Video agency in Saint-Étienne: UGC, TikTok and creative ads
Saint-Étienne is the only French city recognised by UNESCO as a City of Design, and it still makes things: mechanical parts, medical textiles, chocolate.
Scroll to learn more ↓︎Shooting, editing and publishing for brands in Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is the only French city recognised by UNESCO as a City of Design, and it still makes things: mechanical parts, medical textiles, chocolate. The city has 173,136 residents according to Insee's 2023 reference population, at the heart of a metropolitan area that claims more than 31,550 companies. For a brand, that means workshops to film, SME owners to win over and a compact, retail-focused city centre. Esekai, a Paris studio that has worked with more than 350 brands, comes to you: a video agency for Saint-Étienne that shoots UGC, TikTok and creative ads on location.
See our work173,136 Stéphanois and the country's second-largest SME cluster
The city has regained residents: 172,569 in the 2022 reference population, 173,136 in 2023, according to Insee figures relayed by the town hall, which is 567 more from one edition to the next and 571 more than in 2017. It is not a boom, it is a stable base, and that is precisely what matters for a brand that wants to settle in for the long term. Saint-Étienne Métropole presents itself as the second-largest cluster of SMEs and mid-sized manufacturers after the Île-de-France. In practice, many purchasing decisions here are made by an owner-manager, often present on the workshop floor and not very receptive to slick spots. What works with them: a short video in which a peer talks about their production problem, shot without artifice and distributed on LinkedIn to decision-makers in the Loire and Haute-Loire. On the consumer side, a city of this size allows you to test a hook locally before extending it to the region.
Engineering and medical textiles, two industries to show up close
The metropolitan area describes itself as France's leading engineering hub, with 24,000 jobs in metalworking and mechanical engineering and 4,500 industrial companies, according to its economic website. The names cited range from HEF Groupe to Siléane, Setforge, Haulotte, Thales Angénieux and Clextral, in fields such as photonics, additive manufacturing and surface treatment. These companies are looking for technicians and machinists: a TikTok series in which an operator explains their job in thirty seconds, with shots of swarf and control screens, speaks to an apprentice more than a brochure does. The other sector is health textiles, claimed as number one in Europe with 2,000 direct jobs, led by Thuasne, Gibaud and Sigvaris. For an orthosis or a compression sock, a UGC video in which a healthcare professional shows how to fit it, with the script reviewed by regulatory affairs, explains the product better than a catalogue.
From râpée to shop windows in the centre: what local businesses give you to film
Stéphanois cooking comes from working-class kitchens: râpée de pommes de terre, barboton, fourme de Montbrison, pogne. A râpée turning golden in the pan, filmed in tight close-up with the sound of cooking, makes a restaurant Reel that stands on its own, with no voice-over. At a Saint-Étienne chocolatier, the tempering, the roasted bean and the bar turned out of its mould are images that work as organic TikTok around Easter and Christmas. For a shop, we like to film a real customer discovering the item, in UGC format, rather than a product presentation. Visitors to the mining museum or the Le Corbusier site in Firminy form a second audience, to be targeted during the holidays.
Couriot, Crêt de Roc and the Biennale: where and when to set up the camera
The headframe of the puits Couriot, now a mining museum, gives an industrial backdrop that is instantly readable, with a park around it for outdoor shots. The Cité du design, set on the site of the former Manufacture d'armes, and the Halles Barrouin offer clean volumes for a furniture or tech brand. The steps of the Crêt de Roc and its views over the rooftops suit lifestyle formats. The calendar matters: the Biennale Internationale Design 2025 drew 71,900 visitors over six weeks, according to the assessment relayed by IF Saint-Étienne, including 32,400 for Biennale en fête, the weekend events between the Cité du design and the Halles Barrouin. On match nights at Geoffroy-Guichard, the stadium named after the founder of Casino, green shirts fill the streets and bars. In winter, snow is not unusual on these hills: plan an indoor fallback.
From Châteaucreux to the workshop: how a shoot unfolds
We reach Saint-Étienne by train to Châteaucreux station, then the tram to the centre, or by road when the lighting kit is heavy. Before departure, a framing call fixes the messages, the formats (creative ads, UGC, organic TikTok) and the shot list. For a factory, we ask in advance for the safety rules, the PPE and the areas not to be shown, then frame accordingly. A typical day starts in the workshop: production gestures, two or three pieces to camera from operators. At midday, a restaurant or a shop for Reels. In the afternoon, a UGC creator shoots several hooks in the street or at home, so that there is enough to test different openings on Meta and TikTok. Editing is done in Paris, with versions for each platform: what you expect from a TikTok agency in Saint-Étienne is to leave with versions ready to publish, not rushes.
Why creative ads deliver better results
An ad that looks like an ad gets skipped in a second. A creative ad works on the hook, the message and the format so it is watched to the end, then tested and adapted for as long as it converts.
Get resultsContent built to capture, engage and convert
Our approach to creative ads
Every video is designed to be tested, measured and then improved.
Strategy & audience analysis
Market, goals and audiences: we choose the angles to test.
Visual creation & ad copywriting
Scripts, shooting and editing to each platform's codes.
Testing, iteration & continuous optimisation
We compare the variants and roll out the winners.
Frequently asked questions about our video production studio
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