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Havas SA is a French multinational
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
and
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
company, headquartered in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of three main operational divisions. The Group offers a broad range of communications services, including digital, advertising, direct marketing, media planning and buying, corporate communications, sales promotion, design, human resources, sports marketing, multimedia interactive communications, public relations and innovation consulting (Havas Blockchain).


History

The original Havas was the world's first
news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency may ...
, created in 1835. The
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
(AFP) news agency comes from it. Havas was acquired by
Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
in 1998, and renamed Vivendi Universal Publishing. VUP in turn merged with Lagardere to become Editis in 2004. The company which today bears the name Havas is itself a former subsidiary of the company which acquired the rights to the name in 2002. It is a holding company headquartered in Puteaux, Paris. French corporate raider
Vincent Bolloré Vincent Bolloré (born 1 April 1952) is a French billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of the investment group Bolloré. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$9 billion. Early life Bolloré was born in Boulogne-B ...
, through his holding company the
Bolloré Bolloré SE () is a French conglomerate headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 1822, the company has interests in Vivendi, international freight forwarding, oil storage and pipelines in France, solid state ...
Group, is the main shareholder, controlling 32.84% of the share capital as of 7 May 2012. Bolloré himself took over the chairmanship of the Havas board (''Président du conseil d'administration''). In November 2017, Havas acquired Malaysia-based agency Immerse and rebranded to Havas Immerse. In April 2022, Havas acquired the UK-based digital agency and
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
partner, Search Laboratory.


Timeline

Havas is the family name of
Charles-Louis Havas Charles-Louis Havas (5 July 1783 – 21 May 1858) was a French writer, translator, and founder of the first news agency Agence Havas (whose descendants are the Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the advertising firm Havas). Biography Havas was bor ...
. He created the first French
press agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency may ...
in 1835.


Havas Conseil – Havas Advertising

By 1968, Havas had become a diversified group which had, ''inter alia'', media interests. These interests were incorporated into a ''
société anonyme The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance language as their official language and employ civil law. Originally, shareholders could be literally anonymous and collect div ...
'', Havas Conseil S.A., which expanded its business rapidly. In 1975, Havas Conseil became Eurocom, holding company of a Group of subsidiaries specializing in various communications activities. Since the 1970s, the Group grew significantly in France and internationally, both in the communications and media buying sectors, by broadening the scope of services that it offers and expanding into new communications techniques and technologies. Havas was first listed on the Paris Bourse (now the
Euronext Paris Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined marke ...
) in 1982. The principal milestones in the Group's strategic development are the following: In 1991,
Eurocom Eurocom (formerly Eurocom Entertainment Software) was a British video game developer founded in October 1988 by Mat Sneap, Chris Shrigley, Hugh Binns, Tim Rogers and Neil Baldwin, to specifically develop games for the Nintendo Entertainment Sys ...
acquired the French advertising group RSCG, leading to the creation of the
Euro RSCG Worldwide Havas Creative, formerly known as Havas Worldwide and Euro RSCG, is a French advertising agency. It is one of the largest integrated marketing communications agencies in the world, made up of 316 offices located in 75 countries. The firm provid ...
advertising network. RSCG had been the lead advertising agency for
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
. In 1996, Eurocom changed its name to Havas Advertising and created four operating divisions, Euro RSCG, Campus, Diversified Agencies, and Médiapolis. American
Bob Schmetterer Bob Schmetterer (born November 23, 1943) is an American business executive and author. He is past chairman and CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide and past president and COO of communications group Havas. Background Born in New York City, Schmettere ...
is named chairman and CEO of the largest division Euro RSCG, whose headquarters are moved to New York in 1997. In 1998, Compagnie Générale des Eaux, led by
Jean-Marie Messier Jean-Marie Messier (born 13 December 1956) is a French businessman who was chairman and chief executive of the multinational media conglomerate Vivendi (formerly Vivendi Universal) until 2002. He is also frequently referred to by the nickname " ...
, changed its name to ''
Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
'' and acquired control of Havas (and its subsidiary Havas Advertising); it acquired a third of Havas in February 1997, and the remainder in March 1998 in a deal that valued the company at €6 billion (£4.05 billion). Vivendi later considered its advertising and communications interests no longer strategic. Between 1998 and 2001, late in the wave of consolidation within the advertising/communications sector, Havas Advertising adopted an aggressive acquisition strategy in order not to become a takeover target following its independence from Havas. In order to become a bigger and more global player, it acquired MPG and Snyder, as well as around one hundred specialized agencies in
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Europe and the
Asia Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
region. This strategy was criticised by Maurice Levy as "reckless." "Media Planning Group" was created in 1999 through the combination of Media Planning, S.A., a Spanish media planning and buying company controlled by Léopoldo Rodés Castañes and his family, with Médiapolis, the existing Havas media planning business. Havas initially acquired 45% of MPG, which was increased to 100% in May 2001.


