+44 (0) 1844 211673 info@roecomms.com

Marguerite Moulin graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s in Art History after an academic stay in New York. She began her career in the digital sector and in start-ups in Paris producing web content. She then spent 10 years working in communications agencies. Marguerite Moulin has been in charge of ESSCA Group’s external communications for over five years.

1. Can you tell us a bit about your “story”? What led you to your current career path?

After graduating with a Master’s degree in Art History, I began my career in Paris in digital editorial content, just as the internet was developing. I continued in agencies for over ten years, responding to numerous calls for tender. I resumed my studies at 40 with a Master’s in Communication when I moved to the city where I currently work.

I have been at ESSCA for over five years, in charge of the group’s external communication. This includes digital (website, social media, awareness campaigns…) and press relations, with a team of five people.

2. Can you share the most interesting story you have experienced in your current role? What were the most valuable takeaways?

The redesign of our website was an incredible adventure. The website no longer reflected our strategy or the new face of ESSCA, especially as our group now has 10 campuses worldwide! As a recognised European business school, our activities are diverse in terms of programmes and corporate relations, student experience, research – and international partnerships. We had to fit all this into a large portal site, while remaining mobile-first, with an impeccable user experience, and optimal natural referencing, all in English and French. This was a real challenge, but it was successful given the current performance.

3. Differentiation seems to be a major challenge for business schools today. How should they approach it?

In communication, we have significant challenges around this notion of differentiation, so your question is very pertinent! We ask ourselves this regularly, especially in press relations, when we need to capture the interest of journalists, who are overwhelmed with information.

It is difficult to have a standout profile and find newsworthy stories within tight deadlines.

Our school is over 115 years old, with its codes, accreditations, and “jargon” and it is crucial to differentiate ourselves in the highly competitive world of business schools. But that is our job. Trends around AI will make these challenges even more pressing and we will need to be even more creative, bring out emotion, and authenticity, and tell real stories with real people.

4. What are the top 3 tips you would give to communicators in business schools today?

  • Adapt to the channel! You need to think about your positioning and know how to step back from the messages conveyed. Above all put yourself in the receiver’s shoes, their code and expectations. Communicating on TikTok is not for everyone and the message will not be the same as on LinkedIn. Communication services are overwhelmed because the channels have multiplied. You need to be everywhere, and quickly! At ESSCA, we deploy our press relations internationally and we adapt to journalists’ expectations.
  • Don’t just talk about yourself! It is not easy because we all fall into this trap. Ultimately, on social media, on a website news item or in a press article, our audience wants to feel emotion. At the same time, orientation is a serious subject, where you need to be informed, know what accreditations mean, and understand the calendar, and the admissions routes…You need to be able to provide information while telling stories that will touch the target audience. Fortunately, in digital, we have many indicators to track the performance of our actions.
  • Stay on the lookout: UGC, influencers, AI, so many new topics! Our profession is evolving and we need to stay creative and find new ways to communicate. We spend our time thinking. It is a very intellectual profession that requires a lot of adaptability. Therefore, you need to create moments of inspiration, in dedicated salons, webinars or at events.

5. Are you working on any exciting new projects you would like to tell us about? Who will benefit from them?

We are currently working very closely on our website SEO and each step is exciting. It feels like every small step will lead to giant leaps. There are quick-win actions and others that are more complex and long-term. It is technical but a good service provider can make the process addictive! We also have a video project that will be different. The shoot is in January but I can’t tell you more!