ici Barbès

What ici Barbès does

ici Barbès is a Paris-based independent communication agency founded in 1982 (per company history) and now operating as the dedicated corporate-content brand of the Babel group following an October 2025 merger that united 45 specialists under the ici Barbès marque. The agency's legal operating entity is BABEL STRATÉGIE ET CRÉATION, SAS, with €7,564,000 in share capital, registered at 41 rue Greneta, 75002 Paris.

The agency's core offering is strategic direction and creation of corporate content, spanning internal magazines (e.g., Vivre EDF for 140,000 EDF employees quarterly, CQSP for CNES, Culture Bio for 740 Biocoop stores), annual reports (Covéa Finance, Apec), integrated 360° campaigns (pass Culture 'La culture c'est toi', FFC 'Les Bonnes Étoiles', Surfrider '_SOUS-MER'), employer-brand work (Mazars, VINCI), social media programs (Assurance Maladie 'Mes Tips Santé'), and a methodology-driven offering called iB CARE for audience decoding and employer brand. There is no proprietary technology platform; production is human-creative-led using standard editorial, design, and digital publishing tooling.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional-services fees, with new business won primarily via French public and private tenders (appels d'offres) and direct enterprise relationships. The customer base spans three primary segments — large French and international enterprises (EDF, SNCF, VINCI, Club Med, Biocoop, Coopérative U, Covéa Finance, Mazars, La Mutuelle Générale, Giphar), government and public institutions (CNES, pass Culture, Apec, ANDRA, Assurance Maladie, Transilien, Défenseur des Droits, Les entreprises s'engagent), and nonprofit/NGO organizations (Fédération Française de Cardiologie, La SPA, Surfrider Foundation Europe, Human Rights Watch, Art Explora, Sine Qua Non, COP1). Geographic reach is concentrated in France with selected multilingual campaigns (e.g., Human Rights Watch EU work). The agency holds a 3-star RSE Agences Actives certification, Ecovadis Gold (top 5% globally), and a 93/100 gender equality index, and has won Epica Silver, Kinsale Shark Bronze, and multiple French Grand Prix awards.

Name

ici Barbès

Legal name

BABEL STRATÉGIE ET CRÉATION

Website

https://icibarbes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paris-based independent communication agency and corporate-content brand of Babel (45 specialists), providing strategic content, internal magazines, annual reports, and 360° campaigns to French enterprises, government institutions, and nonprofits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Communication Agency Services: ici Barbès operates as a professional services firm providing strategic communication, content creation, and campaign development services to enterprises and organizations. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for communication consulting, creative services, and content production.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ici Barbès is an independent communication agency that provides strategic consulting, editorial direction, and creative production for corporate content. It designs and produces internal magazines, annual reports, multichannel communication campaigns, employer brand programs, and newsletters for large enterprises, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. The agency positions itself around the concept of 'nouveaux contenus corporate,' offering direction and coherence rather than mere content production.

Product overview

ici Barbès is a communication agency and content brand of the Babel group, comprising 45 specialists. The agency specializes in corporate content including internal magazines (CQSP, Culture Bio, Vivre EDF), annual reports, campaigns (La culture c'est toi, Les Bonnes Étoiles), newsletters (Recap), and strategic services (iB CARE). They position themselves as specialists in 'nouveaux contenus corporate'—directing corporate content strategy rather than merely producing it.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Culture Bio magazine Quarterly 68-page internal/client magazine for Biocoop, redesigned editorially and graphically and distributed in 740 stores with 230,000 copies per issue, aimed at Biocoop customers and store employees.
• CQSP (CNES Qui Se Passe ?) magazine 32-page quarterly internal magazine for CNES (French Space Agency), distributed to 2,400 employees three times per year, repositioned as a storytelling and decoding media for the space sector.
• Vivre EDF, le mag Quarterly 52-page internal magazine for EDF with 140,000 copies sent to employee homes, restructured as a news-magazine style editorial publication.
• Apec annual report 2023 2023 annual report for Apec built around ten questions about executive employment, combining a 32-page print version and a web platform with multimedia content.
• Covéa Finance 2024 activity report collection 2024 'Les Clés' collection for Covéa Finance: a hybrid mook/book annual report bundle with a 72-page activity report, 48-page ESG report, and 40-page financial report in French and English.
• La culture c'est toi campaign Multichannel cultural campaign for pass Culture targeting 15-20 year olds, including a 30-second film for digital and cinema, social media content on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, and print materials in cultural venues.
• Les Bonnes Étoiles campaign Campaign for the Fédération Française de Cardiologie promoting lifesaving gestures, centered on a Google Maps-based geolocated testimony map of cardiac arrest survivors and witnesses, deployed across web radio, digital display, and social media.
• iB CARE employer brand methodology Methodology offering (ici Barbès CARE) that helps clients strengthen employer brand and decode target audiences through an innovative 'Science des gens' (science of people) approach.
• Recap newsletter Periodic 'Recap' newsletter series sharing agency news, campaign highlights, and industry perspectives, used for prospect and client engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ Instagram followers for Mes Tips Santé health campaign
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BabelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025ici Barbès joined Babel, one of the most recognized independent agencies in the French market. The ici Barbès brand became the content brand of Babel, uniting 45 specialists to offer a strong and essential brand dedicated to new corporate contents. This represents a significant milestone for the agency, providing greater means, talents, and collective energy.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Marcel: Marcel is a French creative agency within the Publicis network known for bold creative work; it is directly comparable to ici Barbès in serving large French and international brands with strategic communication campaigns.
• Herezie: Herezie is an independent French creative agency similar in scale and independent positioning, competing for the same kinds of mid-to-large French enterprise creative briefs and RFPs as ici Barbès.
• La Maison: La Maison is an independent French communication agency with a similar service mix of strategic content, editorial, and corporate communications for major French clients, making it a close independent-agency peer to ici Barbès.
• Publicis Conseil: Publicis Conseil is the flagship French advertising and creative agency of the Publicis Groupe, competing in the same enterprise and public-sector corporate communications tenders that ici Barbès targets with campaign strategy and content production.
• DDB Paris: DDB Paris is a leading French creative network agency operating in the same strategic communications space, serving enterprise clients with campaigns, content, and brand work comparable to ici Barbès' core offerings.
• TBWA\\Paris: TBWA\\Paris is a major global creative network's French operation, competing head-to-head with ici Barbès on creative strategy and content campaigns for large French enterprises and institutions.
• Ogilvy Paris: Ogilvy Paris is the French hub of a global advertising and communications network, directly comparable to ici Barbès in servicing large enterprise and public-sector clients with integrated communication campaigns.
• BETC Paris: BETC is one of France's most awarded independent creative agencies (Havas-owned), serving the same mix of large French enterprises, public institutions, and consumer brands with strategic campaigns and content work, making it the closest direct comparator to ici Barbès in scale and positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Havas Paris: Havas is a global communications holding company whose French operations (including BETC, Havas Paris, Havas Events) span creative, media, health, and corporate communications, overlapping with ici Barbès' enterprise content work as part of a much broader portfolio.
• WPP: WPP is the world's largest advertising and communications holding group, with multiple French agency brands (Ogilvy, VMLY&R, Wunderman Thompson) overlapping with ici Barbès in enterprise content and strategic communications, though WPP's portfolio extends far beyond ici Barbès' specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ici-barb%C3%A8s
• Xx.com/iciBarbes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ici Barbès