MAM
Havas restructures global media biz; places digital at the core
MUMBAI: Havas has announced rebranding and restructuring of its media business globally. Havas Media brand will be relaunched on 24 January with a new identity to reflect a tighter, more integrated organisational structure.
The France-headquartered agency network has created ‘Havas Media Group‘ which will include all of Havas‘ media agencies. Havas Media (operating in 126 markets) would consist of its media brand MPG, its digital brand Media Contacts and Arena Media, which operates in 13 markets.
The rebranding is supported by a new simplified structure that places its digital expertise and content marketing at the core of its operations. This move brings the media side of the business in line with the structure of Havas‘s creative division, Havas Creative Group (comprising the Havas Worldwide global network and Arnold Worldwide micro-network).
The new media organisation allows Havas to continue to invest in establishing digital excellence at the center of all its agencies around the world. The new structure will make its specialised units such as Artemis (the group‘s global data management network), Mobext (mobile network), Socialyse (social media), and Affiperf (Havas‘s global trading desk) more accessible to the teams from both Havas Media Group and Havas Creative Group. On the content marketing side, Havas Sports & Entertainment will support this structure with its 36 international offices, alongside such as Cake (Paris, London, New York) Havas Event and Havas Productions.
To manage this new organisation, the group has formed a new executive committee managed by Alfonso Rodés as the CEO of Havas Media Group. Dominique Delport, CEO of Havas Media France has been appointed global managing director for the Havas Media Group. He will report to Rodés, and will be in charge of the commercial activity for all countries and all brands, strategy, new business, digital integration and intelligence.
Michel Sibony, who is currently global head of middle office, will manage all global planning and buying operations as well as the group‘s digital and specialist offers. Global head of back office Jordi Ustrell will oversee the global support services such as IT, HR, legal and finance.
Rodés said, “The explosion of digital media means that no one can afford to deliver a siloed approach to communications. This new media model integrates our digital expertise “at the core” of our organisation, promoting greater agility between all our teams and disciplines. It‘s a simple yet progressive move that enables us to harness the digital transformation that has hit all types of media. By reorganising our teams, changing the lines of reporting and investing in building company-wide digital fluency, we put ourselves in a unique position in the industry. Our scale and simplicity allows us to present clients with a shared vision that meets consumer demand for more meaningful connections.”
Sibony said, “We need to guarantee our clients more consistency in every market and more speed in the delivery of this change to provide greater effectiveness and more efficiency when leveraging the new technological given by data management and technological platforms.”
Delport explained, “Our clients need change and innovation more than ever because beyond media, digital affects any business with great opportunities but also potential disruption. Understanding the relationship between brands and consumers, especially for the growing digital generation, is essential. Our aim is to form a new company that lies at the intersection of the traditional international holding groups and the new style of innovative, digital companies. It‘s an exciting challenge for our clients and our teams.”
Havas Media Asia Pacific CEO Vishnu Mohan added, “This rebranding couldn‘t have been initiated at a better time from the Asia Pacific perspective. Clients in the region are looking for simplicity in agency structures and an integrated offering. The objective of our current rebranding is aligned to that expectation. The simplification of brands within our group furthers our aspiration of being the most agile and integrated agency group with digital at its core”: adds Vishnu Mohan, CEO, Havas Media, Asia Pacific.
Havas Media India CEO Anita Nayyar said, “Media is today an evolving ecosystem where only change is constant. Digital is fluid across every platform from traditional to new age, so the concept of ‘digital at core‘ is vital. It is not ‘only‘ specialization but the dynamics of integration and knowledge synergies that will exploit it to advantage. Brands are asking for integrated communications to differentiate themselves; they need responsive and analytical services. In India, digital is a reality or aspiration for every Indian. Our integrated service offerings of media, outdoor, digital and mobile with the new platform will be better leveraged to the benefit and delight of our customers.”
MAM
India’s financial sector spent less on TV ads in 2025 but flooded the internet
Banks, insurers and lenders cut tv ads as digital jumps, LIC and Muthoot lead tv and Axis Bank tops online
MUMBAI: India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector, one of the most prolific advertisers in the country, delivered a split verdict on media in 2025. It spent less on television, held its nerve in print, turned up the volume on radio and deluged the internet with a ferocity that left every other medium looking pedestrian. The picture that emerges from TAM AdEx’s cross-media report for the BFSI sector is of an industry in transition, still wedded to the news bulletin but increasingly seduced by the algorithm.
Television: a retreat with caveats
TV ad volumes for the BFSI sector fell 16 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, a sharp reversal after two years of consistent growth that had pushed volumes 16 per cent above 2021 levels by 2023 and a further 7 per cent higher by 2024. Within 2025 itself, the drop was concentrated in the middle of the year: the second and third quarters saw ad volumes slide 35 per cent each against the first quarter, with a partial recovery of 13 per cent in the fourth.
