MAM
Havas revenues dip for the first half of 2005
MUMBAI: Global advertising and communications services group Havas has announced that revenues for the first half of 2005 fell to 700 million Euros, compared to 748 million Euros a year ago.
The net impact of scope of consolidation changes in the first half was a negative 50 million Euros due primarily to the disposal programme completed in 2004. The impact of exchange rate variations was a negative 14 million Euros mainly due to the dollar and the pound sterling.
Organic growth for the first half of the year was 2.2 per cent. Since the beginning of the year, the Group has experienced an improvement in business that generated organic growth of three per cent in the second quarter compared to 1.4 per cent growth in the first quarter. This improvement in organic growth was driven largely by good performance from the traditional advertising businesses and media expertise.
The UK showed an improvement at a four per cent organic growth in the second quarter compared to minus 3.3 per cent in the first quarter. Europe (excluding France and the UK) enjoyed organic growth of 14.1 per cent in the second quarter, giving an overall figure of 8.5 per cent growth for the first half. This performance was driven by the momentum of countries such as Spain, which benefited from an impressive performance by MPG, but also in Eastern European countries and Belgium, all of which experienced very high rates of organic growth, some in excess of 20 per cent.
Business in the Asia Pacific region was down by 5.9 per cent organic growth over the half year mainly as a result of the loss of Intel, a particularly important account in this region. The US was essentially stable over the half year with organic growth of 0.4 per cent. Not surprisingly, after first quarter organic growth at 1.8 per cent, the second quarter was slightly negative at minus – 0.9 per cent as the full impact of the losses of Intel and the Volkswagen media account in the US were felt.
New business for the second quarter was nearly 500 million Euros. In June 2005, Havas was ranked second in new business by Lehman Brothers. Key accounts won in the second quarter of 2005 included Diesel (France), RadioShack (US), Sony Electronics (US), News Corp (UK), Citroen (Russia), Turkiye Is bankasi (Turkey), Superdrug Stores (UK), CareFirst (USA) and Sogecable
(Spain). In the marketing services section it won the account of the 2007 Rugby World Cup (France)
At the 52nd International Advertising Festival in Cannes, earlier this year the Havas Group won awards in a number of categories. Euro RSCG Worldwide shared top slot as the most awarded network in the Cyber category, Euro RSCG 4D Sao Paolo was ranked as the third best interactive agency and Euro RSCG Fuel was awarded four Lions including one in the Titanium category for best integrated communication campaign.
Brands
Beep App launches Gen-Z career platform, clocks 30,000 plus placements
Pune startup turns scrolling into career action with learn-explore-earn model
PUNE: Beep App has rolled out its newly positioned career-focused app aimed at Gen-Z users, as it looks to bridge what it calls a growing gap between exposure and employability among young Indians.
Formerly known as EventBeep, the platform is built around a simple but timely idea: turning everyday scrolling into meaningful career action. The app targets students and early professionals, offering a unified space to explore career options, learn relevant skills and access internships and job opportunities.
At a time when short-form content dominates screen time, Beep is attempting to flip the script by embedding structured, career-oriented insights within a familiar scroll-based interface. The idea is not to disrupt user behaviour, but to redirect it.
The platform spans a wide range of fields, including artificial intelligence, product management, design and data analytics. It provides users with insights into role expectations, required skills and step-by-step career pathways, supported by inputs from industry practitioners.
At the heart of the offering is a “learn, explore, earn” model that integrates discovery, skill-building and hiring into one ecosystem. The company says this closed-loop approach is already gaining traction, with over 30,000 placements facilitated so far.
“Gen-Z does not lack ambition; what they often lack is structured direction,” said Beep App founder and CEO Saurabh Mangrulkar. “The Beep App is designed to organise that exposure into actionable pathways so users can move from intent to execution with greater confidence.”
The launch comes amid a broader shift in India’s job market towards skills-first hiring, where practical experience and demonstrable capabilities are increasingly valued alongside academic qualifications.
Founded in 2021, Beep App has grown steadily within the student ecosystem, connecting over 6.5 million users with opportunities across more than 1,500 colleges and 7,800 hiring companies.
Looking ahead, the company plans to deepen its content across emerging sectors, expand its hiring network and build more personalised career pathways tailored to user behaviour.
As Gen-Z continues to navigate a complex and fast-evolving job market, platforms that can turn curiosity into clarity may well shape the next wave of career discovery.
