Mercedes Erra is the Founder of BETC, France’s leading advertising agency, and Executive President of Havas Worldwide. She is also President of HEC Alumni Association. Mercedes Erra is Officer of the Legion of Honor and Officer of the National Order of Merit. She is often consulted about subjects regarding consumer intelligence and anything touching on brand strategy. Mercedes Erra is specialized in constructing and managing major brands which led her to create BETC Consulting and BETC Consumer Intelligence, which focus on consumer and brand expertise. She has contributed to important strategy shifts for the brands she has worked with (health for Danone, youth for Evian, Air France’s vision – making the sky the best place on earth, and McDonald's "come as you are"). In 15 years, the agency she founded, BETC, became the leading French agency, ranked second creative agency worldwide in 2010 (Gunn Report) and elected best creative agency in France by CB News for the 13th time in 16 years. BETC is the only French agency with a longstanding position at the top of worldwide creative rankings. This success was built not only on strategic and creative quality but also on a corporate culture founded on strong values: diversity, equality and openness.
"Brands are following a path with strange twists to it and it is probably because they occupy a bigger place than ever before. When corporations are more powerful, there are higher expectations for them to appear on the register of social change, and 77% of consumers believe that large corporations have an obligation to make the world a better place. And this is even truer in a context where people have less and less confidence in governments when it comes to producing changes. Brands must bring about social change and today the trend is toward simplicity rather than glitz. We are in a period of post-crisis consumption and 71% of consumers estimate that they would live better if they lived more simply.
Quality also lies at the center of customer expectations. They want proof that corporations are heading toward something simple with good products. Moreover brand communications increasingly resemble documentaries rather than advertisements. And with the advent of Internet anyone can now comment or express their point of view, and consumers have become people who evaluate the quality of products.
The concept of quality also means corporations are expected to be transparent. Internet also means people constantly question and think that brands must justify themselves. 86% of consumers believe it is very important for corporations to act visibly. If a brand makes a mistake, for example, rapid recognition of the problem encourages customers to excuse them more quickly.
Transparency also leads consumers to confuse brand and corporation and to believe that if all the employees are unhappy, than the brand cannot be good for them either. McDonald's understood this very quickly and advertised its employees' well-being and career opportunities.
In conclusion, brands are or will be the actors of change if they fulfill three conditions: create a business and show how it leads to social progress; make social and corporate commitments; and place the human at the center of brands, or at the service of the business and the promise of commitment."
Quality also lies at the center of customer expectations. They want proof that corporations are heading toward something simple with good products. Moreover brand communications increasingly resemble documentaries rather than advertisements. And with the advent of Internet anyone can now comment or express their point of view, and consumers have become people who evaluate the quality of products.
The concept of quality also means corporations are expected to be transparent. Internet also means people constantly question and think that brands must justify themselves. 86% of consumers believe it is very important for corporations to act visibly. If a brand makes a mistake, for example, rapid recognition of the problem encourages customers to excuse them more quickly.
Transparency also leads consumers to confuse brand and corporation and to believe that if all the employees are unhappy, than the brand cannot be good for them either. McDonald's understood this very quickly and advertised its employees' well-being and career opportunities.
In conclusion, brands are or will be the actors of change if they fulfill three conditions: create a business and show how it leads to social progress; make social and corporate commitments; and place the human at the center of brands, or at the service of the business and the promise of commitment."
