COMMUNICATION. The Hérault Fire Service unveiled its new public awareness campaign last July, and over the past few days it has certainly been making a big impression. The fire service’s aim is to gain greater recognition from the general public.
SDIS 34 appears to be gradually settling into a new way of working. A new director, a new internal structure, several thousand euros’ worth of investment in safety, and a brand-new communications strategy, kindly devised by the agency ‘La Chamade’, a company based in Mauguio, in the Hérault department.
New signing
“SP – The Hérault Fire Brigade, always there when you need them!”, is the new slogan that now features in all SDIS 34 campaigns and is displayed on billboards lining the roads of the Hérault. In particular, it reads Always There, with the S and P of the fire brigade in red capital letters.
‘Always there’, ‘always ready’ and ‘always close by’ – these are the three key messages that the local ‘firefighters’ wish to convey, in partnership with the Hérault Departmental Council. These messages are much like mottos.
Set against stunning images by Thierry Pons, a photographer and volunteer firefighter with the Hérault SDIS, the campaign – comprising three visuals – has a simple yet striking look.
The influencers approached
To get the message across, there is nothing better than committed journalists and media outlets on board, according to the two officials from ‘La Chamade’. The fire service is appealing for help, “Today, and throughout the year, we need newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, radio, TV and billboard networks to relay and amplify these messages.”
Bertrand Fassio, Chief Executive of the Media Group Metro -7Officiel, e-metropolitain.fr, Métropolitain Mag’, and the magazines Mandarin and Addict- have already been providing the Hérault SDIS with advertising inserts several times a month to support it in its new, high-energy strategy.