The ambassadorship and sponsorship questioned by EDF Pulse & You in its new campaign appear to be interesting levers for opening up science and innovation to as many people as possible.
Innovation is not reserved for an elite. It must concern the greatest number, especially in this period when the need for ideas and to share them is essential to succeed in the necessary transition towards a sustainable future. The bearers of initiatives can rely on ambassadorship or sponsorship, notions that the new EDF Pulse & You campaign questions to give more meaning to the commitment between members of the community, as evidenced by Gaël Le Boulch, in charge of Open Innovation Private Customers for EDF.
Ambassadorship, sponsorship… notions known to all but which may vary in practice, what regarding EDF Pulse & You?
Gael Le Boulch: In our view, sponsorship is the set of practices that consist in relying on word-of-mouth between users, in a more or less formal way, to publicize an initiative. The sponsor finds his godchildren and encourages them to sign up for the cause he defends, with or without a reward offered by the brand. The reward must be symbolic, part of the action of the cause, and have meaning.
The ambassadorship is the set of practices which consist between a brand and an individual to bring the latter to support it, to promote it, to praise its merits to third parties. Generally, this defense of the mark must be disinterested in order to be sincere. There may be inexpensive gifts but no money. When it is paid, it becomes interested and it goes into the category of influencers.
Why is the question of non-remuneration essential?
Gael Le Boulch: The value in which we believe is not that of a price but of an ideal to be defended. If so many Pulsers participate in our campaigns, it is out of conviction and not out of the lure of profit that would transform the relationship. For each campaign, we put gifts into play, but always in connection with the theme treated and it’s more for the game than for the stakes. Moreover, people who only join us to win prizes are replaced by other Pulsers, because they are there above all for the pleasure of sharing ideas. This level of requirement is essential because it determines the quality of the ambassador and the sponsor.
Are the concepts therefore similar to citizen solicitation?
Gael Le Boulch: We are not in a citizen solicitation. We are on strong links between members and the brand. Citizen solicitation does not presuppose that people know and like each other. They just defend the same cause. We go beyond. We are in the community and the commitment. Our driving forces are desire and values. Hence the importance for B2C co-innovation, the main challenge of which is to obtain support, overcome the obstacles to change and allow social acceptance. And thus erect a new practice as a new norm or habit.
Why do these concepts seem so important to you?
Gael Le Boulch: In the current context, it is all the more fundamental to reconnect science, innovation and society, and for that, we need ambassadors. If we are also behind, for example, on questions of the environment or global warming, it is because organizations like the IPCC were a bit alone and we let everyone say anything and everything. . Faced with obscurantism, it is therefore a question of allowing everyone to invest themselves in accordance with their convictions on these major subjects, to contribute to them at their level in an open community which makes intelligence and benevolence rhyme.
What observation have you made with EDF Pulse & You for 7 years now?
Gael Le Boulch: We started the adventure in March 2016 with zero Pulseur, while we now have more than 13,000 seven years later. Word of mouth has made it known that the platform makes it possible to get involved in scientific issues that concern all of society. For years, decades, even centuries, science was reserved for the elite. Today, society has changed, it is more mature on these questions, on the methods of co-innovation, and ready for true democratization. This is all the more essential in the current context, where everyone must be concerned and participate at their level to face these challenges, but also to harvest all the good ideas!
Why did you launch an EDF Pulse & You campaign on the subject?
Gael Le Boulch: The ambassadorship is in the DNA of EDF Pulse & You. Our community has been formed over these seven years but necessarily needs to renew itself to bring together new profiles, new energies and new ideas. It is even a request from our Pulsers who insisted on this point following a survey that we recently conducted with our community to get their opinion on the potential desired changes. In the first results of our campaign, we also found that 70% of respondents were enthusiastic regarding sponsorship, with the remaining 30% considering that it was precisely necessary to facilitate it. 55% were considering sponsoring one to two people. It is therefore very encouraging and confirms our intuitions on the subject.
What advice can you give to a brand or an individual to engage in sponsorship?
Gael Le Boulch: I would advise sincerity for brands and spontaneity for individuals. For brands, sincerity because you have to share emotion and not let their speeches be too smooth, even if it means recognizing what they don’t know how to do. Spontaneity for individuals, because they have to trust their intuitions, not to force things to take their godchildren.
