The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)

Cefic, the voice of the chemical industry in Europe, is one of the largest and influential trade associations on the European policy stage. It is one of the most active networks of the business community, interacting daily with international and EU institutions, non-governmental organisations, the international media and other stakeholders.

Our understanding of the EU political environment combined with our challenging spirit and innovative perspectives convinced Cefic to use our communication expertise for multiple assignments on key political and societal areas.

Mission

Witness of a fierce competition in making political arguments come across clearly and efficiently, Cefic needed to be more effective and successful in communicating the perspective of a hundred of years’ old industry, its evolution and its vital place in our future.

Over the years and throughout the variety of assignments and issues, our mission was to build, through smart communication tools, a new way to talk to and reach out to the political institutions as well as to the public. Our first objective was to create, out of the extensive technical and scientific background, a positive basis for the start of a proactive result-driven dialogue with the EU policy makers. The second objective was to improve the perception of the public opinion about the chemical industry by increasing awareness about the main societal challenges that the industry answers to through technological innovations, for the benefit of the European citizens.

Approach

Our communication strategy was based on building positive and strong connections between the industry and its audiences, on getting closer to what people need, understand and feel.

We advised on the strategic use of “innovation” as a spearhead of our communication campaigns. We adapted the tone of the communication messages, we uplifted the graphic design and we put the focus on concrete technological innovations that bring life-changing solutions to the citizens.

We implemented a global approach that combined the development of communication tools in web, video and print with their smart use throughout social media and events. We enhanced the look & feel of existing documents and we created new concepts and solutions that were more appropriate to reach the target audiences and more efficient in emphasizing the desired key messages.

Results

We designed the first-ever industrial exhibition to be hosted in the European Commission headquarters (the Berlaymont building) and launched by three Commissioners and CEOs of world leading chemical companies.

Our fresh concepts, graphic designs and videos brought into the political and public spotlight striking examples of the innovation potential of the chemical industry before unknown to many. Our brochures, flyers, ads and posters have not only captured the attention of policy makers (during debates with the European Commission and European Parliament) but have also been acknowledged and prized internally as, for example, “brochure-of-the-year”.

We used our extensive web expertise and tailor-made solutions to create the first-ever interactive portal (a network of connected mini-websites) for an industrial sector, combined with a compelling new branding. Spiced with powerful interactive tools, quizzes, games and videos, it allowed for a wide dissemination outreach; it provided a clear understanding of the challenges and solutions proposed by an industry and it constituted a one-stop social media wall for all innovation news and materials communicated by the hundreds of member companies.

Conclusion

With originality in our DNA, tailor-made solutions, cutting-edge technologies and a deep understanding of opinion trends, we boosted the visibility of an entire sector in areas of key importance. Our campaigns played a critical role in engaging key stakeholders in a constructive dialogue.

By changing the tone and angle of the communication strategy, through the creation of exciting visuals and inviting communication channels, we transformed our assignments into success stories for the chemical industry.