagship event for the country's marketing and communications professionals, was held on Wednesday at the Kinepolis in Kirchberg. Just over 300 industry professionals came to hear about the Paperjam+Delano ecosystem and the opportunities it offers. It was a chance to meet new people and network.
The CEO of Maison Moderne, , and the chairman of Markom, , launched the “Brand Manager of the Year” awards. This new annual competition is designed to reward the work of communications and marketing managers. It will be awarded by a grand jury made up of more than 500 identified brand managers. “The brand managers will be ranked in one of four categories: institutional, retail & hospitality, services and financial centre. Voting will take place between 6 November and 6 December. An invitation will be sent to the brand managers and the in Luxembourg-Clausen, at the Malt,” Hesse announced.
To be included among the brand managers, send an e-mail to [email protected].
Challenges to take up
The event continued with the “Challenges 2024” round table, moderated by Hesse and Koedinger, who questioned a panel of communications professionals: (Post), Sophie Haas (Foyer) and Luc Scheer (Croix-Rouge).
With this time of year marking budget season for companies, the participants discussed their challenges for next year. “The first major challenge will be to raise awareness of the diversification of our businesses. 98% know Foyer as an insurance company, but we have also developed private leasing and mortgage brokerage. One of the challenges will be to capture customers and prospects at different points in their lives,” said Sophie Haas, Foyer’s head of marketing and communications, who also cited “better harmony between off-line and on-line.” The CSR dimension is also a challenge facing the sector, she stressed.
In this respect, Faber, Post’s HR director and director of communications and CSR, said she was campaigning for “more responsible communication,” and counts the attraction of employees and talent, the establishment of a safe place, a reassuring and meaningful environment that will at the same time meet the challenges of the workforce, and training in new technologies among the other challenges for 2024.
The Red Cross’s director of communications and fundraising, Scheer, defined the main challenge of 2024 as fear. A fear that will have to be overcome. “We live in an anxiety-provoking world and we are approaching 2024 with multiple crises, inflation, global warming... We must not abandon people in the face of this fear and we must convey messages that are a source of solutions,” he said.
The roundtable discussed the trust that exists between a brand and its communications or media agency. How can this be created and, above all, maintained? With “transparency, clear and standardised processes and clearly stated and understood objectives,” according to Haas. Faber went a step further, stressing the importance of listening and co-construction. “Trying to become the number one advertiser in Luxembourg has become a bit of a has-been [thing],” Faber said, before insisting on the importance of a long-term commitment and the timely payment of invoices to maintain a climate of trust. “It’s a two-way street.”
Spotlight on the trends that will shape 2024
The professionals taking part in the roundtable also talked about AI and the opportunities it offers. Scheer stated: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to target certain audiences more effectively and deliver more appropriate messages, by developing interactivity. We’re going to come up against it two or three more times, but it’s a challenge for all of us, and we are among the first to take responsibility for ensuring that its development takes place in a way that respects everyone.” In a real-time poll, 173 people in the audience believed that AI will help to improve the performance of digital marketing, compared with around 50 who thought the opposite or were undecided.
Native advertising and live experiences were also seen as opportunities. 235 people attending the MMMediashow took part in real-time electronic poll. On the question of native advertising, 132 thought it would play an important role in 2024. 162 plan to play the live experience card in their 2024 strategy.
Employer branding must also include employees as stakeholders in this type of strategy. 194 people in the room intend to improve it in 2024.
For the vast majority of respondents in the room, the future of paper as a medium still has a bright future ahead of it, with 143 believing that “print is not dead.”
Finally, another emerging trend was the desire to target expatriates more: 149 professionals in the room replied that they are counting on this.
MMMediaplanner 2024
The main highlight of the event was the presentation by Koedinger on the MMMediaplanner for 2024. He stressed the need to conduct a global media study in line with advertisers’ needs. He was echoed by 194 other professionals in the room. “Luxembourg is a market of 866,000 people, including 221,000 cross-border commuters. It’s a very special market. Luxembourg is a business powerhouse.”
While the market is complex, Luxembourg has little public media data, and now the twice-yearly national media survey has been frozen. The global study should be carried out in at least four languages and will have to include cross-border commuters, he stated. Maison Moderne has declared its interest in joining the pool of companies and institutions wishing to carry out and finance a national media audience survey.
Here are the 10 highlights of the MMMediaplanner:
1. Paperjam, Maison Moderne’s flagship media brand. In the monthly magazine or on paperjam.lu, Paperjam offers many opportunities: B2C, B2B and B2G (business to government). With 102,100 readers and 70,000 followers on Linkedin, Paperjam has a solid ecosystem: issues, themed supplements, newsletter. 58% of readers are aged between 35 and 65, and 31.4% are under 35.
2. Delano, the voice of the financial community and Luxembourg expatriates. Paperjam's sister publication targets the 65,000 workers in the financial sector, with five print publications a year, including an expat guide every year before the summer.
3. Paperjam+Delano Displays. In December 2022, Paperjam changed its format and reduced the weight of its paper. “We heard you. More and more companies are committing to reducing their carbon footprint. With these new formats and paper, Paperjam has managed to reduce its weight and its carbon footprint linked to printing by 43%,” said Koedinger. To mark the occasion, Maison Moderne launched Paperjam+Delano Displays, which enable the magazine to be distributed in a more targeted way, while increasing readership. They can be found at employers across the country and at Findel airport.
4. Paperjam Architecture + Real Estate. Formerly an annual publication, Paperjam Architecture + Real Estate is changing format. “You told us the publication was too thick. Nearly 400 pages, after all. We heard you,” said Koedinger. It will now be published twice a year, with each edition half the size.
5. Luxair Inflight Magazine. This magazine for Luxair’s two million passengers is published five times a year and targets outbound passengers from Luxembourg and the Greater Region, as well as inbound passengers for whom the magazine will be their first contact with Luxembourg.
6. Business Guide. Paperjam has been publishing its Business Guide since 1997. The next edition, due out at the beginning of the year, will feature a redesigned content: a more manageable format, more useful content with a new classification of business sectors, but also more interesting content with editorial input from Paperjam and Delano journalists. The “business bible” will feature around a thousand biographies.
7. Business Club. The Paperjam+Delano Business Club is the country’s leading general business club with 1,500 members. For 2024, it still has many events and highlights in store, always linked to the content produced by Paperjam and Delano journalists.
8. FoodzillaGuide. Foodzilla news can now be found every month in Paperjam magazine and on the online #Foodzilla guide, in French on paperjam.lu, and in English on delano.lu.
9. City, the capital’s magazine. Published by Maison Moderne, City magazine has a nationwide circulation of 77,000. It is also the Luxembourg monthly with the largest circulation and reach. One of its strong points is the multi-generational aspect of its content.
10. Content is King, context is Queen. “Yes, you need good content to get your message across. But the right context improves the chance of reaching the right target and increases the memorability of the message,” said Koedinger.
Chloé never sleeps
As a bonus, Mike Koedinger also announced the deployment of the AI tool called “Chloé” on 1 February 2024. It “allows you to create and optimise your digital marketing campaigns across multiple platforms such as Google, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram,” explained Koedinger.
This tool is designed to create a campaign and enhance performance for budgets that can start at less than €500 per month over the year. Maison Moderne clients will be able to create their campaigns themselves, or purchase them from their media advisor.
Originally published in French by and translated for Delano