Havas Group today announced it will be creating a new agency in
Australia, bringing together two of its advertising agencies, Host and
Havas Sydney to become Host/Havas.
This move further expands the
Group's capabilities and is the next step for the Australian business in
delivering the Havas global "together" strategy that sees the
co-location of its agencies in Villages to advance significant
opportunities for clients and its staff.
The new Host/Havas
creative agency will have a combined team of 220 people, around 100 of
whom are digital specialists. This is complemented by a further 120
people at sister agencies Red Agency and Havas Media which are also
based in the Havas Village Sydney on Clarence Street.
Says
Anthony Freedman (above right), chairman Havas Group ANZ: "We have an
amazing opportunity to bring together two great agencies to create one
bigger, brilliant one. Host/Havas will be one of the largest agencies in
Sydney, where cut-through creativity meets state-of-the-art marketing
science. It will blend network scale with start-up spirit and is another
important step in our successful Better Together global strategy."
The
agency will be led by Host CEO Laura Aldington (above centre), who
becomes CEO of Host/Havas and she will be supported by current Havas
Sydney managing director, Dan Smith (above left), who assumes the MD
role of Host/Havas. The remainder of the new agency's management team
will include all senior personnel from both Host and Havas Sydney, with
the exception of Anthony Gregorio (below left), group CEO of Havas, who
will be leaving the agency.
Says
Freedman: "I would like to take the opportunity to thank Anthony for
his huge contribution over many years. He leaves a phenomenal legacy and
we wish him every success in his future endeavours."
Says
Gregorio: "I'm very proud of the businesses I have helped to build
during my 15 years with the Havas Group in Australia. In particular over
the last five years, Havas has become well known for its integrated
approach to brand building across creative, PR and media. Host/Havas
will be an exciting new proposition for the Group in Australia, but I
feel this is the perfect opportunity to draw a line under my Havas
adventure and look for new opportunities after a well-earned break. I
wish Anthony, Laura, Dan and the rest of the Host/Havas team and the
wider Havas Village, the very best."