Snyder Communications Inc.

On 4 April 2000, at the height of the M&A frenzy, Havas Advertising agreed to acquire
Snyder Communications Snyder Communications Inc. (SNC) was an American advertising corporation founded in 1988 by Daniel Snyder and his sister Michelle Snyder. Their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as direct marketing, database marketing, pro ...
, Inc. (SNC) in an all-share transaction, where SNC was valued at US$2.1 billion. SNC was a listed communications group controlled by
Daniel Snyder Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is an American businessman and owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Washington Redskins, ...
, and their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as
direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. B ...
,
database marketing Database marketing is a form of direct marketing using databases of customers or potential customers to generate personalized communications in order to promote a product or service for marketing purposes. The method of communication can be any addr ...
, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations,
call centres A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
, field sales. Just prior to the takeover, the market capitalisation of SNC was just US$1.3 billion. As part of the SNC deal, Havas Advertising listed
American Depositary Share An American depositary receipt (ADR, and sometimes spelled ''depository'') is a Negotiable instrument, negotiable security that represents securities of a foreign company and allows that company's shares to trade in the U.S. financial markets. ...
s (ADSs) on the
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
National Market System. The deal was completed on 25 September; the stake belonging to
Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
was diluted to 40% following the acquisition. The sale provided Snyder with funds he used to acquire the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
team and their stadium for $800 million in May 1999, in what was at the time a record price for a US sports franchise. SNC's three divisions: Bounty SCA Worldwide, Arnold Communications and Brann Worldwide were respectively merged with Euro RSCG, Campus, and Diversified Agencies. Arnold Communications becomes Havas' second network, Arnold Worldwide Partners.


Havas S.A.

In 2000, Havas the parent company decided to rename itself Vivendi Universal Publishing and to divest itself of its remaining stake in the Havas Advertising business. The Havas Advertising board decided to acquire the Havas name from its parent, and the decision was approved by the annual shareholders meeting held on 23 May 2002. In September 2003, the group reorganized itself, as agencies from the Diversified Agencies division were sold or absorbed into three core divisions:Euro RSCG Worldwide (integrated communications); MPG (Media planning and buying) and Arnold Worldwide Partners (advertising). In July 2004, after having completed its strategic reorganization, Bolloré Group started acquiring a stake in Havas. In October, the Company completed a €404 million capital increase which enabled it to reduce its overall debt levels. By 2005, Bolloré had amassed a 22% stake, obtained 4 seats on the Havas board at the shareholders meeting, and took control of the company. Chairman and CEO Alain de Pouzilhac was deposed in a boardroom coup on 21 June 2005. Other board and management level changes followed. The board appointed independent non-executive director Richard Colker as interim CEO. On 12 July 2005, Havas named
Vincent Bolloré Vincent Bolloré (born 1 April 1952) is a French billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of the investment group Bolloré. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$9 billion. Early life Bolloré was born in Boulogne-B ...
as board chairman, and veteran banker Philippe Wahl as chief executive officer. In March 2006, Havas named Fernando Rodés Vilà, son of the founder of Media Planning S.A. Leopoldo Rodés Castañes, as its new CEO. Havas remained listed on
Euronext Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a pan-European bourse that offers various trading and post-trade services. Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrants and certificates, bonds, ...
, but delisted from the
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
stock exchange as of 28 July 2006. In March 2015, the group's main shareholder Bollore S.A sold a 22.5 percent stake in the firm for around €600 million, but announced it intended to remain a majority shareholder.


