Sponsoring as a tool for customer relations: which recipes?

Benoît Crochelet will explain how Electrabel, who supports many events as brand sponsor, takes advantage of the aura and profits from the association that consumers make with the sponsored events and programmes. He will seek to show us how for Electrabel sponsorship has been able to serve as a powerful reputation booster while capitalising on confidence, proximity or the intrinsic qualities of the sponsored events and programmes.

Lynda Calonne will compare Benoît Crochelet’s vision with the results of the BPMS study with a focus on the following question: How do consumers perceive media sponsoring?

Benoît CROCHELET – Head of Brand & Marketing Communications Manager GDF SUEZ Energy BeNeLux & Germany/Electrabel

Formally educated in Marketing degree, Benoît Crochelet started his career as account manager for advertising agencies (Impact FCB and then Publicis). He joined the BBL (Bank Brussels Lambert)/ING Belgium in 1990 where he became Communication Director in charge of branding, advertising and marketing communication campaigns. After a short return in the advertising world as Deputy General Manager of a local advertising agency Equinox’ Communications (2001), Benoît Crochelet joined Electrabel in September 2002 to become Brand Manager in charge of brand management and marketing communication strategies.

As Brand Manager of Electrabel, his main challenge was to turn Electrabel into a strong
and more relevant brand to its clients (households and businesses). Via implementation
of a new brand management strategy and set up of a marketing communication structure Benoît Crochelet
had led the renovation of the historical energy monopolist into a competitive market oriented energy supplier.

In april 2009, Benoît Crochelet joined the Group as Deputy Vice-president Marketing Communications Service
where he was in charge of the brand architecture for GDF SUEZ Group and the management of the
commercial brands policies.

Back in Belgium since June 2011 as Head of Brand & Marketing Communications, he is now in charge of the brand
management, marketing communications Retail & B2B, employer branding and sponsorship for Electrabel in Belgium.

He remains active at Group’s level as Brand Advisor and expert in Marketing Communications for GDF SUEZ Energy Europe.

Lynda CALONNE – Strategic Research Supervisor, RMB Marketing

Graduated in Social Communications at IHECS (1989). Quickly began a career at RMB as a researcher in the marketing department. Became successively ‘Marketing Manager Television’ and ‘Strategic Marketing Manager’. Sinds 2009 Strategic Research Supervisor and responsible for the FACT (Feed the Advertising Community with Trends) studies focused on consumer behaviour and evolution.