MAM
Havas reveals rebranding plans
MUMBAI: Worldwide communications group Havas chief executive of advertising David Jones has revealed plans to rebrand the agencies under the company as it repositions for an increasingly digital future.
The group‘s new clients for online marketing include Unilever and Sony Playstation.
Jones said that the group will be retiring the 20-year-old Euro RSCG name for Havas’ largest creative network and bringing almost the whole group under the Havas brand.
Euro RSCG was formed in 1991 by the merger of two French agencies Eurocom and RSCG formed in the mid-1970s. The company structure will be consolidated into Havas Advertising and Havas Media. Jones was quoted in the Financial Times, “Within that we will launch Havas Digital as an umbrella brand for digital.”
He further informed that he aimed to take on competitors like WPP and Publicis and create a model that contrasted their structures.
According to FT, Jones said, “The rebranding of Euro RSCG will reinforce the fact that our competitors have hundreds of brands and cultures and CEOs, and ours is an incredibly clear and simple structure. We haven’t got big, old-fashioned ad agencies that just do TV ads and have a separate digital silo.”
Havas Digital will not have its own independent leadership or financial structure. The repositioning will underline Havas‘ more integrated model for providing services for example, by bringing formerly separate media-buying and creative teams into the same buildings in Paris and New York.
Meanwhile, Havas announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2011. The group has registered net income of 120 million euros, up 9 per cent from 110 million euros in 2010.
The revenue for the year was recorded at 1.65 billion euros, which is 5.6 per cent more than the revenue for fiscal 2010 at 1.56 billion euros.
The group informed in an official communiqué that its digital and social media grew rapidly and increased their contribution to the company’s overall revenue, as the group pursued its strategy of putting these businesses at the core of all its activities and agencies around the world. Digital and social media made up 23 per cent of the total group‘s revenue.
The geographical revenue break up reveals that Asia-Pacific reported growth of 9.8 per cent for full-year 2011.
Brands
Zee partners L’Oréal Paris on multi-language Glycolic Gloss campaign
Brand films and show integrations target Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Bangla viewers
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has partnered with L’Oréal Paris to roll out a multi-regional advertising campaign for the Glycolic Gloss haircare range, leaning on regional storytelling and trusted television celebrities to drive belief and recall.
The campaign spans four bespoke brand films and contextual integrations across Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Bangla markets. At its core is a simple consumer insight: Indian audiences are more likely to trust visible results validated by others than abstract product claims.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises head of advertisement revenue, broadcast and digital Laxmi Shetty, said brands are increasingly seeking relevance and credibility alongside reach. She said the campaign demonstrates how regional “dilfluencers” can turn product claims into “visible, validated experiences” by embedding brands within authentic storytelling across platforms.
To that end, Zee has deployed its roster of regional “dilfluencers”: familiar faces from leading fiction channels, to anchor the films. The celebrities share first-hand experiences with the Glycolic Gloss range, framing shine and smoothness as instantly noticeable and socially affirmed rather than promised.
WPP Media president, client solutions, South Asia Shekhar Banerjee, said the campaign was designed as a platform-first, integration-led solution that balances scale with attention. Aligning the brand with Zee’s premium content and trusted talent, he said, helped push impact beyond visibility towards sustained brand trust.
Beyond standalone films, the campaign extends into contextual integrations within top-rated fiction shows airing through January and February 2026. These in-show moments are designed to embed the product into everyday narratives without disrupting viewer engagement.
L’Oréal Paris India general manager Dario Zizzi, said the renewed partnership reflects the brand’s focus on engaging India’s diverse consumer base through local languages and culturally resonant narratives. He added that integrating the Glycolic Gloss range into Zee’s regional content allows the ‘Gloss Ki Guarantee’ proposition to connect with women’s lived experiences across markets.
The initiative will run across Zee’s linear television network and its OTT platform, Zee5, combining mass reach with digital amplification. For L’Oréal Paris, the strategy reflects a deliberate move away from one-size-fits-all communication towards locally resonant messaging tailored to language, culture and viewing habits.
Media planners involved in the campaign say the approach underscores a broader shift in beauty advertising, where scale is increasingly paired with credibility and contextual relevance. By aligning with premium content ecosystems and well-known regional talent, the Glycolic Gloss campaign aims to translate visibility into sustained brand trust.
