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Havas gets whiskers deep in experiential marketing
PARIS: Havas has pounced on Bearded Kitten, scooping up the multi-award-winning experiential agency in a move that proves live brand experiences are no longer the industry’s poor relation. The acquisition pole vaults Havas Play’s global firepower just as marketers are throwing money at immersive activations like sailors on shore leave.
Founded in 2007, Bearded Kitten has clawed its way to the top of the experiential heap, delivering end-to-end brand activations for Netflix, Unilever, L’Oréal and Twitch. The 45-strong outfit brings specialist chops in immersive design, prop-making and theatrical production—skills that mesh nicely with Havas’s existing client roster including Red Bull, Pokémon, Google and Disney.
The numbers tell the tale. Global spending on experiential marketing has hit $128.3 billion, with 74 per cent of Fortune 1000 marketers planning budget increases in 2025. In Britain, events budgets surged 23.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2024—the fastest clip in 11 years. The UK market itself is growing at a healthy 8-9 per cent annually.
Bearded Kitten will keep its name (with “Part of Havas Play” tacked on), its offices and its founder. Barney Sutton, now chief executive of the renamed agency, will join Havas Play’s leadership team under chief executive Nick Wright. Together they’ll command a 200-strong experiential powerhouse.
“We’ve been particularly selective about potential partners, but Havas Play instantly felt like the missing piece,” said Sutton, clearly pleased with his catnip deal.
Havas chairman and chief executive Yannick Bolloré called Bearded Kitten one of the world’s top experiential agencies—a statement backed by the agency’s trophy cabinet, which includes gold for Brand Experience Agency of the Year at the 2022 Campaign UK awards and wins for clients like Intuit Mailchimp and Battersea Power Station.
The acquisition marks Havas’s latest bet that brands increasingly want to earn their place in culture through lived experiences, not just interrupt it with adverts. With Bearded Kitten in the fold, they’ve got the fur to fly.
MAM
Boldfit extends partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru
New “Champions #TrainBold” campaign offers fans chance to win player-used gear.
MUMBAI: Boldfit just raised the bar with RCB because when your training gear comes straight from the champions’ gym, even your home workout starts feeling like a title chase. Boldfit, India’s leading sports and fitness brand, has announced the next chapter of its partnership with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the 2026 IPL season through the campaign “Champions #TrainBold”. Now in its third year backing the franchise, Boldfit is moving beyond sponsorship to co-creation, designing performance products based on the team’s real training needs and intensity.
At the centre of the campaign is a limited-edition RCB x Boldfit merchandise collection featuring towels, lifting belts, grips, sports equipment, hydration bottles and shakers all built for those who train with intent. Every purchase gives fans a chance to win authentic, player-used training equipment from the RCB team gym, including lifting belts, yoga mats, skipping ropes, resistance bands, gym balls and more, each accompanied by an authenticated RCB metal placard.
Boldfit founder Pallav Bihani said, “RCB fans have always been known for their bold energy. But boldness doesn’t stop in the stands, it’s built every day in training. This year, our partnership evolves from support to co-creation, building products with the team, for everyone who chooses to train bolder.”
The campaign celebrates last season’s momentum while pushing fans to embrace the same disciplined, high-performance mindset that defines the RCB squad.
In the high-stakes world of the IPL, where every boundary and every wicket matters, Boldfit isn’t just sponsoring a team, it’s giving fans a piece of the grind, proving that champions aren’t made only on match day; they’re forged in the gym, one bold rep at a time.
