Six months before its completion, the experimentation of the Oui Pub system is more than ever criticized by professionals in the advertising printing sector, but also those in the entire paper industry, who fear the economic impact of a possible generalization, for a questionable environmental gain.
Initiated in 2021 in application of article 21 of the “Climate and Resilience” law, the experimentation of the Oui Pub system, the evaluation report of which was submitted to parliament at the end of October, gives consumers the choice of whether or not to receive leaflets and should make it possible to assess the environmental and economic impact of this development in relation to the Stop Pub system.
In reaction, the Circle of Alliesinitiated by Pub audit and bringing together some of the players linked directly or indirectly to printed advertising, is alarmed by the already harmful consequences of an experiment deemed biased and demagogic, and whose generalization, on the basis of a incomplete report, risks aggravating the “unprecedented” crisis in which the sector is plunged.
« The Oui Pub system, which is only an experiment, has already caused a lot of damage. Milee and its 10,000 job losses portend a possible end for a sector which has nevertheless made much progress in its ecological transition. No more paper means everything digital, to the detriment of our local commerce and a sovereign French industry, without any guarantee of environmental gain! “, summarize Loïc Verley and Arnaud Dubin, coordinators of the Cercle d’Alliés and respectively Managing Director and Associate Marketing and Sales Director of Pub Audit.
An experiment called into question
Among the main arguments put forward by this collective, we find in particular the very conception of the experiment, which was carried out without consultation with the members of the sector, and this since the Citizens’ Convention for the Climate, which is at the origin of the device.
The initiative is therefore considered as political as it is opportunistic, which is reflected in the experimental zones, which are not representative of the national territory and its population: in fact, the communities volunteering to carry out the experiment are often in charge of the waste management. “This approach represents a bias, to the extent that these communities are, moreover, constrained by waste reduction objectives. “, judges the Circle of Allies.
Catastrophic economic consequences
Furthermore, they have often not sufficiently informed citizens and consumers of the implementation of the experiment in their territory. Result ? Many brands and distributors have thrown in the towel and decided to stop distributing all leaflets in these territories, depriving themselves and thus depriving interested people of an essential promotional media, and this in the midst of a purchasing power crisis.
Thus, the economic consequences of the experiment are already catastrophic, like the judicial liquidation of Milee, which leads to the elimination of 10,000 jobs, in a printed advertising sector which has around 60 000. Beyond that, more than 310,000 jobs associated with the graphic paper ecosystem are also threatened, without forgetting those who will be impacted in the private brands of a communication channel efficient.
What gain for the environment?
Because brands’ advertising investments will necessarily shift online. “Advertising will be captured by digital players GAFAM and BATX at the expense of the local economic fabric, employment, and public finances“, recalls the Cercle d’Alliés, which questions as much about the environmental impact of digital uses, which are growing strongly, as about the competition that brands will face online, where pure-players, particularly Chinese, are flooding consumers of advertisements for low-end products sold in e-commerce.
At the same time, the collective recalls the efforts made by the paper industry to go green: “Who knows today that no trees are cut down in our forests to make paper?“, indicates the Circle of Allies, recalling that “the paper is submitted to the REP sectors and finances recycling to the tune of €80 million/year. The prospectus achieves a recycling rate of between 80 and 90%.“
Alternatives to Oui Pub
Consequently, the experiment, the aim of which is “to assess the environmental impact” of Oui Pub, and “its consequences on employment“, seems a failure. Conversely, the Cercle d’Alliés proposes a series of 7 measures aimed at regulating the distribution of advertising materials, including in particular the reduction of their formats and their paper weight, the establishment of a Summer advertising stop between July 15 and August 15 or the optimization of the distribution of prospectuses via the generalization of geomarketing studies.
Created in March 2024, the Circle of Allies is the informal grouping of all economic players linked directly or indirectly to advertising print and paper: from forestry to recycling, including paper makers, printers, distributors, but also advertisers and consumers. “It was born from a collective desire to preserve an already battered media which remains at the service of local commerce and the consumer”, indicates the collective, which notably brings together ADBAL (The Letterbox Distribution Association), Audit Média Communication, BD Media, Champar, Culture Papier, Federec (Professional Federation of Recycling Companies), GéoDiffusion / LeGroup , MGP Group, Nanotera, Norske Skog Golbey, Pub-audit and UNIIC (National Union of Printing and Communication Industries).
Source: www.ecommercemag.fr
