Gayle While, four months into her role as CEO of Havas’ creative agency Host/Havas, is focused on strengthening the Village model.
She replaced Laura Aldington who departed the agency after almost 16 years. James Wright, who returned to Australia as CEO of Havas Creative Network, told AdNews he scouted While.
“To be honest, I wasn’t going to move from Dentsu when I was approached about the role,” While told AdNews. She had been dentsu creative’s chief client officer for less than one year.
Despite being surprised, While was curious.
“For me, it was a real journey of discovery in meeting James as I could sense his energy and excitement for building Havas’ next era of creative reputation in Australia,” While said.
“This [role] is actually about progress and about defining Havas’ own future - you can’t not be excited by that and think that's an amazing opportunity to step into.”
This new era kicked off last month when for the first time in 20 years Havas streamlined its brand architecture with a fresh, modern logo.
Havas' new look.
“We've been hiding our light a little bit and we'd like to up the profile of the agency,” Wright told AdNews in February. “Bringing somebody of Gayle’s stature to the agency is a good indication of the investment that we want to make into this market.”
Now at four months in, familiar with staff and clients, While has settled into the role and, following in her footsteps at dentsu, she’s prioritising the Village model.
“Previously we haven't unlocked the full potential of what the Village can deliver - not just for our clients, but also for our people,” While said.
While believes that the Village model in theory appeals to every client. From small challenger clients who gain efficiency in having a single agile team to big clients who can flex a wider array of capabilities to solve diverse problems.
But in reality it's not for everyone - “what we find is clients that buy into the Village are brands who have internal teams that are set up to work with a Village in the right way,” While said.
Whereas it’s harder for siloed brands, who have multiple internal teams, to find the Village model compelling. But for brands with a centralised marketing team, who have a lot of ownership and control, the Village proposition becomes ‘really interesting’.
The biggest win for the Village has been Tourism Fiji which appointed Host/Havas the creative and CX/digital account and Havas Media the media account, following a competitive pitch process in June last year.
Tourism Fiji campaign.
The Village-wide account is led by Ant Moore and work is delegated to staff across the group depending on the deliverables and the priorities needed at that time.
“That's a great example of a client whose internal team works really collaboratively with our Havas team,” While said.
Host/Havas leans on Havas Media for education into new insights and strategy, allowing the creative business to innovate in media formats, channels and expand audiences.
“That's really important because as we look at creativity moving forward we want to discover the new routes to market, as much as traditional media thinking,” While said.
And within uncertain economic times, where some clients have lost confidence in creativity to solve business problems, Host/Havas is leaning on how joyful frugality can deliver commercial effectiveness through creativity.
Havas' 2023 Prosumer Report shows that while consumers are shifting to be more frugal they are still spending on products that make them “feel like it's the right choice, a joyful choice, and a choice that makes sense,” While said.
“[Consumers] want reassurance that what they’re buying is the right choice with brands that feel meaningful to them when spending money.”
Host/Havas finds that this balance of people, planet and profit gives brands long-term sustainability, while also being positive for community and society.
“We can definitely do more with less, but we should be looking forward and using creative ingenuity versus just creativity to really show that we can drive long term commercial growth and balance it with the short term,” While said.
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