Meet Grégory Mugnier: "World Personality of the Year" and "Influence Award" for marketing

Internationally recognized for his expertise, Grégory Mugnier remains little known in France. We wanted to find out more. Interview.

Grégory Mugnier holds a doctorate in marketing and consumer psychology. In 2022, he founded Axone & Partners and Fleche, two companies whose aim is to help companies grow through their communications. In 2023, this multi-hatted personality was elected "World Personality of the Year" in Marketing & Advertising at the International Marketing 2.0 Conference in Dubai. He is the first Frenchman to receive this distinction. This year, he received the "Influence Award" for his work in consumer psychology.

What is the Dubai International Marketing 2.0 Conference?

It's a global gathering of brand builders and marketers. It's an incredible conference, bringing together leaders from all over the world. In France, we tend to be rather self-centered. It's fascinating to be able to exchange ideas with Indians, Japanese, Americans and South Africans, who explain how they work, what their approach is, what trends they see emerging... Intellectual stimulation with peers, exchange, co-construction... Each time, I return home nourished and enriched by these lessons to support my customers.

In 2023, you received the "World Personality of the Year" award. This year, the "Influence Award". How do you explain this?

Indeed, it's rather paradoxical because I'm not necessarily well known in the marketing world in France. But I did write some articles when I was a PhD student, mainly onbrand attachment models. These articles have been picked up on abroad and I'm followed by a lot of people, especially via LinkedIn. This is what enabled me to be nominated for these two awards. What's more, I'm a rather shy person. In France, we tend to put forward personalities who are a little more extravagant. I like to talk about my job and my passions, which are marketing and consumer psychology, but I don't put much emphasis on my customers, my achievements and my successes. I'm more of a scientific communicator than a marketer.

What's your background? Did you go from psychology to marketing or vice versa?

I'm a psychologist. Initially, I was fascinated by the human brain, life behaviors, human relationships, influences between groups and individuals... That's what drove me throughout my studies in psychology. It led me from clinical psychology to social psychology, where I discovered consumer psychology. It's a movement that's better known in the United States than in France. Finally, I took up marketing as a doctoral student. That's probably why I have a different approach. I've always tried totake a psychological approach to marketing. I also use tools from clinical psychology, which I try to adapt to marketing.

What is consumer psychology?

From a global point of view, consumer psychology is concerned with behavior and, in particular, with the relationship between consumers and brands. These relationships give rise to behaviors that are not necessarily the purchase of a product, but which can be heavier in terms of investment: Why are we attached to a brand? Why do we trust it? Why are we ready to recommend it? To defend it on social networks... The aim is not just to try and sell a product, but to create emotion and attachment.

Do you think that consumer psychology is sufficiently exploited in the French marketing ecosystem?

I think it has evolved over the last 5-10 years. We're talking more about psychology, neuroscience, consumer psychologists... For a long time, I had the feeling that psychology shouldn't be talked about in marketing. Before, the focus was on the company and what it wanted to promote. Today, it's the opposite. There's a better understanding of what's at stake, and the consumer is more central to marketing decisions. And so, inevitably, if we're talking about the consumer, we're talking about people. And if we're talking about people, we need to understand psychology.

Is influencer marketing reshuffling the deck for brands?

For me, influencers are linked to two key elements. Emotional values: brands are a kind of reflection of ourselves. We become attached to or identify with the brands that represent us or that we would like to be. But there are also cognitive values. It's the very credibility of the influencer. Nano or micro-influencers are closer to their community and potentially more credible than macro-influencers. If we trust a person, we'll be captivated by the source of the message rather than the content of the message, and therefore by the influencer himself. This corresponds to the ELM model in social psychology. If a source of information is credible, no matter what it tells me, I'm going to trust its content.

Are social networks making the relationship between brands and consumers more intimate?

Networks are part of a logical evolution in digital behavior. It's creating a shift in communications and marketing. Where before, it was necessary to generate a rather one-sided message towards consumers to attract them to the brand, today, consumers are actors in their own consumption. This access to information enables them to form a much more informed opinion before buying a product or service. Social networks are the perfect answer to this. What's more, social networks create a certain proximity with consumers. So here too, we're reinforcing this notion of relationship, of proximity between the consumer and the brand, which will help generate affect, emotions and therefore more advanced behavior.

