Tout Faire celebrates tradespeople through a unique awareness campaign

As the major international competitions approach, Tout Faire wishes to remind that behind the stadiums, behind the sportsmen, there are other athletes, the craftsmen, who achieve feats every day, without whom nothing would be possible.

With 65% of its customers being professionals, Tout Faire has for several years observed a deteriorating image of the building trades in France. These prejudices are detrimental to the entire profession, and ultimately lead to difficulties in hiring, in finding new owners for what are often family-run businesses, and a devaluation of trades.

To measure this image deficit, Tout Faire, the independent builders’ merchants group, joined forces with OpinionWay to carry out a wide-ranging study entitled “What place for the construction and building trades in France? What are the challenges for the future?” involving 1,000 French people and 302 construction and building tradespeople. The aim was simple: to compare the general public’s perception of the building trades profession with that of the main stakeholders: the tradespeople themselves.

A divided perception of skilled trades in France

This study shows that the French remain very attached to the construction sector, particularly for its contribution to their heritage: 63% consider it important for the preservation of the French territory, and 59% for the beauty of our towns and villages. The sector’s economic dimension is not overlooked either: 84% consider skilled trades to be important to the French economy, and 57% to job creation in France.

On the other hand, 67% of French people think that the building trades are unrecognised, or even unappreciated. And yet, nearly three-quarters of the tradespeople surveyed are passionate about their trade: only 18% of them would choose another profession if the choice were open to them.

Unfortunately, these prejudices lead to day-to-day difficulties: 80% of tradespeople say they have hiring problems, and 70% believe their business will have difficulty finding a buyer. And yet, the stakes are high: to meet the challenges of the ecological transition, and more specifically, in energy renovation, skilled tradespeople will play a key role. Yet only 55% of French people believe that building contractors will play a leading role in the adoption of environmentally-friendly solutions.

A stand-out creative campaign

For many years, Tout Faire has been striving to modernise the world of skilled trades, for example by producing a YouTube show called C'est du Pro (That’s Pro), hosted by a Tout Faire member, which aims to present the latest news and decipher opportunities in the sector. This is part of a more global approach to adapting to the needs of tradespeople, such as store opening hours, or training store advisors to help them meet the challenges of energy renovation.

To highlight their commitment, Tout Faire and TBWA developed a new creative territory, teaming up with François Rousseau, a leading photographer renowned for his work on bodies, to showcase these people who perform feats on a daily basis. In addition to the shoot, a monumental tarpaulin measuring over 350m2 was created to pay tribute to the colossal work these people accomplish every day. As the major international competitions approach, Tout Faire wants to remind us that behind the stadiums, and behind the athletes, there are other athletes, the tradespeople, who accomplish incredible feats every day and without whom nothing would be possible. This “Célébrons les artisans” (Let’s celebrate tradespeople) campaign will be relayed over the long term, starting next week at the Tout Faire trade show in Lyon on January 24 and 25, and continuing throughout the year in the network of 450 Tout Faire outlets across France.