Havas Media Network’s First Ever Mx Celebration

Last month marked a moment that had immense meaning for Havas’ network – the first ever Mx Celebration! You can check out highlights of this virtual celebration that brought together Mx leaders and local champions from around the world to reveal the latest developments in Havas’ ongoing journey to deliver more meaningful media experiences to leading brands across the globe. It was an electrifying, unifying moment that showcased what Mx means to Havas’ network and how they are continually evolving to create meaningful media experiences that educate, empower, entertain, and drive change amidst an ever-evolving media landscape.

Mx is so much more than a process; it’s a way of thinking and behaving that defines what the team does and how they do it at Havas. It’s how they guide Havas’ clients to the media that matters most to people, which ultimately creates meaningful brands. To share the passion behind Mx that made this moment possible, the Havas team sat down with the hosts of this event, Dan Hagen, global EVP, Mx, Jamie Seltzer, global EVP CSA & Mx Analytics, Seema Patel, global managing director, Mx Intelligence, and Jon Waite, global managing director, Mx Design & Mx Activate, to talk about the Mx Celebration and why this process is so integral to everything Havas does.

Q> I know you live and breathe Mx, but what would you like to share with those who aren’t as familiar with this process?

Dan Hagen> I think it’s important to share that Mx is both a philosophy and a system within Havas Media Network. The philosophy has its roots in over 15 years of research Havas has committed to studying meaningful brands. What our Meaningful Brands study has shown is that more Meaningful Brands perform better, and our job is to drive that business performance by guiding clients’ investment to the media that people pay most attention to, where brands can create meaningful connections and where business outcomes can be proven. This is where Mx comes in – our process of identifying and activating those unique preferences into meaningful media experiences.

Q> As Havas evolves, how does Mx transform in turn to guide clients amidst today’s media landscape?

Jamie Seltzer> In today’s content rich, data-powered media landscape, meaningful media experiences have never been more relevant. We’re seeing consumption behaviour change and ad-free platforms grow, but ad-supported commercial models are also on the rise. Mx is constantly evolving to match these realities. With the depth of technology knowledge from our CSA network, we’re guiding clients on how to embrace data and technology as part of their media strategy. In collaboration with our music, sports, gaming, and fan activation experts within Havas Play, we’re leveraging branded content to enhance customer experience, and by leveraging the retail media experts within Havas Market, we’re harnessing shoppable media to drive transactions. Throughout all the media experience we create, we’re tailoring activation to make investments that are more sustainable, diverse, and inclusive to reflect both what we’re hearing from consumers and our commitments as an organisation.

Q> Tell me about this Mx Celebration. What was the impetus and goal of this virtual event?

Seema Patel> We launched Mx in the face of a global pandemic and I’m immensely proud of how the entire team quickly transitioned to virtual in this challenging time, but it was not the ideal environment to train and share insights on our new process. Over the following years it became clear that there were elements of Mx that really resonated with our local markets, but also areas where further clarity would be helpful, and recognized it was the perfect time to initiate a new era of Mx in 2024 with this virtual event. It was an opportunity to celebrate and unite our network behind this shared vision for creating meaningful media experiences, recognise the incredible team that works behind the scenes to evolve Mx, and give a whistlestop tour at what’s ahead in 2024.

Q> Anything else you’d like to share about Mx and this celebration?

Jon Waite> It’s important that things don’t stop here. As part of the celebration, we spent three days with Mx Champions from countries around the world working on plans for local Mx Celebrations and training sessions across 2024. Those plans are now being shared with country CEOs and will begin deployment from the beginning of Q2. We will also be following these in market trainings with regional sessions across the year to ensure as many people as possible get exposed to the details of Mx and the supporting data and technology layer within Converged. Please make sure you get involved!