Havas Worldwide Launches Havas Design+

PARIS, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Havas Worldwide, the largest unit of communications group Havas, has announced the creation of Havas Design+. This new global network will initially launch in ten key cities including Paris, New York, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Dusseldorf and Prague, and will include well known brands like W&Cie, BETC Design, Euro RSCG C&O, Euro RSCG Portugal and Conran Design Group. Initial clients include the likes of Peugeot, Tesco, Natixis, Santander, Aeroport de Paris Shell, Sodexo, Sulwhasoo, Arkema, Credit Agricole and Thales, among others.

"Design has increasingly become a defining element of the success of some of the world's largest brands. The launch of Havas Design+ is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to bring together some of the world's leading design companies and unite them under a powerful global umbrella," said David Jones, global CEO of Havas Worldwide. "In addition, as business becomes more socially responsible and sustainable design becomes more important, it will unite some of the world's best expertise in socially responsible design in a single global network".

Recent work coming out of these five founding agencies includes the design of the Tck Tck Tck logo and branding for Kofi Annan's Campaign for Climate Justice, which attracted more than 15 million climate allies; a redesigned logo for the French Presidency of the European Union; the branding for Euro 2004 (2004 UEFA European Football Championship); and the logo and identity of One Young World, the world's first youth summit of its kind taking place on February 8-10 in London.

"Brands are an important element of the local realities of globalization. Many of them have to undergo a metamorphosis in order to become more respectful of their local environment, more focused on specific cultural identities and more relevant to the consumer. We're launching this network on a single value: "positive design," because we are convinced that design can re-engage and seduce brands, and therefore the whole economy," adds Denis Gancel, Founding President W&Cie.

The network will offer the full spectrum of design capabilities from brand management to brand creation and promotion. Havas Design + will take a multicultural approach to design, delivering relevant and localized solutions in each market. The initial launch will include more than 400 employees globally across ten different cities. The Group's leadership team includes Denis Gancel and Gilles Deleris (W&Cie), Jane Simmonds and Nigel Forsyth (Conran Design Group), Christophe Pradere (BETC Design), Eugenio Chorao (Euro RSCG Portugal) and Juliette Mutel (C&O).

Christophe Pradere, CEO BETC Design, says, "Havas Design+'s objective is to create a network that is focused on a global and multicultural design offering. This platform will first be rolled out with the sister agencies in the Havas network. The second phase will be to welcome new agencies into the Havas Design+ network that share our same quality and vision of the future of design. Our business model is different from anglo-saxon networks because it is agile, decentralized and based on tools and processes that will evolve and be enriched by each agency's skills. We are also focused on the importance of cultural diversity and recognize the importance of localization, this compared to the mono-cultural and fully- centralized networks that we compete against. We are creating a more collaborative approach to design where each agency will keep its name, its business model and its clients. We will redefine the well known 'think global, act local' model into 'think local, act global"."

About Havas Worldwide

Havas Worldwide is the main business unit of Havas (Euronext Paris: HAV.PA) and is one of the world's largest global advertising and communications services groups. Havas Worldwide incorporates the Euro RSCG Worldwide network as well as agencies with strong local identities including Arnold in the US, the UK and Italy; H and W&Cie in France, and Palm+Havas in Canada. The Network offers a broad range of communications services, including traditional advertising, interactive marketing, direct marketing, corporate communications, sales promotion, design, sports marketing, and public relations. Havas employs approximately 14,700 people. Further information about Havas is available on the company's website: www.havas.com.

SOURCE Havas Worldwide