Manila, Philippines – Integrated communications company Havas Ortega in the Philippines has appointed Jay Lim as its newest chief operating officer for Havas Media Group in the country. Said appointment took effect on 1 February this year.

Through his new role, Lim will be responsible for the continued growth of the Havas Media and Arena Media brands of the Havas Media Group. He will also contribute to the introduction of new products and services in 2022 and beyond.

In addition, he will be reporting directly to Hermie De Leon, currently Havas Media Group’s chief executive officer and Havas Ortega’s managing partner.

He brings into the company two decades of experience in strategy, analytics, and client management, where his most recent previous role was being the general manager and chief media officer at Publicis Media.

During his stint at Publicis Media for the past five years, he has built a track record of leading its agency brands with transformational changes that led to business growth.

De Leon also announced that Lim’s appointment is part of the transition plan the agency has put in place to ensure business continuity as she prepares for her eventual retirement late this year.

“I look forward to working closely with Jay as we collaborate on bringing the Havas Media Group to greater heights. His brand of leadership and experience in strategy and analytics is a huge asset to us as we create meaningful media experiences for our clients and brands,” De Leon said.

Meanwhile, Jos Ortega, CEO at the Havas Ortega Group, commented, “Jay will bring a fresh perspective to the agency as we elevate our position in a rapidly changing media environment. He will definitely play a key role in helping us achieve our mission of creating a meaningful difference to brands, to businesses, and to people.”

Melbourne, Australia – As the city of Victoria emerges from its lockdown due to COVID-19, energy provider Momentum Energy has rolled out its newest campaign with creative agency Havas Media, which ‘takes over’ Flinders Street Station with human-sized ‘bottles of happiness’.

The campaign encourages Melbourne commuters to ‘Get Happy’, created by Momentum Energy’s in-house creative team, in which the human-sized bottles contain happiness-inducing content at Flinders Street Station, supported across multiple touch points including radio, OOH, online video, digital and social.

Said bottles are classified to the following: one jar contains ‘wishing stars’ that come with a ‘supanova-free guarantee’. Meanwhile, the second is a party pack of brightly colored ‘rainbow seeds’ for those who’d like to grow their own organic, full-spectrum rainbow, and lastly, the third is an 80% unicorn and 20% acrylic blend of ‘warm fuzzies’ to provide relief from 2021.

Furthermore, the campaign will take on a digital form where through bespoke display medium rectangle ads (MRECs) the designs of the human-sized bottles and their corresponding creative content will be shown to ‘spark joy’ as well as social content showcasing how people can make their own DIY ‘bottles of happiness’ at home.

According to the company, they believe that Australians not only deserve a boost of happiness as they venture out again, but that their choice of power company should make them feel good too.

Kate Lightfoot, creative lead at Momentum Energy stated, “We’re stoked to welcome people back to the city with these giant jars of imaginary nonsense. Walking around them makes you feel like a kid again and they’re an impactful reminder that Momentum is here to help Victorians get happy.”

The human-sized bottles are designed to evoke a delightful sense of childlike wonder and excitement, while reminding passers-by they can get similar happy vibes from their choice of power company.

Meanwhile, Sarah Cook, associate account director at Havas Media Melbourne, commented, “Our timing with the station domination is impeccable. It’s a great feeling to help spread some happiness and bring a smile to everyone venturing out via Flinders Street Station and reclaiming the love for our city.

Australia – Havas Media Group in Australia, the media arm of global marketing and communications group Havas, has announced the appointment of Carolyn Keegan, to assume the newly created role of ad operations director.

The new role will see Keegan ensuring best practices across data and ad operational capabilities for Havas Media’s overall clients. She will be working alongside the digital account team and clients, and will be leading a team of specialists, ensuring high standards around campaign management, as well as helping clients understand the value of data as they drive growth.

Prior to joining Havas Media Group, Keegan worked as the team lead of campaign operations at media company Nine. She also worked as the senior campaign manager at independent women’s media group Mamamia, and in an earlier stint at Nine, she held various roles, spanning advertising sales, campaigns, and audience, as well as programmatic and technical operations. 

“I look forward to working alongside Kevin and the digital team at Havas Media, as we continue to build on existing data capabilities and ensure a seamless experience for our clients. I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to step into this role and join such a dynamic agency,” commented Keegan, regarding her appointment.

Meanwhile, Kevin Fernandes, Havas Media’s head of products, shared that in the past year, they have made massive strides as an agency to refocus on the importance of keeping consumers at the heart of all media experiences, and this has led to even more important reasoning around how data sits across all their brands. 

“Carolyn’s vast experience and meticulous work ethic will not only help accelerate the digital transformation clients are demanding, but it will also help tick every box when it comes to best in class and secure management of our client’s data assets. We’re all excited to have Carolyn onboard,” said Fernandes.

In May this year, Havas Media Group also announced the elevation of Francis Coady to the newly created role of chief marketing officer. He was tasked to lead all internal and external marketing and communications, and existing client and new business relations, as well as overseeing creative content media campaigns.

