AD Agencies
Havas brings Play to belgium with Digizik acquisition
BELGIUM: Havas has tuned into Belgium’s cultural pulse with the acquisition of Digizik, officially launching Havas Play in the market. The entertainment and culture specialist will now operate as Digizik by Havas Play, strengthening the group’s push into passion-led marketing built around music, sport, gaming, fashion and lifestyle.
Founded in 2011 by François Charles and Grégory Lefillatre, Digizik has carved out a reputation as a cultural connector, using music and entertainment to shape stories that resonate beyond the screen or stage. The agency works with around 30 active clients and brings with it a close-knit network spanning Belgium’s cultural scene and key international players.
Its client list reads like a playlist of big brands and cultural heavyweights, including Universal Music, BNP Paribas Fortis, Red Bull, Warner Music, Campari Group’s Picon, Orange’s Hey!, John Martin Brewery and Casio’s G-Shock. Digizik has also produced event content with artists such as Stromae, Angèle, Bigflo and Oli, Major Lazer and Justice, alongside rising talent.
By folding Digizik into Havas Play, the group sharpens its integrated village offering in Belgium, bringing cultural creativity alongside media, creative, advisory and public affairs services. The move also plugs local expertise into Havas Play’s global activation network, supported by the group’s Converged.AI technology platform.
Havas chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré, said the acquisition reflects the group’s strategy of blending creative excellence with data and AI-driven capabilities, while giving Belgian brands a powerful new way to connect with audiences through culture.
For Digizik’s founders, the deal marks a new chapter. François Charles and Grégory Lefillatre said joining forces with Havas Play opens the door to transforming audiences into engaged communities and creating experiences that live at the crossroads of entertainment and culture.
Havas Belgium co-CEO Hugues Rey added that the move firmly anchors the group in entertainment marketing, turning cultural insight into measurable impact and giving brands a more meaningful way to join the conversation.
The launch of Havas Play in Belgium signals a clear intent from the group to place culture at the heart of brand building. By combining Digizik’s deep-rooted entertainment credentials with Havas’ global scale and technology-led approach, the group is positioning itself to help brands move from simple visibility to lasting cultural relevance in an increasingly experience-driven market.
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
