Havas creates global customer experience network

Havas has created a global customer experience network bringing together its digital transformation, ecommerce, customer experience design and customer acquisition and engagement offerings under one umbrella.

Havas CX will bring together 1,200 people from across 20 agencies in Havas Creative, including BETC FullSix, Havas Helia and Ekino. It will span 18 major Havas Villages with key hubs in London, Paris, New York and Mumbai.

The move follows Havas launching the BETC FullSix agency model in Paris earlier this year and acquiring digital engagement shop Langoor, user experience agency Think Design and digital and transformation consultancy Gate One last year.

The agencies in the CX network currently work with clients including RB, Tesco, Starbucks and Canal+.

The Havas CX network will be led by global chief operating officer Yann Doussot (pictured below).

Yannick Bolloré, chairman and chief executive of Havas Group, said: "Having pursued an acquisition strategy of cutting-edge agencies in the customer engagement space over recent years, we feel the time is right to unify our agencies under one joined-up, global network brand.

"In Havas CX, we believe we have the most comprehensive customer engagement proposition the industry has to offer – and it's one we intend to continue to strengthen by hiring top talent and making further best-in-class acquisitions."

Vishnu Mohan, Havas Group chairman and CEO for India and Southeast Asia, said experience is key to brand value. "And it is with that intent we acquired Think Design, a leading player in design innovation, and Langoor, a digital agency led by creative technologists, in 2019," he said. "That added to our digital transformation expertise that came with acquisition of Ekino in 2015, which has presence Vietnam, India and Singapore. Bringing their combined expertise under a unified global network brand will add further momentum to our operations in this region as we continue to look for opportunities that add to our user experience capabilities.”

Chris Hirst, global chief executive of Havas Creative, explained that the majority of a customer's experience of a brand isn't through above-the-line ads but "their personal interactions".

"As technology advances, almost any conceivable purchase is just a couple of clicks away and the opportunities for brands to get it right, or wrong, are manifold," he said. "CX is the new battleground – and the brands that get it right will win, and those that don't will lose; it's as simple as that."