Cap’Com Grand Prix 2024: Pantone® x Eure, the amazing collaboration that is making its mark
How can stakeholders refresh their communication on a leading subject, a marker of the local heritage already covered countless times? The communication specialists at Eurêka, the Eure department’s marketing agency, have addressed this issue with regard to the 150th anniversary of impressionism with a healthy dose of daring and have managed to create a novel connection between territory and trend. We unpack their “First impression” campaign, which won the Cap’Com Grand Prix 2024.
“The 150th anniversary of Impressionism was a unique opportunity for Normandy in 2025, and the Eure department - the cradle of the Impressionist movement with Giverny and Claude Monet - was duty bound to live up to the occasion”, explains Orlane Jauregui, managing director of Eurêka, the Eure department’s promotional body. “In tandem with our partner agency, Singulier Pluriel, we wanted to raise the profile of our department, which is only an hour from Paris, and show that is not just a detour, but a destination in its own right. 2024 was also the year of the Olympic Games in Paris: a time when visibility was the ultimate goal.” The goal was to use this anniversary to boost the region’s appeal, a signature, but without being pompous, boring or the same old same old.
Creating the Eure department’s own Pantone® colour chart
“We needed a bold, modern, disruptive idea to catch the attention of tourists and the media. Impressionism is rooted in our DNA, but we wanted to give it a novel, fresh look.” The idea was to create a link between the colour icon Pantone® and the history and landscapes of the Impressionists by creating a colour chart with seven colours, inspired by the Impressionist masterpieces and the richness of the Eure department’s landscapes. “It was a first for Pantone®: a partnership to showcase a region, not a product. They immediately came on board with the idea: it was simultaneously bold, creative and true to their DNA. And when Giverny meets the colour of the year, it’s a no-brainer.”
The Pantone® “First impression” colour chart portrays the Eure department through the prism of Impressionism, identifying the department as an unequalled tourist destination. A colour chart “programme” that invites visitors in for key events, meetings, exhibitions and sites in each region, for a live experience of the 150th anniversary of Impressionism in the Eure department. “Giverny Water lily”, “Grey blue Vernon stone”, “Pays d’Auge Tarte tatin”... Each shade on the Impressionist palette is associated with a particular local area and with a video, posted online and on social media as a taster of the enticing things to see and experience in the area.
“It’s an innovative scheme that places creativity and artistic direction at the heart of the region’s project”, pointed out Adrien de Blanzy, president of L’ADN : tendances & mutations, and president of the jury of the Grand Prix Cap'Com 2024. “There’s a respect for the heritage; it’s very firmly rooted, but at the same time up with the times.”
A digital campaign, Jean-Mich’ the “iconic” combi van, and a launch in the Giverney gardens
The campaign is rolled out, essentially in digital form, from May to August 2024, mainly through a video reveal relayed in collaboration with Pantone® on their Instagram page (3.7 million followers), a news item on the Eurêka website when the colour chart and an interactive map are revealed, an explainer video by the vice-president of the Pantone Color Institute, and a “combi van” video, visiting the landscapes that inspired the colour chart.
The combi’s called Jean-Mich’. “In 2023, we took time out to forge strong ties with our local area with the help of a novel road show: 27 stopovers with Jean-Mich’, our iconic combi van”, explains Orlane Jauregui. “At each stop, we met the local stakeholders: shopkeepers, tradespeople, elected representatives, business people, cultural and sporting managers... everything that gives the Eure department its distinctive character. These meetings helped populate our contacts file, a real “Eurêka Family” ready to expand at every event.”
All of these movers and shakers gathered together for the launch party organised on 15 May 2024 in Claude Monet’s gardens at Giverny. The partners from Normandy and the Ile-de-France area, along with ten or so influencers were also invited. “We wanted it to be an inclusive event, where everyone feels special and invited to help extend the Eure region’s influence and appeal.” A quiz was also organised on Instagram. Every 10 days, for a specific colour, players could win tote bags and mugs customised with the colour scheme’s seven shades
“Go and look in places you might tend to rule out”
“You might think that going to look for a partnership with Pantone®, the famous colour of the year, was not for us. But if fact, yes, it’s for us. Just don’t go looking for a partnership: stick to the principle of meaningfulness and make sure the quality is there. When you’re aiming for Pantone®, you’re duty-bound to be demanding,” explains Orlane Jauregui. “We approached Pantone® ‘just as we are’, with our signature authenticity and passion. We were fairly confident because the Eure department has solid arguments: Giverny’s magic, Monet’s prestige and an incomparable natural and cultural heritage. [...] The head of partnerships at Pantone® fell in love with the Eure. There’s a lot of generosity and energy in this partnership.”
“The ‘First Impression’ campaign made a big impact: it repositioned the Eure as a must-see destination, at once anchored in its Impressionist heritage and embracing innovation. By drawing on the Impressionist palette, we highlighted the natural beauty and cultural riches of our area, all while raising public awareness of protecting the environment.”
And of course the press picked up on the Pantone® partnership. “The knock-on effects have been quite extraordinary and social media was on fire! The team’s work was rewarded with a number of regional and national prizes.” Including the Grand Prize for public and territorial communication, awarded by the president of the jury, Adrien Blanzy, president of L’ADN, on 12 December 2024, to close the Cap’Com Forum in Lille. “This operation situates the department in a continuity, a serenity”, he pointed out as he presented the trophy to the Eurêka team. “The fact that the colours stay the same as the years go by, despite the turmoil of time, is very poetical.”
And the results in terms of visitor numbers are as hoped: “Despite unpredictable weather and competition from the Olympic Games, the Eure department consolidated its status as a tourist destination, attracting growing numbers of Parisians. In 2025, we will capitalise on this trend,” concluded Orlane Jauregui.
A unique trophy
Since 2017, Amandine Serran, also known as La Fée Crochette, has been designing Grand Prix trophies. Every year, she explores new materials and produces unique items in collaboration with Enzo Graftieaux, a metal-working artist. This year, she has chosen to recycle plastic caps, metal drums and crate wood for the 10 category prizes. In a nod to Calais, which is in the Hauts-de-France region, her common thread for 2024 will be lace. Her fine embroidery can be found set in Grand Prix ceramic pastilles, or used as a stencil on wood, the lace punctuating these eco-designed pieces with its sheer beauty.
