FRANÇOIS NICOLLE, TEACHER-RESEARCHER IN DIGITAL MARKETING AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AND CO-HEAD OF THE MARKETING AND DIGITAL DIVISION

Introduce yourself!

I am François Nicolle, teacher-researcher at ICD Business School. After graduating from the ICD Business School, I obtained a doctorate in management sciences from CNAM.

What is your research topic? What is the definition of the subject according to you?

My work is oriented around several themes. My main subject of research concerns influence strategies, they aim to reach public decision-makers via lobbying or consumers with influence marketing.
In addition to this theme, I am interested in various subjects such as dating applications, on which I have just published a book.

Why this topic? What is the trigger?

In general, we turn to subjects that we are passionate about. I have always been interested in lobbying. For the record, I had already done my TPE in high school on this subject! More generally, to choose a subject, I consider that it must above all be topical and interesting for our stakeholders so that we can help the citizen, manager or consumer to better understand a phenomenon.

What are the issues? What is the reality in 2022 (the current situation)?

The three subjects I have just mentioned are growing. The influence marketing market is exploding, 31% of French people have already been on a dating site or application and what about lobbying in the middle of an election year! The stakes are therefore high: to create and disseminate knowledge on essential phenomena to the various stakeholders. For example, understanding the political strategies deployed by organizations allows the citizen to understand the decisions of the Government; identifying the key factors of an influence marketing campaign allows the manager to improve the performance of his marketing, etc.

In your opinion, what are the areas for improvement? What are we planning for the future?

Many avenues for improvement exist, the theme of influencer marketing is increasingly studied by the scientific community in several areas. Knowledge on the subject will help to irrigate managers and improve their practices, while also enlightening consumers who will have a better understanding of the activity of their favorite influencers. I think one of the issues for the future will be the ethics of influence. Today, the market still offers questionable practices with dropshipping, the dissemination of advertising for regulated or prohibited sectors, particularly to minors, or the non-disclosure of the promotional nature of a post, it is likely that we will evolve positively in the months and years to come.