French agency network Havas Group has been buying up customer experience and engagement agencies over the last couple of years, and now that individual brand interactions – particularly online – are becoming just as important as a shop front or an ad campaign as a way to establish a relationship with a customer, it seems like a good time to go big on the CX front.
The move to create the new Havas CX global network comes after the launch of BETC Fullsix in Paris earlier this year, which established a dedicated customer experience shop just as the world went into lockdown, and clearly established that there was a bigger market for those skills. Recent Havas purchases in the CX space include Langoor and Think Design in India, and Gate One in the UK.
The new network will bring together 1200 CX specialists around the world “under a common structure, governance, methodology and discipline.” The main hubs will be based in London, Paris, New York and Mumbai, under the leadership of global COO Yann Doussot, with help from Chris Hirst (creative global CEO), Mercedes Erra (chairwoman BETC Fullsix), and the CEOs from Havas’ health and media operations.
Yannick Bolloré, chairman and CEO of Havas Group, said: “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.”
Chris Hirst, global CEO of Havas Creative, said: “Today customer experience is the bedrock on which a brand is built – indeed, the majority of a consumer’s experience of any brand won’t be through above-the-line advertising, but their personal interactions with it. 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. CX is the new battle ground – and the brands that get it right will win, and those that don’t will lose; it’s as simple as that.”
