Day 5 - The Oceanic Portion of the Trip

Our last full day on the northwestern coast of France was appropriately spent visiting oceanic themed businesses. Our first stop was to algoplus, which is a small business in Roscoff that harvests and processes seaweed. During our talk, I was not too surprised to hear that one of the biggest challenges for algoplus is convincing people to consume algae products because it's seaweed. When I think of seaweed I think of the dried up seaweed that ends up on the Maine coast. Once it's on the beach, it is dead. It needs to be under water to be alive. So for algoplus, changing the public's perception of what seaweed really is is, I think, step one for them to greater success. The tour that was in after ours did not have a single person in it that was under the age of 65 it seemed. So I also think getting the attention of youth and adults in the 18-54 range and attracting new customers and advocates is another step to take. 

Another aspect of algoplus's business that I think they're doing an excellent job at is packaging. When you are selling any product, it is important that the packaging is appealing and representative of your brand and products because it is the first thing you notice about a  product. It is what draws you to one brand over the other when you're browsing through a store. Packaging is one way to create a brand perception and I think they are excelling. 

Not surprisingly, everyone walked out of algoplus with some gifts in tow. That is one thing I wish I had asked about. What percentage of products are for personal use and what percentage are for gift purposes?  

Our next stop was Oceanopolis and I think was the perfect way to wrap up our company visits in Brest. We got to go on a tour of the three pavilions (Polar, Tropical, Temperate), seeing penguins, seals, exotic fish, sharks and lots of other sea creatures. I haven't been to an aquarium in fifteen years, so it was like I was a kid all over again. 

Let's get down to business. The marketing of Oceanopolis that is. Patrick, Oceanopolis' Marketing Manager, gave us some great insight into the business side of things. My interest lies in marketing, so that's where I'll focus. Oceanopolis sends out surveys every two months with 50-60 questions seeking to gain insight into the travelling habits of its visitors. Things like: where they stay on holiday, what airline they fly and what hotel they stay at. The results of the survey are then analyzed to identify the best ways to perform target marketing. This is critical for Oceanopolis, as they are not located in a tourist destination so they really need to seek out visitors in a more targeted manner. 

I was excited to see that Oceanopolis and lots of other businesses in France are using QR codes. This is something we have been implementing in our marketing materials where I work and I think it is going to catch on like wildfire. They are a great way to get more information to your customer without cluttering a print ad, brochure or poster.

Because Oceanopolis is owned by the town of Brest (60%), it has to run everything, and I mean everything, by the town in a very formal and hierarchical manner. This is incredibly different from how things work where I work. We were having an informal marketing strategy meeting and I said that we should have a twitter page to expand our social media presence. Within thirty minutes I had one up and running. Not so at Oceanopolis (and I think most of France). There are so many layers of bureaucracy and hoops to jump through in order to do anything. I think that may be part of the reason why France is not a thriving business hub. They are very much stuck in the past and have a resistance to change, even when it will help them improve.