SEMAEST is Paris Municipality’s semi-public operator in charge of commercial revitalization. This medium-size company (50 employees) manages 465 tenants and does its best to implant quality and innovative shops. As ecommerce was becoming a worrying competition, SEMAEST created in 2015 a new program to help small independent shops use digital tools, in order to become more attractive and successful: this is the Connected Stores program (or CoSto).
CoSto developed its own social media (website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to inform shopkeepers about free digital communication workshops, digital experimentations and retail news. CoSto social media also provide advice to shopkeepers.
SEMAEST developed partnerships with different kinds of local economy actors who provide services to shopkeepers. SEMAEST edited a "Costo Pack" in forms of checks that shopkeepers can cut and get with it a special offer.
These CoSto Pack partners are:
- Actors of alternative tourism in new Paris areas. They can promote the shops that SEMAEST indicate to them as interesting
- An investment company in small businesses (P.I.E)
- A startup specialized in crowdfunding, (ex- Bulb in Town / TUDIGO)
- A charity association that asks shopkeepers to be helpful with homeless people (Le Carillon)
- A startup specialized in participatory retail urbanism (CMaRue)
- A startup that provides a platform to give visibility to nice little shops (petitscommerces.fr)
- An association that develops digital training centers in deprived areas, to give a new professional chance to unemployed people. They can propose communication strategy to enterprises.
Interactive Cities invited the innovative CoSto program to join their network and think about how social media can improve public policies and economic development.
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Focus and objectives
SEMAEST created its URBACT Local Group within its ecosystem in retail and public services. It became a “think tank” imagining the retail of tomorrow. This retail is socially connected and is an actor in participatory urbanism and in urban well-being. The selected perimeter for actions is the one defined by the CoSto ITI ERDF project, in North East of Paris. All through these 2 years and a half, the guiding specific objective of this ULG has been: “How to promote all together new socio-economic areas in north-eastern Paris and give reciprocal visibility to each partner’s actions through social media? “
A first integrated action plan project was designed during Paris ULG meeting on 15 June 2017, when SEMAEST team came back from Interactive Cities meeting in Helsinki and Tartu: test an integrated interactive platform gathering all local information in a neighbourhood in the 20th district. A survey was circulated, some Paris City Hall services interviewed. Semaest realised it was a too big project for itself and not mature enough for Paris Municipality.
In November 2017, after 2 years of learning about communication strategy in Interactive Cities meetings and “Costo on the road” trainings, a 2nd more realistic Paris “Interactive Cities” ULG’s integrated action plan (for SEMAEST financial capacity) emerged: The Integrated Action Plan will be a common communication campaign on social media.
The last ULG meeting was on 10 January 2018. The ULG members were reduced to a core group: representatives of association of shopkeepers, Paris and Plaine Commune Tourism offices, public servants in local development and CoSto partners. They were divided in 2 sub-groups: the ones working on tourism and local economic promotion; the other ones offering services to businesses in CoSto Pack. Targets and social media channels were defined in both groups.
Retail services group:
Specific objective: advertise shopkeepers about the interest of CoSto Pack partners
Output indicators: to be identified by more shopkeepers
Result indicators: numbers of new followers for each partner; new CoSto customers for CoSto partners
Actions:
- A video introducing the startups in a partner shop
- A launching event: a speed dating between shopkeepers and CoSto partners.
Tourism group:
Specific objective: Promote unknown or disliked areas in Paris 18th district; Advertise alternative tourism guides and local shops
Output indicators: reassure visitors to come in these areas; invigorate businesses
Result indicators: numbers of new followers or new customers for each partner; new CoSto customers for CoSto partners
Actions:
- A video around the 18th introducing CoSto tourism partners.
- A launching event: an official walking tour would launch the event. If there is enough budget, a paper map tour could be printed.
Paris-SEMAEST
Interactive Cities