Havas' helia Unveils Punchy Proposition 'No Broken Promises'

helia, Havas’ specialist customer engagement agency, has unveiled a powerful and provocative new proposition: No Broken Promises. Based on the research-backed insight that customers are tired of brands overpromising and underdelivering, this new approach sees the agency, part of the Havas CX network, redefine its role as an enabler of its clients keeping their promises to consumers – closing the gap between brand promise and the lived customer experience.

This mission will underpin a transformation in the agency’s culture, its creative and strategic output, and its overarching approach to customer engagement as a discipline. This will inform everything from its visual identity and tone of voice, approach to new business and the client experience, to its employer brand experience.

It also sees the introduction of a number of new products and services, including a new diagnostic tool and approach to journey planning that enables the agency to decode its clients’ brand promise, understand how effectively this promise is delivered through the customer experience, and identify opportunities to better deliver on or exceed the promise.  

helia’s revamped positioning is supported by new research which highlights the size of the expectation gap between brands and consumers – and underlines the brands which keep their promises will be rewarded by their customers. It reveals:

• 80% of consumers expect the brands they choose to do their best to keep the promises they make.
• However, 63% agree there is still a gap between what most brands say they do and what they actually do.
• 55% are tired of broken promises made by brands using clever advertising and marketing but which fail to deliver good customer service.
• Crucially, 55% have stopped buying from a brand based on a poor experience or broken promise in the past 12 months.

It also reveals a significant opportunity – that customers will reward brands which keep their promises:

• 89% will make an active choice to buy that brand again.
• 79% will recommend the brand so others choose it too.
• 69% will leave a positive review.
• 52% will feel more inclined to pay a higher price.

The launch of the new proposition marks one year since David MacMillan was appointed to lead helia – a move which consolidated its leadership into one CEO, with the explicit intention of bringing its sites in London and Cirencester closer together to better exploit their complementary specialisms. Today, MacMillan has named his integrated, new-look leadership team – promoting managing partner Lynsey Stewart to the new role of executive head of client services to sit alongside MacMillan (CEO), Stuart Peddie and Ben Knight (executive creative directors), Lucy Halley (executive head of strategy), Mark Arnold (head of data consulting) and Ben Braiden (head of data and technology). The agency has also appointed Peter Holgate, formerly chief strategy officer at MRM UK, as its new deputy head of strategy.

The development of the new proposition – which tacitly acknowledges the promises made and too frequently broken by agencies themselves – was driven by this team, with input from Vonnie Alexander, Lead CRM/CX consultant at AAR Group.

Alexander says, “Trust is the bedrock on which the strongest relationships are built. And one of the hallmarks of a strong, trusting relationship is the ability to have difficult conversations when the need arises. While no brand actively sets out to break a promise to its customers, in reality, that’s exactly what can happen – and it’s damaging those brands. No Broken Promises is a bold client/agency ‘pact’ that allows for healthy conversation and a mutual and collective holding to account – which can only be a positive for brands, agency, and, ultimately, consumers.”

David MacMillan, CEO of helia, says, “We know keeping promises builds trust and confidence in a brand, and if we get everything right maybe even love. Yet the gap between brand promise and the lived customer experience has never been greater. Through this new proposition, we’re determined to drive improvements in the customer experience, ensuring relevance and resonance in what the brand does – not just what it says it does.

“No Broken Promises is a strong articulation of this new, more confident approach – not just closing the expectation gap, but consistently exceeding customers’ expectations. We’re unashamedly making the case for investing less in customer acquisition and more in retention – by honouring the promises you’ve made to individual customers you have. It’s time for agencies to find our voice, champion the consumer, and persuade clients to push harder to refine their proposition.”