MAM
4-agency show at 3As of I awards night
MUMBAI: It was indeed a memorable evening. Memorable for those who won and even for those who attended. The 3As of I awards held in Mumbai’s Taj Land’s End Ballroom on 6 March 2003 had glamour, glitz and guts.
Glamour and glitz in the form of filmmaker Ismail Merchant,Vivek Oberoi and Ashutosh Gowarikar, and of course the numerous CEOs of ad agencies and marketing companies who made it a point to attend the award function.
Guts in the form of the fact that the 3As of I went ahead with the awards despite the fact that O&M, Leo Burnett India, Quadrant Communications, Lowe, Publicis Ambience, Lemon, Euro RSCG India and Contract Advertising chose to abstain. Sponsored by Star India with The Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran being associate sponsors, the awards function nevertheless had a classy yet pulsating feel to it with advertising professionals opting for formal togs and cheering in sync with the music everytime their peers went up to collect an award.
The maximum cheers went out for McCann-Erickson, Enterprise Nexus and Mudra – agencies which walked away with a clutch of the small triangles. Rediffusion DY&R also pocketed many awards but the cheers were not as loud.
The four agencies cornered more than than three-quarters of the awards, with McCann and Enterprise walking away with all five golds awarded. McCann had the added pleasure of being associated with the Copywriter of the Year and the Advertiser of the Year awards, while Enterprise did itself proud by winning the lone Grand Prix Silver in the International Jury Awards category.
But the standout campaign of the 2002 was the Coca-Cola one which featured actor Aamir Khan in the ‘Thanda matlab…’ series. McCann Erikson and its national director Prasoon Joshi got a bagful of trophies for their efforts.
Among the 13 jury members for the eighth 3AAAs of I Awards were, Indu Balachandran (JWT), Agnello Dias (Leo Burnett), Prasoon Joshi (MccANN Erickson), Deepa Kakkar (RK Swamy BBDO) and Kaushik Roy (Mudra). Among the six members for brand performance awards jury were Arun Adhikari (HLL), Sam Balsara (Madison Communications), Sarang Panchal (AC Nielsen) and Bharat Patel (P&G).
The international jury that decided on grand Prix winners had Christopher D’ Rozario (JWT, New York), Neil Johnson (DDB Worldwide, Singapore), Milka Pogliani (McCann Erickson, Milan), Piyush Pandey (O&M, India) and Mohammed Khan (Enterprise Nexus, India) among others.
The host for the night was Kaushik Roy.
Brands
Havas reports solid Q1 2026 with 2.5 per cent organic net revenue growth
Advertising group maintains positive momentum and confirms full-year guidance.
MUMBAI: Havas has started 2026 on a strong note proving that even in uncertain times, its converged model continues to deliver. The global advertising and communications group reported net revenue of €638 million for the first quarter of 2026, representing organic growth of +2.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. This performance was driven particularly by a robust +7.4 per cent organic growth in the United States.
Total revenue for the quarter reached €667 million, with organic growth of +2.8 per cent. Recent acquisitions contributed a positive scope impact of +1.7 per cent, while foreign exchange movements had a negative impact of -5.8 per cent, mainly due to the US dollar and British pound.
Europe, which accounts for 50 per cent of net revenue, delivered +1.1 per cent organic growth, supported by a good performance in France. North America (36 per cent of net revenue) led the way with +7.4 per cent growth, thanks to strong contributions from both Havas Creative and Havas Media. APAC & Africa (8 per cent) saw a decline of -6.2 per cent, while Latin America (6 per cent) remained nearly stable at -0.6 per cent.
Havas chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré said, “Havas has started 2026 on a solid footing, continuing its momentum and delivering organic growth in net revenue of +2.5 per cent. This performance, in line with our full-year 2026 guidance, was driven in particular by continued strength in the US.”
The group also continued its bolt-on acquisition strategy, acquiring majority stakes in four agencies during the quarter: Acento Public Affairs (Spain), Ctrl Digital (Sweden), Styleheads (Germany), and Eyesight (France).
Havas maintained its strong creative reputation, ranking as a top holding company in the WARC Creative 100 for the sixth consecutive year, with three agencies BETC, Havas Paris, and Havas India placing in the Top 50.
Looking ahead, Havas confirmed its 2026 guidance: organic net revenue growth between +2.0 per cent and +3.0 per cent, adjusted EBIT margin between 13.2 per cent and 13.5 per cent, and a dividend payout ratio of around 40 per cent. The group also reiterated its medium-term targets for 2028.
Despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, Havas enters the rest of the year with solid fundamentals and confidence in its ability to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.
In a challenging environment, Havas is proving that its integrated, client-centric model remains resilient delivering steady growth while continuing to invest in creativity and innovation. The first quarter results suggest the group is well-positioned to navigate the year ahead with confidence.
