Nordic Companies: Adapting Your Communications to the French Media

Effective communication, but not one you can copy-paste

Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish companies arrive in France with real strengths: understated products, strong environmental commitments, a culture of transparency and proven ways of working. Their communication style, very direct and often in English, however sits badly with the French press.

Three adaptations you need

Write in French, properly

In the Nordics, English is the natural language of business. In France, the national press publishes in French and expects releases, press kits and interviews in French. A non-French-speaking spokesperson needs preparation or a local support.

Link your story to a French debate

Ecological transition, organisation of work, industrial sovereignty, innovation: your Nordic strengths become journalistic subjects when they answer a French question. An environmental commitment is better told with a target, a figure and proof.

Prove the local market

The French reader's doubt is about durability: do you have a team in France, French clients, a long-term commitment? A named France manager, an office, local references are more reassuring than international success.

Media to target first

• National business press for the market-entry announcement
• CSR and ecological transition media, which readily pick up Nordic models
• Tech and innovation press if your offer is digital
• Trade press in your sector, often the most commercially effective

The most common mistakes

• Running France from Stockholm, Copenhagen or Helsinki with no local contact
• Publishing releases in English first
• Announcing without an identified spokesperson or French figures

How we help

Sophie Candau Communication builds press relations strategy for Nordic companies in France: a French message, ready-to-publish content, journalist outreach and monthly coverage reporting.