Services

Havas is a media holding company, whose subsidiaries provide communication consulting services, through traditional advertising media (television, radio and print and display), to
media buying Media buying refers to the procurement of advertising on mediums such as a television, newspapers, commercial radio, magazines, websites, mobile apps, over-the-top media services, out-of-home advertising etc. It also includes price negotiation an ...
, and various marketing services such as
advertising management Advertising management is a planned managerial process designed to oversee and control the various advertising activities involved in a program to communicate with a firm's target market and which is ultimately designed to influence the consum ...
,
direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. B ...
,
sales promotion Sales promotion is one of the elements of the promotional mix. The primary elements in the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and publicity/public relations. Sales promotion uses both media and non-media marketing ...
,
corporate communications Corporate communication is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating favourable point of view among stakeholders on which the company depends. Riel, Cees B.M. van; Fombru ...
, blockchain and ICO marketing, healthcare communications,
internal communications Internal communications (IC) is the function responsible for effective communications among participants within an organization. The scope of the function varies by organization and practitioner, from producing and delivering messages and campaigns ...
, Television sponsorship, design,
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
communications and interactive communications. Attempting to be perceived by clients and potential clients as "more entrepreneurial and more agile", Havas adopted a new structure in late 2012. The agency network once known as Euro RSCG was rebranded 'Havas Worldwide', much like their compatriots
Publicis Publicis Groupe is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. One of the oldest and largest marketing and communications companies in the world by revenue, it is headquartered in Paris. After 1945, the little-known Paris ...
and their network, named 'Publicis Worldwide'. Other advertising agencies owned by Havas, such as
Arnold Worldwide Arnold Worldwide is an American advertising agency headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The agency is part of Havas, a global advertising holding company based in France. Some of Arnold's clients include Progressive Insurance, Cox Communicatio ...
are rebranded '
Havas Creative Havas Creative, formerly known as Havas Worldwide and Euro RSCG, is a French advertising agency. It is one of the largest integrated marketing communications agencies in the world, made up of 316 offices located in 75 countries. The firm provid ...
'; the media division remains as 'Havas Media'. Havas created an umbrella brand, Havas Digital Group, to operate across the Creative and Media divisions.


Case against former directors

Holding 22.01% of the share capital of Havas, on 21 June 2005, Bolloré ousted CEO Alain de Pouzilhac."Alain de Pouzilhac poussé vers la sortie"
. TF1, 21 June 2005
AFP