Melbourne, Australia – Global research technology platform Glow has announced the appointment of Matt Houltham as the firm’s first-ever chief marketing officer.

Prior to his new stint at Glow, he had already served with Glow as one with the firm’s advisory board for two years.

Houltham was previously the CEO of Havas Media ANZ, in which he vacated said position last December after five years at the company. He was initially the group managing director of integrated agency Havas Melbourne, before expanding his remit to include responsibility for Havas Media across ANZ. 

“It is quite a jump to the left for me, after two decades of championing agency life. I’ve always loved working with emerging businesses. It meant I got to help them in a more holistic way – with brand as well as marcomms and often stretching into product and service experience,” Houltham stated.

He has also had previous stints with creative agency Naked Communications as managing director for its Australian market.

“The intrigue for me has always been the opportunity to apply a mix of skills to the challenge of simultaneously building the product/brand/experience with limited resources. It’s why I’ve sat on a number of advisory boards in the past few years, including Glow’s, and spent the first half of this year consulting to start-ups and agencies,” he added.

Speaking about his new position at Glow, he said that he feels privileged to have joined their ‘small but perfectly formed’ crew, adding that they have an awesome product – a consumer research platform that helps businesses big and small make better commercial decisions – but they also have a strong sense of purpose which was really important to him.

Meanwhile, Tim Clover, founder and CEO at Glow, stated that he was delighted to secure the services of Houltham.

“We have worked with Matt for a couple of years and it seemed a natural progression to bring him on full-time to bolster our senior management team at a time when we are growing quickly and expanding internationally,” Clover commented.

In recent months Glow has hired talent in Australia, the UK and Asia as well as appointing several new senior members to their advisory board, including US research industry veteran and entrepreneur Sima Vasa, and 99designs co-founder and tech veteran Lachlan Donald.

Australia – As part of its continuous effort to promote self-love, beauty brand The Body Shop has brought its global campaign ‘Self Love Uprising’ to its Australian audiences, to further defy category norms, drive social change, and inspire one million acts of self-love.

Done in collaboration with advertising agency Havas Media Melbourne, creative communications firm Marilyn & Sons, and stylist Deni Todorovic, as well as mindset coach Allira Potter, the campaign aims to ensure that its self-love message feels personal and close to home for young Australians.

For the campaign, the brands’ PR and influencer agency, Havas Village’s One Green Bean, brought together local self-love contributors including social media star Abbie Chatfield, feminist writer Clem Ford, and appearance activist Carly Findlay, to tell their stories and self-love journey in a series of videos online and through OOH placements.

In addition, a series of videos featuring Todorvic and Potter will be launched, with the aim to encourage people, particularly young women, to join the movement across YouTube. A full-funnel social strategy will also ensure that target audiences won’t be able to open Instagram and Facebook without seeing its self-love message.

The Body Shop’s Deputy Brand and Activism Director Jessica Styles said they really wanted to elevate the storytelling behind Todorovic and Potter’s self-love journeys and the work with Havas Media Melbourne did just that. 

“We loved how they encouraged us to be bold with the placement of our content and focus on platforms that shine a spotlight on their inspiring stories. Because of this, we are thrilled to say that we have already inspired one million acts of self-love, hopefully with many more to come, encouraging Aussies to rise up and create positive change in the world,” said Styles.

Meanwhile, Naomi Johnston, general manager of Havas Media Melbourne, commented that it has been inspiring to work on the global campaign movement, completely brand-led and focused on raising awareness around the impact of self-doubt and inspiring acts of self-love. 

“It is quite special to work with a client with shared values and beliefs. At Havas, we believe in delivering meaningful media experiences for meaningful brands. This campaign is the complete embodiment of that belief,” said Johnston.

The ‘Self Love Uprising’ campaign is already running in digital large format and high-impact street furniture across Melbourne and Sydney, with a QR code allowing audiences to find their way to the ‘Self-Love Hub’ where they can explore ways to practice self-love.

Australia – Havas Media Group in Australia , the media division of global marketing and communications group Havas, has promoted Francis Coady, former general manager of Havas Sports and Entertainment, to the newly created role of chief marketing officer.

Coady is an entertainment veteran with 20 years of experience working across various industries such as music, film, partnership, and content, as well as media, and marcoms. He has previously established the Havas Sports and Entertainment division, building it into a multimillion dollar-billing operation. Coady has won large-scale clients and produced award-winning campaign work for brands such as Gillette, LG, and Virgin, as well as Red Bull, and Destination NSW, among others.

Prior to joining Havas five years ago, Coady has previously worked as a director at management consultancy firm The Coady Group, where he managed artists including Thirsty Merc and Hi-5. He has also created and spent 13 years producing the Bondi Short Film Festival.

In his new role, Coady will be responsible for all internal and external marketing and communications, and existing client and new business relations. He will also be overseeing creative content media campaigns.

