Ophélie Haran, Leroy Merlin Head of PR and Influence 

CUSTOMER TESTIMONY

 

 

Leroy Merlin's new media newsroom went online at the beginning of the year and is primarily aimed at journalists. With 2 press releases per month and a rich media library, the PR newsroom operates as the nerve centre of content. The comms strategy and production are the responsibility of a team of 50 people in France. Therefore, an efficient collaborative tool was needed. The platform is used by both the company's press department and its agency Matriochka.

 

 

 


Why a new newsroom?

The idea was to have a web tool which allows us to maintain a more fluid, efficient and effective relationships with the journalists who follow the retail and housing industry, including the specialised press. Not to mention the benefits in terms of image for the brand and for the team.

What are the benefits of the solution?

The adoption of technology has allowed us to modernise the channel. I often say we're dusting off our PR channel. But it goes far beyond that. Until recently, we were doing repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as selecting visuals, sending them as a PDF or weTransfer and starting over once the link expired! This meant we could not respond instantly to journalists. Today, if you need a visual of a bathroom for example, you can find it independently and write your article without interruption.

What’s the impact on the quality of the articles?

The photo albums grouped in a media library are protected by expiration dates. The visuals used will always be up to date and the image rights respected. 

How will you reference it?

The newsroom is referenced because it’s proposed in the footer of our corporate site. The journalists who used to struggle to find us, can now access our news with just a few clicks.

Why did you choose the Epresspack solution?

We realised that technology was becoming integral to press relations in our industry. We also needed to be able to deliver our news from anywhere, at any time and even on weekends. We were also convinced by the customisability of the PR newsroom, which was able to perfectly match our brand image.