MAM
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.