Commenting on his appointment, Coady said, “Our job as marketing professionals is to entertain, engage, and educate. The last five years working at Havas Media have given me the opportunity to bring this philosophy to life, with the support of incredible leadership, a smart, empathetic team, which has fostered a culture that is always focused on doing work with meaning.” 

Meanwhile, Havas Media Group CEO Virginia Hyland shared that Coady has made an outstanding contribution to their business after building the specialist sports and entertainment division from scratch.

“The creation of the CMO position not only recognizes Francis’ exceptional track record over the past five years, but it will also enable us to leverage his broad cross-industry expertise to grow the agency and the strength of our amazing client partnerships,” said Hyland.

A formal announcement on Coady’s internal replacement will be communicated shortly.

Australia – Havas Media Group, the media division of global marketing and communications group Havas, has promoted Nick Kavanagh, former head of integrated communications strategy, to the newly created role of head of integrated strategy and planning.

Kavanagh is a veteran communications strategist with experience working in both media and advertising agencies. Prior to joining Havas, he previously worked as the head of communications strategy for marketing services company McCann London, helping to develop both the agency product and overseeing strategy on clients including state agency Destination NSW and department store company TK Maxx.

Commenting on his appointment, Kavanagh said that the expansion of his role from head of strategy, coupled with the agency’s recent hires, will ensure Havas Media’s goal to continue delivering meaningful media experiences – experiences that are both “innovative and data-driven” – that deliver tangible commercial returns.

“As a leadership team, we are committed to building an agency designed wholly around generating growth for our clients. This obviously requires agility and deep understanding of their specific needs and challenges, but also a more integrated approach to how we deploy our collective agency expertise to meet them,” added Kavanagh.

Meanwhile, Virginia Hyland, the CEO of Havas Media Group, commented, “We are thrilled to be promoting from within again, and Nick is very deserving of this exciting new role. As head of integrated strategy and planning, Nick will continue to develop Havas Media’s strategic output to deliver joined-up thinking across the consumer pathway touchpoints. He will oversee the delivery of that strategic vision in a way that unites all facets of our integrated agency offering; from CRO, shopper marketing, performance digital, brand work, and smart content delivery.”

Havas Media Group has also announced the recent appointments of Alex Wollacott, the new performance director, and Dan Johns, the new managing partner.

Australia – Havas Media Group, the media division of global marketing and communications group Havas, has appointed Alex Wollacott, former activation account director at Omnicom Media Group’s digital marketing agency, Resolution Digital Australia, to assume the newly created role within the agency – performance director.

Wollacott brings with her over six years of strategic skills and experience. She has previously worked across search, social, and programmatic, as well as SEO channels, and managed a team to deliver digital strategy and implementation for top-tier media clients. In her most recent role, Wollacott led digital activation channels for clients in the tech, FMCG, finance, and leisure verticals. 

Commenting on her appointment, Wollacott said, “I’m thrilled to be joining an agency with such an impressive reputation for a wide range of capabilities and services. The opportunity to work with Virginia and the team to drive the continued success and growth of the Havas Performance offering was impossible to pass up.”

Meanwhile, Adam Steward, the head of performance at Havas Media Group, shared, “I’m very excited to work alongside Alex and continue to expand our Performance Media leadership team. Her experience and passion for making media drive success for clients make her a valuable addition to our rapidly expanding media team. I am looking forward to building on the fantastic momentum that we already have with Alex.”

Havas Media Group has also announced the recent appointment of Dan Johns, the new managing partner.

Australia – Havas Media Group, the media division of global marketing and communications group Havas, has tapped Dan Johns, former chief operating officer of media and marketing solutions agency IPG Mediabrands, to be its managing partner.

The newly created role will help further drive the digital and data capabilities of the business and will report directly to Virginia Hyland, the CEO of Havas Media Group.

Johns brings with him 27 years of experience as a senior executive in two known media agencies, namely IPG Mediabrands and Ikon. He has also previously founded independent consultancy Ippon, which has provided strategic and operational advice to a variety of blue-chip marketing businesses including advertisers, agencies, and media owners. Johns specializes in digital and data businesses, including audience buying, digital experience, and social marketing agencies. He will be joining Havas Media Group at an exciting time as the network accelerates its investment into data-driven, performance, and e-commerce capabilities.

Commenting on his appointment, Johns said, “The last three years working as an independent consultant to some of Australia’s most successful brands have been both a liberating and eye-opening experience. I am really looking forward to putting into practice all that I have learned to help Havas Media Group fast track its ambitions.”

Meanwhile, Hyland said that Johns is one of the most respected senior media operators within the industry, and believes that he will bring enormous digital, data, and technology capabilities to marketers who continue to focus on driving growth for their brands. 

“We are incredibly excited and proud to have someone of Dan’s caliber join our rapidly growing group as we continue to innovate and evolve. Dan’s wealth of experience will undoubtedly benefit our team and our clients, helping to elevate our thinking and capability in the ever-changing dynamic media landscape,” added Hyland.