At the end of December 2017, the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region entrusted 3TOON with creating the concept of a careers fair devoted to apprenticeship trades. More than 20 videos would be produced to promote it.
The 2019 edition retrospective
The videos on this page are in French.
The brief
At the end of December 2017, the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region gave the green light, and the brief came down, clear and concise: we had 3 months to mobilise professionals and young people in order to create and set up a careers fair devoted to apprenticeship trades.
The fair would be a first, and the Chamber of Trades made clear that its top priorities were novelty and innovation. Enough of the “old-style” fairs where young people trudge from stand to stand, walking past roll-up banners without even seeing them…
The “Rejoins le Côté Pro” concept
48 hours later, the concept of the “Rejoins le Côté Pro” fair was born. The name is a wink at the cult line of the Star Wars saga, “Join the dark side” (“Rejoins le côté obscur” in French). The poster, the various visuals, and the film devised to welcome visitors at the entrance of the fair all play with the visual codes of that film saga.
For the Chamber of Trades and for our studio, it was the start of a great adventure, which unfolded over two editions of the fair — the first in March 2018, and the second in 2019, this time in two cities. 3TOON, under its Cap Vidéo brand, produced 21 films, opened and ran several social-media accounts, published a dedicated website and produced a mass of visuals for an all-out communication campaign!
Communication
To promote a fair presenting trades and training in a new and innovative way, the communication had to reflect that same spirit. Drawing on the sagas that shape teenagers’ imagination, the idea emerged of building the visual theme around the Star Wars universe.
A way of reaching the target audience with a world that feels familiar — albeit offbeat — but also a means of celebrating the sector and the young people who choose the apprenticeship route, presented like the heroes of Hollywood productions!
A communication campaign resolutely banking on new technologies, showcasing trades and training through digital media and video.
Video and social media
Thanks to online video, we go and meet young people on their own ground, using their favourite medium — the one they use every day to get information.
Through organic search and keyword buying, video proves to be the most effective medium for communicating with the target audience.
The videos were distributed on the main social networks — Facebook and YouTube ahead of the event, Instagram and Snapchat during it.
During the 2 days of the event
From the entrance hall of the Parc Expo 70 in Vesoul, visitors were immersed in the atmosphere thanks to a giant LED screen placed right above the doors. Primed by the images and the music, the young visitors could then walk through the gates and reach the stands set up across the 3,200 m² of the fair.
A year of retrospective to prepare the next edition
Capitalising on the stock of multimedia resources to bear witness to the success of the first edition and secure that of the following ones — or of other events. Gathering all the content produced (texts, photos, videos) on a dedicated website, welcoming visitors with a retrospective video.
“Rejoins le Côté Pro” fair – First edition
On 30 and 31 March 2018, the fair opened its doors at the Parc Expo 70 in Vesoul. 4,000 visitors were welcomed over those two days, entering beneath the giant screen where young people discovered the Star Wars tribute film.
“Rejoins le Côté Pro” fair – Second edition
One year later, the fair doubled up, with an edition in Vesoul on 19-20 March 2019 and another in Champagnole on 26-27 March 2019. Such was the turnout that the fair was full during the school visits! In Champagnole, entries had to be regulated so that the young visitors could keep moving from stand to stand…
Promoting the trades
Rather than a classic fair lined with brochures and roll-up banners, the whole approach aims at a concrete, appealing presentation of the apprenticeship pathways. This mainly takes the form of stands where professional gestures are performed — in front of the public — by teachers and students mobilised for the occasion.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]WorldSkills
Shining a light on the regional selection round, the content and flow of the trials, the candidates’ commitment, and the involvement of their supporters (trainers, coaches, family) through their presence. As the fair being built would be innovative and prestigious, it had to be shown in images that a worthy setting had been created to host the competition.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]Celebrating the sector
The concept aims to break down preconceived ideas about the apprenticeship track, by highlighting how trades constantly evolve and how firmly they are anchored in modernity. The fair had to celebrate professional training, and spark vocations by calling on natural gifts and pre-existing potential.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]Innovation
The guiding idea behind the fair’s preparation was to celebrate the apprenticeship sector by shaking up the very concept of the trade fair. Everything was done to enrich it and make it lively and interactive, through hands-on demonstrations of the trades — made possible by the involvement of teachers and students from apprentice training centres across the region, who prepared the event several weeks in advance.
Who were the target audiences?
Secondary-school students
Young people aged 13 to 18 wondering about their professional future.
Parents
Explaining to parents that here they would find leads and openings to support their children’s professional future. Emphasising the modernity and effectiveness of the fair’s approach — “demonstrations by professionals” and “hands-on experimentation”.
Teachers
The fair had to give teachers the arguments to mobilise their students, open the discussion on the questions students may have about their future, and step outside the school setting for a “discovery” day in a professional and educational environment.
Training organisations (apprentice training centres)
Highlighting the specific strengths of the training provided in their respective establishments, by having them run their space around their flagship discipline.
Business leaders
Inviting professionals to come and see the apprentices’ commitment for themselves, and to spot talent and future employees.
WorldSkills competition
At the initiative of Marie-Guite Dufay, President of the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region, this first edition of the fair also served as an innovative, prestigious setting for the trials of the competition — the largest skills contest in the world. During the “Rejoins le Côté Pro” fair, the trials followed one another, allowing young professionals to measure themselves against each other and, for the most deserving, to advance through the stages towards an international competition. At that level, over four days, nearly 1,200 candidates from 76 countries pit their know-how against each other in some fifty trades, giving their very best to try to reach the top step of the podium. The aim, of course, was to shine a light on the regional selection, the content and flow of the trials, the candidates’ commitment, and the dedication of those around them (trainers, coaches, families) through their presence.
MAKING OF
Behind the scenes of the film projected at the fair’s entrance
