Havas bets on integration as it strengthens Village model under Paddy Affleck
Havas has moved to strengthen its UK & Ireland Village model under a new leadership structure.
Patrick “Paddy” Affleck, currently CEO of Havas Media Network UK & Ireland and The Media Leader‘s 2024 Agency Leader of the Year, has been appointed to the newly created role of CEO of Havas UK & Ireland Village, which encompasses Havas Villages in London, Manchester and Dublin.
In the role, Affleck will assume responsibility across Havas’ media, creative data, CX, PR, consulting, employee branding and design capabilities. He will work alongside Havas Village UK chairman and group creative officer Mark Whelan and report to Havas Media Network global CEO Peter Mears and Havas Creative and Health Networks global CEO Donna Murphy.
In addition to Affleck, Havas has also appointed Gatetan Durocher as Havas UK & Ireland Village’s chief operating officer. Durocher will also continue his current role as CFO and COO of Havas Creative Network. Dominique Bergantino will also move into a newly created role of head of integration.
The new leadership team is rounded out by chief people officer Ewan MacPherson and chief impact officer Rosie Kitson, who will both be tasked with fostering a “cultural, collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit”.
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“In the face of increasing complexity, brands need strategic partners who unify thinking across disciplines, drive commercial clarity and bring pace, accountability and efficiency to execution,” Affleck commented. “This is where Havas truly comes into its own. We have an extraordinary mix of talent across media, creative, CX, production and specialist disciplines that are united by a common entrepreneurial culture that thrives on collaboration, creativity and a strong desire to solve challenges.”
Affleck joined Havas Media Group as its UK CEO in July 2020 after a 12-year career at Dentsu.
Over the past six years, Affleck has overseen the development of the umbrella Havas Media Network and the integration of AI-driven services through Havas’ Converged.AI platform while championing a leadership philosophy that emphasises progressiveness, adaptability and ethical practices through a variety of mental health initiatives.
Under Affleck, Havas Media Group’s UK business has doubled in size, with key clients including Red Bull, Ocado, Domino’s and the BBC.
The expanded Village model aims to create “a more connected growth hub” that offers clients seamless access to talent across disciplines. Agencies within the Village include Havas Media Network (inclusive of Havas Media, Arena Media, Havas Play, Havas Market ad Ledger Bennett); creative agency Havas London; customer experience agency Havas Helia; business transformation consultancy Gate One; employer branding agency Havas People; digital experience and technology consultancy Inviqa; brand and design consultancy Conran Design Group; communications agency Havas Red; and PR agency One Green Bean.
All such agencies’ leaders will report to Affleck, creating a centralised structure that allows Affleck to oversee both media and creative operations and, in theory, better break down siloes between teams.
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The move also reinforces London’s position as a core global business hub. Yannick Bolloré, Havas’ chairman and CEO, described the UK & Ireland — Havas’ third-largest country globally — as a “critically important growth market” for the company, where Havas has a “rich heritage” of collaboration through Village.
“We’re excited to unveil a new model and leadership for the market that deepens this collaboration and harnesses the power of integration excellence to benefit client growth,” Bolloré said. “Paddy’s ability to unite talent around client challenges makes him the natural leader to accelerate our integrated strategy across the UK & Ireland.”
The new structure will aim to address what Havas sees as a primary concern for brands: being viewed with indifference by consumers.
According to the Science of Desire research report, published by Havas in collaboration with behavioural science consultancy Mindscope at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, 84% of brands are viewed with indifference.
Brands, Havas leadership has argued, should stop trying to compete for visibility, and instead pivot to compete for “desirability” by developing strategies for attraction, affinity and attachment.
The research will eventually become a planning tool that clients can operationalise. Importantly, strategies aimed at increasing brand desirability will necessarily require close alignment between media and creative.
As Havas Media Network global chief strategy officer Joanna Lawrence told The Media Leader, planning for desirability lends itself to a more linked-up, consultative approach that goes beyond devising a media plan.
Havas research finds 84% of brands are viewed with indifference by consumers