Havas Doubles Down on, Well, Havas

By STUART ELLIOTT

Anyone on Madison Avenue who set up Google alerts for Havas, the French agency holding group, has probably received far more links lately to articles about the young English singer and songwriter Lianne La Havas. That could well change as of Monday.

That is when Havas, controlled by its chairman, Vincent Bolloré, is formally to adopt a new structure. The centerpiece of the changes is the renaming of all the advertising agencies owned by Havas that bear the Euro RSCG Worldwide name as Havas Worldwide.

The renaming affects agencies like Euro RSCG Worldwide, Euro RSCG Life, Euro RSCG 4D and Euro RSCG Worldwide PR. To mark the name change, the New York operation of what is now Havas Worldwide is to announce it has landed two new accounts.

The Euro RSCG name, which will be retired, was adopted after a merger of Eurocom with an agency called RSCG after four French ad executives: Bernard Roux, Jacques Séguéla, Alain Cayzac and Jean-Michel Goudard.

Until now, Havas Worldwide had been the name of a division of Havas composed of agencies like Euro RSCG Worldwide, Arnold Worldwide and smaller shops that include Victors & Spoils. Under the reorganization, that division will now be known as Havas Creative.

The other Havas division, called Havas Media, will keep its name.

Another change involves the creation of the Havas Digital Group, an umbrella brand that, executives say, will operate across the Havas Creative and Havas Media divisions. It is being formed to underline the Havas commitment to digital advertising.

The changes are “part of a much bigger” initiative to create an agency holding group “for the future,” said David Jones, who has three titles: chief executive at Havas; chief executive at Havas Worldwide, now Havas Creative; and chief executive at Euro RSCG Worldwide, now Havas Worldwide.

The goal is for Havas to b e perceived by clients and potential clients as “more entrepreneurial and more agile,” Mr. Jones said, and to have “a much simpler structure.”

The renaming poses a risk in that some may confuse Havas, the parent, with Havas Worldwide, the agency. There would be precedent for any such confusion because another French agency holding group, the Publicis Groupe, named one of its agencies Publicis Worldwide.

“The good news is none of our clients thinks it's confusing,” Mr. Jones said of the redesignation of Euro RSCG Worldwide as Havas Worldwide. “Havas Worldwide is the agency and Havas is the publicly traded holding company; it's very easy to see the difference.”

“The only negative reaction,” he added, “was, ‘Why not do it sooner?'”

The name change was not inspired by the recent travails of the euro currency, Mr. Jones said.

Asked if innumerable headlines like “Euro in Crisis” and “Euro on the Brink” spurred the ren aming, he replied, “It didn't even factor in.”

Mr. Jones said it was “obviously disappointing” that Charles Schwab, a large client of what will now be known as Havas Worldwide New York, placed its creative account in review last week, days before the renaming.

The agency said it would take part in the review for the account, with spending estimated at more than $130 million. It is “an opportunity to demonstrate what we've done in the last seven or eight years” for Schwab, Mr. Jones said.

On the plus side of the ledger are the new two accounts Havas Worldwide New York is to announce on Monday.

The agency will be the creative agency of record for a new joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor named M-Go, a planned entry in the field of digital storefronts for movies online.

And Havas Worldwide New York will serve as a strategic marketing consultant to Live Nation Entertainment, which owns companies like Ticketmaster.c om and Live Nation Concerts.

The newly named Havas Worldwide is making plans to move its headquarters early next year to 200 Hudson Street from its current location at 350 Hudson Street.

Stuart Elliott has been the advertising columnist at The New York Times since 1991. Follow @stuartenyt on Twitter and sign up for In Advertising, his weekly e-mail newsletter.