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So social networks are an essential inbound marketing lever?

There's a model, not widely used in France, that I really like:the self-brand connection. This is the connection between the brand and the self, the very identity of the individual. Social networks enable us to create a connection by nurturing the individual, but also by integrating them through likes, comments and shares. By creating a special relationship, as one would between two individuals. In fact, I work a lot on theanalogy between relationships between individuals and relationships between a brand and an individual. Consumers can relate to this, and so can brands. I can't say whether it's positive or not for consumers, but in any case, it creates the impact of influence that we know today.

The other side of the coin is that today, people expect authenticity and transparency... With the risk of bad buzz.

I couldn't agree more. I think this openness to the network is linked once again to the fact that consumers are also actors in consumption. They are not only actors in their own consumption, but also in that of others, since they belong to communities in which they will share positive or negative information. It is therefore very important for brands to keep a close eye on their reputation, so as to be able to react very quickly in the event of bad buzz. The aim, of course, is to avoid them by being consistent with their values, the key elements that bind them to their community.

Can the violence of these bad buzzes be explained by the fact that they touch something intimate? A feeling of betrayal after having placed your trust in someone?

Yes, we can draw an analogy with a couple. In a couple, we trust each other, share values and a certain identity. If part of that identity is betrayed, love turns to hatred and can lead to negative behavior. This is exactly what happens with a brand when you are attached to it and share its values.

You've just returned from Dubai. What are the trends? Are there any specific features of the French market?

In France, communication is still very content-oriented. Abroad, I find it much more aggressive: a flashy visual, a punchy headline, impactful keywords... I have the impression that in France, we don't dare go as far as these formats. Maybe it's because we're a Latin country, we need to argue. That's the main difference for me.

When it comes to trends and innovation, of course,Artificial Intelligence can't be ignored. In France, there's a lot of talk about it, but the focus is mainly on ChatGPT and how to use it for content. Yet there are many other AIs out there, and they can be integrated into other levers. That's perhaps what most focused this conference. How can we use AI as a complementary tool in all our communication levers, beyond content?

What was your speech about?

I was asked to think about finding the right balance between brand heritage and innovation. How can we find the right balance to talk about innovation without distorting the brand's ancestral image? A question that particularly concerns France, given the weight of the luxury sector.

You founded Axone Partners. What do you do and why this name?

Axone & Partners is a marketing strategy and omnichannel communications agency. A 360° agency. We support our customers from the conception and enhancement of their brand platform to the design of their marketing strategy and its operational implementation. Our customers are in France, Switzerland and Belgium, and we also have customer experience in Canada. We have two types of customer. VSEs and SMEs, whom we work with from A to Z, and with whom we have a lot of fun, because in the end, they have a budget, they have objectives, and that enables us to go very far in the projects and to be able to support them 100%. We also work with major accounts, but more in the consulting phase (auditing or consulting, for example).

The name Axone is not insignificant: it refers to neuroscience and therefore to psychology. The Axone is the electrical impulse that links the brain to the body. The idea is to bridge the gap between the company and its customers. And Partners because we work with many partners: technical, web agencies, creative... Axone & Partners, translates the idea that we are strategists, but that we also rely on expert external resources.

You also run Fleche, an agency specializing in SEO-SEA. Why did you add this component?

I realized that my background in psychology gave me real added value in SEO, a very consumer-centric approach. By focusing on our customers' needs, expectations, motivations, obstacles and fears, we were able to develop content in response to these insights. And by developing content, we enhance our customers' SEO. But beyond that, we want to be something other than "digital garages". That's not our approach. Benevolence is perhaps the key value of our company. The idea behind Fleche is to make SEO accessible to all, and to provide transparent support for our customers. We give them access to tools and figures so they can track their performance. Our aim is not to accompany a customer for 10 years, but to gradually make them autonomous.

True to your shrink roots?

Our job is a very human one. We have to be the customer's armed wing. Our aim is to help them sell, by facilitating the work of sales reps, by bringing them leads, by improving their message... But as the armed wing of a customer, we must first and foremost understand the customer's business, how it works, the company's culture, the issues at stake... The reverse is also true. It's all about co-construction.

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