SUEZ | 148 did it

A guide that reflects the values of Agence 148

SUEZ wanted to circulate a brochure designed to raise awareness of everyday sexism among its employees, looking at all those little comments that are regularly exchanged in office environments and that appear not to mean anything, or might even make colleagues laugh, but are actually rather degrading. We are very pleased to have been chosen to produce this 18-page guide. Agence 148 is B-Corp-certified and as such we are committed to these issues of equality and respect for others.

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#ILLUSTRATION
#EDITION

Illustrations: humour as a tool for raising awareness

Agence 148 is very creative and produces communications materials with real zest!
Sophie Payenneville, Head of Communication and HR Marketing at SUEZ

SUEZ provided the texts and our role was to illustrate them, which was quite the challenge! This is a very sensitive subject that we decided to deal with using humour, to be hard-hitting but not too heavy. Axelle, our graphic designer, chose a light, almost naïve style as she wanted to leave room for interpretation and let employees question themselves and their own actions. Her monochrome drawings feature emphatic lines, an element of shading and nothing more. She has created characters that are portrayed in various office scenarios and uses speech bubbles to show them uttering some of those well-known little comments like "Fortunately we have the lovely Sandra, who will no doubt work her charm on this". The guide to fighting everyday sexism, commissioned by the head office in France, is intended to be circulated throughout the group's subsidiaries and has already been adapted in the Middle East and India, with modified versions also in the pipeline for Morocco, Australia and Spain. The guide is available in French, English and Spanish.

Adapting to the charter of a major international group

The other challenge was to maintain our creativity while adhering to the very restrictive SUEZ charter, which imposed a lot of constraints in terms of colours, the logo and the typography. We must have done a good job, as SUEZ chose to incorporate many more illustrations than expected into its guide; indeed, despite the original brief stating that there would be 3 or 4, in the end there were almost twice as many!

This guide has been a real success and has sparked a huge internal response
Sophie Payenneville, Head of HR Communication and Marketing at SUEZ

The aim was not to stigmatise but rather to provoke a response and open debate, and it worked. The guide not only addresses discrimination against women but also refers to the discrimination that men may experience as a result of, for example, their sexual orientation or physical appearance. Brigitte Grésy, General Secretary of the Conseil Supérieur à l’Egalité Professionnelle entre les Femmes et les Hommes ('High Council for Gender Equality at Work'), sent a (delightfully short) email congratulating SUEZ that read "Magnificent product, congratulations."

A global readership

The guide to fighting everyday sexism, commissioned by the head office in France, is intended to be circulated throughout the group's subsidiaries and has already been adapted in the Middle East and India, with modified versions also in the pipeline for Morocco, Australia and Spain.

We have established a trusting relationship with SUEZ
Camille Aguignier, Agence 148 Project Manager

Agence 148 has been working with SUEZ since 2012, mainly owing to the company's appeal, and has completed many print, event and digital productions (brochures, kakémonos, a stand, a terminal, an app, a website, etc.) over the years. The modest size of our agency allows us to be very responsive and to adapt quickly to the demands of an international client that is very concerned with its employer image and the fulfilment of its employees.