India is a country full of opportunities: Yannick Bolloré, Chairman & CEO, Havas Group
At the CEO Power Evening, hosted by BW Businessworld, Bolloré spoke about India's culture of innovation, the collaborative model of working and the need for agencies to recast content

At the recently held CEO Power Evening, hosted by BW Businessworld, Yannick Bolloré, Chairman & CEO, Havas Group spoke to Vani Gupta Dandia, Co-Founder and CEO, Benddit about India’s growing relevance for the group, the concept of collaboration through its village model and the need to re-imagine the agency structure in a fast changing world.
Asked about what excites him about the Indian market and what kind of potential he saw in terms of business here, Bolloré said, “India is a country full of opportunities and for us it is a very important place to invest. It is a country with a culture of innovation. India is also a country with the highest Facebook and WhatsApp users and has a great sporting culture like cricket, and when it comes to cinema it is the No. 1 movie producing country in the world. So for us we have no other option than to be present in this country. We also have a mandate to take acquisition of three new companies. So we will multiply by three the number of Havas people in the coming months.”
Bolloré also spoke about the village concept, a collaborative model which seeks to foster deeper engagement among agency teams and make agencies more agile and efficient.
“I took over as Havas CEO in August 2013. We were not as big as we are today, we were only 15,000 colleagues around the world at that time. There was also a complex agency structure with creative on one side, media on the other, digital and mobile on yet another side; everyone was working in silos and there was less team interaction. So I came up with a model that was more efficient, more agile and easy to work with, and it meant combining all the different people and integrating them. The results were amazing. Havas has had the best commercial performance in the entire industry.”
Everybody is trying to bring different agency functions under one roof and it has often become difficult for agencies to reinvent and become truly integrated. Responding to how this challenge can be addressed, Bolloré said, “In my experience, every situation is different. There is no magic wand and there is no secret formula, it requires lot of passion and a lot of pragmatism. I think creating a culture is very important and I think it’s very important to find creative ways of being financed.”
In an age where consumers are becoming more cynical about advertising, Bollore spoke about how agencies could recast content to make messaging more receptive.
“The kind of content that is being produced today is huge. There is a recent report which states that 40 million hours of content is uploaded on YouTube and other social media platforms every day. So there are two ways of looking at it: one as a challenge where it is leading to saturation. But I see this new paradigm and this new reality as a great opportunity.”
“We understand consumers better than any other industry in the world and this deep knowledge about consumers and content gives us an opportunity to produce engaging content. So I see this over-fragmented media world as a big opportunity and I look at the future of our industry with great excitement,” Bolloré added.
Responding to a question about data-led insights and human creativity, and the interplay between the two, Bolloré said, “Before we arrive at the stage of creativity, we go through the stage of strategy. So to have a great creative idea, there has to be a good strategy in place and to put this strategy together you have to use data. We are investing in data and research, and data is key to our job. When we advise clients there is lot of data behind that.”
Speaking about Vivendi (the parent company of Universal Music Group and Canal Plus Group which has almost 95 per cent per cent stake in Havas) and how he sees music working for Havas, Bollore said, “We are the world leaders in the music industry. In India, if you move away from the movie industry, we are the No. 1. It is very interesting to note what happened to the music industry. Remember in 1999-2000 when Steve Jobs invented iPhone, piracy had started. From 2000 to 2016, there was decline in revenues and loss of 50 per cent of the value of the music industry. What is interesting is that during those years, at Vivendi we still believed that music had a future.”
“Together with Havas we are doing many things because advertising and music are both part of culture and entertainment. I think the future of advertising lies with the entertainment industry,” Bolloré concluded.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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