The retreat did not reshuffle the deck. Life insurance retained first place among TV categories with 19 per cent of ad volumes, mortgage loans held second with 16 per cent, and the top ten categories together accounted for 82 per cent of all BFSI television advertising. The dominance of news channels was equally pronounced: news claimed 68 per cent of ad volumes, general entertainment channels a distant 14 per cent and movies 12 per cent. Together, news and GEC captured 82 per cent of the sector’s television spend. News bulletins alone took 48 per cent of programme-genre volumes, with feature films second at 12 per cent. Prime time, between 6pm and 11pm, drew 34 per cent of ad volumes, followed by afternoon at 22 per cent and morning at 20 per cent. A full 82 per cent of all ads ran between 20 and 40 seconds.
Life Insurance Corporation of India was the sector’s biggest TV spender with 11 per cent of ad volumes. Muthoot Financial Enterprises came second with 9 per cent, followed by National Payments Corporation of India at 6 per cent, Tata AIG General Insurance at 5 per cent and State Bank of India at 5 per cent. The top ten advertisers together accounted for 51 per cent of total TV volumes. Three names were new to the top ten in 2025: Tata AIG General Insurance, IIFL Finance and Tata Capital. At brand level, Muthoot Finance Loan Against Gold led with 9 per cent share, Tata AIG Health Insurance entered the top ten for the first time, and the top ten brands together contributed 35 per cent of ad volumes.
Print: the long climb continues
Print told a different story. Ad space for the BFSI sector has grown every year since 2021, rising 16 per cent in 2022, 30 per cent in 2023, 51 per cent in 2024 and 64 per cent in 2025, all measured against a 2021 baseline. Within 2025, ad space was flat in the second quarter but surged 46 per cent in the third and 33 per cent in the fourth compared with the first. Life insurance led print categories with 21 per cent of ad space, followed by mutual funds and banking services and products at 13 per cent each, and corporate financial institutes at 11 per cent. The top ten categories together took 82 per cent of print ad space. LIC led print advertisers with 6 per cent share, and the top ten together covered just 19 per cent of ad space, a reflection of how fragmented print spending remains. Three new entrants joined the top ten in 2025, with Billion Brains Garage Ventures the only exclusive presence not seen in 2024’s list. In the top ten brands, LIC dominated with a 2 per cent share, while Nippon India Mutual Fund rose to third position from fourth in 2024. English accounted for 62 per cent of print ad space, Hindi for 20 per cent. Business and finance publications took 59 per cent of the genre split. The south zone led regional spending with 33 per cent of print ad space, Bangalore topping that zone, while New Delhi and Mumbai were the leading cities nationally.
Radio: louder than ever
Radio ad volumes for the BFSI sector have climbed steadily, rising 12 per cent above 2021 levels in 2023, 36 per cent in 2024 and 45 per cent in 2025. The quarterly pattern within 2025 was volatile: a sharp drop of 43 per cent in the second quarter and 42 per cent in the third, followed by a near-full recovery in the fourth. Life insurance led radio categories with 22 per cent of volumes, banking services and products second at 14 per cent and corporate NBFCs third at 11 per cent. LIC of India held its position as the leading radio advertiser with 20 per cent of ad volumes; the top ten radio advertisers together covered 69 per cent. Muthoot Financial Enterprises led radio brands with 10 per cent share, five of the top ten brands belonged to LIC alone, and SBI Mutual Fund made a remarkable leap to fifth position from 272nd in 2024. Evening and morning time-bands together captured 84 per cent of radio ad volumes, with evenings at 44 per cent and mornings at 40 per cent. Maharashtra was the leading state for radio BFSI advertising with 18 per cent share; Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh together accounted for 43 per cent.
Digital: the five-times surge
If one number defines the 2025 BFSI advertising story, it is five. Digital ad impressions for the sector multiplied fivefold between 2021 and 2025, having already doubled in 2023 and doubled again in 2024 before the 2025 leap. Within the year, impressions dipped 19 per cent in the second quarter and 12 per cent in the third before recovering 8 per cent above the first quarter by the fourth. Banking services and products led digital categories with 27 per cent of impressions, life insurance and credit cards tied at 19 per cent each, and securities and sharebroking organisations fell from first place in 2024 to fourth in 2025. Axis Bank was the runaway leader among digital advertisers with 12 per cent of impressions, followed by ICICI Bank at 9 per cent, IDFC First Bank at 7 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 6 per cent. The top ten digital advertisers covered 59 per cent of impressions, and seven of them were new entrants compared with 2024, signalling rapid churn in the digital spending hierarchy. At brand level, Axis Bank led with 9 per cent, ICICI HPCL Super Saver Credit Card vaulted to third place from 921st in 2024, and six of the top ten digital brands were new to the list. Programmatic buying accounted for 91 per cent of all digital BFSI transactions; combined with ad networks, it captured 96 per cent.
The data from TAM AdEx paints the portrait of a sector that still believes in the power of the television news bulletin to sell insurance to the masses, but increasingly knows that the next generation of borrowers, investors and cardholders is scrolling, not watching. The race is now on to reach them before the algorithm serves up someone else’s loan offer first.