''Le Monde'', 30 March 2011. "Le groupe publicitaire Havas avait déposé plainte le 15 mai 2007 pour "abus de biens sociaux, complicité et recel" contre Alain de Pouzilhac, son ancien vice-président Alain Cayzac et son ancien directeur financier Jacques Hérail. Dans sa plainte, Havas accusait ses trois anciens dirigeants d'avoir rédigé dans la précipitation des avenants à leur contrat de travail pour toucher de confortables indemnités de départ après la prise de contrôle du groupe par Vincent Bolloré fin 2004, qui signifiait pour eux une probable mise à l'écart. Le 21 juin 2005, le nouveau conseil d'administration de Havas, fort de quatre administrateurs de Vincent Bolloré, avait brutalement révoqué Alain de Pouzilhac."
Havas then dismissed Hérail for
gross negligence Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross negl ...
; vice-chairman
Alain Cayzac Alain Cayzac, born in Évreux, Eure on 2 June 1941 is a French advertising agent and was the president of the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club between June 2006 and April 2008. A graduate of HEC Paris, Alain Cayzac began his career as an adv ...
and others close to de Pouzilhac were also relieved of their services. Alain de Pouzilhac took Havas to court to seek unblocking of payment for non-compete that Havas had been withholding; civil cases were also launched by both for severance pay – a total of ten cases (including appeals) involving de Pouzilhac, four involving Hérail.Poussielgue, Gregoire (15 November 2012)
"Les anciens dirigeants d'Havas blanchis par la justice"
''Les Echos''
Payment for de Pouzilhac's non-compete clause was upheld. Hérail and former Havas executives Alain Cayzac and Agnès Audier won at the labour tribunal, where Hérail was granted damages of close to €5 million."Bolloré perd au pénal contre Pouzilhac"
''Le Point'', 15 November 2012. "Dans le volet civil de l'affaire, Vincent Bolloré a déjà perdu à dix reprises contre Alain de Pouzilhac et à quatre reprises contre Jacques Hérail, que ce soit en référé ou au fond. L'acharnement de l'homme d'affaires breton à détruire l'ancien P-DG de Havas prend fin aujourd'hui, sauf à ce que le parquet fasse appel. L'enquête étant annulée, les faits sont prescrits. Bolloré avait également perdu aux prud'hommes contre Alain Cayzac et Agnès Audier, deux anciens dirigeants de Havas de l'époque Pouzilhac. Le nouvel actionnaire avait également tenté de faire sauter le paiement de la clause de non-concurrence d'Alain de Pouzilhac. Son recours fut retoqué le 8 décembre 2011 par la cour d'appel de Paris. Aux prud'hommes, Jacques Hérail avait obtenu près de 5 millions d'euros de dommages."
Since the boardroom coup, Bolloré had consolidated control by further increasing his stake, which stood at 37% as of November 2012. Havas seized the Nanterre criminal court on 15 May 2007, and again in August and November 2007 to initiate three cases against de Pouzilhac, Hérail and Cayzac, accusing them of "conspiracy, misappropriating from the company, and attempting to cover up". Havas alleged that the three directors had signed new employment contracts during the takeover that gave them generous golden parachutes in the likely event of their removal. Also, de Pouzilhac was accused of conspiring with Hérail to grant payment of €300,000 to fellow director Thierry Meyer. The preliminary inquiry into the charges under public prosecutor Philippe Courroye lasted three years, during which time the accused were given either sporadic or no access to evidence for their defence, contrary to the legal requirements.
"The Tribunal took the view that the criminal proceedings had not complied with proper procedures, nor with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Nanterre Court said that specifically, the provisions of this Convention relating in particular to access to the case file, the personal assistance of counsel during the investigation and the balance between the parties had not been met. In its decision, the Court considered that, given the weight and complexity of the case, which had 700 items – a preliminary investigation was not the most appropriate way of proceeding. Instead, the case should have been by instruction, which allows adversarial examination."
''Les Echos'', 15 November 2012Poussielgue, Gregoire (15 November 2012)
"Les anciens dirigeants d'Havas blanchis par la justice"
''Les Echos'' "Le Tribunal a en effet estimé que la procédure pénale n'avait pas été respectée, tout comme la Convention européenne des Droits de l'Homme. En l'espèce, les dispositions de cette Convention relatives notamment à l'accès au dossier, l'assistance effective d'un avocat pendant l'enquête et l'équilibre entre les parties n'ont pas été respectées, a estimé le Tribunal de Nanterre. Dans son justement, le Tribunal estime que, compte tenu de la lourdeur et de la complexité du dossier -qui compte 700 pièces -, une enquête préliminaire n'était pas la façon la plus adéquate de faire les investigations, et qu'il aurait fallu une instruction, qui permet des procédures contradictoires."
The criminal court of Nanterre dismissed the last of these cases in November 2012, citing "the lack of equity and violation of the rights of the defence". Olivier Metzner and Olivier Bluche, lawyers for Alain de Pouzilhac and Jacques Hérail, criticised Vincent Bolloré for exploiting his close connection with Philippe Courroye, public prosecutor for Nanterre, to launch the case.


See also

* CNews


References


External links


Havas Official Website
*
Agence Havas news reports, 1845-1848 (bulk: 1847-1848)
From th
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
{{Authority control Advertising agencies of France Companies based in Paris Privatized companies of France Marketing companies established in 1968 Vivendi subsidiaries French companies established in 1968 Companies formerly listed on the Paris Bourse Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq