Allianz France: Boosting Visibility, Engagement, and Savings with Employee Advocacy

Allianz, a global player and European leader in insurance, operates in over 70 countries with nearly 157,000 employees worldwide. In France, Allianz leverages the expertise and talent of its 7,500 employees and 10,000 commercial intermediaries. Allianz France uses Poppulo to turn its employee advocacy program into a driver of visibility and engagement. Thanks to its 500 employee ambassadors, Allianz reaches millions of views and generates thousands of clicks on social media. This program, which combines training, gamification, and access to diverse content, allows employees to gain skills and showcase their expertise online. In doing so, Allianz strengthens its brand image, particularly its commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Employee Advocacy at Allianz France: A Pillar of the Communication Strategy

As part of its activities, Allianz France places a strong focus on themes such as prevention, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and employer branding. To amplify the visibility of its commitments and values, Allianz launched an employee advocacy program using Poppulo.

Introduced in 2021, the program transforms willing employees into brand ambassadors on social media. Julie Dremière explains:
“Our employee advocacy program is based on the voluntary participation of our employees, reflecting their commitment and long-term motivation.”

Currently, Allianz France boasts over 800 ambassadors, including 300 in its expertise and advisory branch.

Here are the choices made by Allianz to drive its employee advocacy program.

The Program’s Pillars

Training and Skill Development

The employee advocacy program goes beyond amplifying the brand’s voice. It also provides employees with opportunities for training and digital skills development. Regular LinkedIn workshops and conferences on emerging technologies like the Metaverse, NFTs, and artificial intelligence are part of the initiative. Julie notes :

Enhanced Visibility and Influence

The program allows ambassadors to become visible figures on social media. Julie highlights:
“Our ambassadors genuinely feel empowered to contribute to the visibility of Allianz France’s updates, but they also recognize that the program provides valuable content to expand their networks, expertise, and leadership, particularly on LinkedIn.”

Diverse Content

To sustain ambassador engagement, Allianz offers varied content through the Poppulo platform. Beyond corporate posts, employees access industry news and articles on topics like HR and sustainability. This enables ambassadors to share relevant content on social media while enhancing their expertise.

Engagement and Belonging

The program fosters a sense of belonging and pride among employees. Internal events like conferences and photo sessions are organized specifically for ambassadors, boosting their engagement and motivation.
“To raise awareness and familiarize employees with the program, we host internal events. These gatherings provide ambassadors with opportunities to grow their internal network, interact with peers, and acquire new skills,” Julie explains.

Gamification and Playful Engagement

Allianz France energizes its employees with challenges aligned with communication campaigns and key annual events. In addition to content-sharing contests for boosting visibility, quizzes and sports predictions (e.g., for the Euro Cup or rugby) keep the community engaged. During slower periods, reward-based challenges maintain motivation. This gamification element adds a touch of fun, strengthening friendly competition and making participation more appealing.

Contributions to Sports and CSR Initiatives

Sports and CSR initiatives are key components of Allianz France's communication strategy. The employee advocacy program supports these initiatives by highlighting the company’s commitments via dedicated Poppulo channels and gamifying ambassador participation. For example, the most active ambassadors are rewarded with trees to plant in the Allianz Forest, leveraging the Poppulo Trees feature—a perfect alignment with the company’s sustainability goals.

Partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

As a sponsor of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Allianz France leveraged its employee advocacy program to maximize the impact of this partnership. Employees actively participated in communicating about the Games, sharing their experiences and emotions tied to the event.

The employee advocacy of the ambassadors at Allianz have brought the following results.

Results of the Employee Advocacy Program

Recent data from Allianz France’s employee advocacy program (June 2024) demonstrates its significant impact on brand visibility and reputation:

• 500 Active Ambassadors, with a 92% utilization rate
• 3.8M Total Reach on social media
• 756 Pieces of Content shared by employees
• 7,236 External Clicks generated by ambassador posts

These figures highlight the program’s effectiveness in amplifying Allianz France’s voice and sustainably strengthening its brand image on social media.

Additionally, Allianz France achieved approximately €200,000 in savings in Equivalent Paid Media (EPM) in 2023, thanks to employee ambassador activities.

Multiple features in Poppulo have helped in this program.

Poppulo’s Impact on Allianz France’s Program

Poppulo significantly enhances Allianz France’s employee advocacy program with intuitive and engaging features:

• Interactive Engagement: Employees can interact directly with posts, creating an engaging dynamic.
• Efficient Sharing: Quick engagement on social media ensures effective message dissemination while optimizing publication time.
• Poppulo Trees: Rewarding the most active ambassadors with trees to plant adds a sustainable and motivating element.
• Ask AI: A new feature enables employees to generate optimized posts quickly.

Finally, personalized support from a dedicated Customer Success Manager ensures tailored responses to Allianz France’s specific needs, maximizing program efficiency and impact.

With Poppulo, Allianz France successfully transformed its employees into true brand ambassadors, enhancing its online presence and reputation. The employee advocacy program not only increased the visibility of the company’s commitments, but also fostered skill development and a strong sense of belonging among employees, creating a positive dynamic for the future.