Havas is beefing up its social media expertise by acquiring UK digital agency Wilderness, which will work within Havas Village London, its PR agencies, and Havas Play, the global network that offers brands a mixture of culture, entertainment, and sports.
The French group maintains the acquisition is part of its strategy to evolve its operating model to accelerate clients’ transition to become more customer-centric organisations. Wilderness will join Havas Play, gaining access to the network’s global scale and client base and contributing to its growth story.
Founded in 2015 by Tom Jarvis, the agency rose to prominence working as an in-house partner to major entertainment brands, including Sony Pictures, 20th Century, and Universal Pictures where the firm built deep specialism in strategic and creative excellence through its services including branded content, shoppable experiences, always-on production and more.
Wilderness has quickly scaled this entertainment-led approach to social to new verticals such as food and drink, FMCG, travel, fashion, and technology, among other consumer sectors and, today, counts the likes of Disney+, BBC Studios, Ticketmaster and NOW, among its clients. In 2023, Wilderness also added projects for Sky Mobile, Sykes Holidays, Heineken, and Dolby, among others, to its work portfolio.
With teams in London and across Europe and Africa servicing clients across EMEA, Wilderness is best known for its campaign supporting HBO across the final season of Game of Thrones.
Wilderness’ London-based staff will move to Havas Village London this month and form a 30+ strong dedicated social media team as part of the Havas Play Network which was launched globally by Havas in 2023.
Havas Media Network UK chief growth officer Nick Wright will be responsible for the strategic integration of Wilderness into Havas, putting in place a growth plan for the agency. Wright will work closely with Havas Play UK president Rosie Holden to ensure that Tom Jarvis and his team quickly hit the ground running.
Havas chairman and global CEO Yannick BollorĂ© said: “We are delighted to welcome Wilderness to our Havas family. Wilderness is a forward-thinking business that perfectly aligns with Havas’ unique positioning at the crossroads of entertainment and advertising, helping clients reach their customers in innovative and meaningful ways. We are excited to see how the addition of Wilderness will enhance complementary specialisms provided by Havas Play and others across Havas globally.”
Jarvis added: “We have a long-term vision to become the leading social media agency for clients looking to transform how they approach social within their organisation. The scale and opportunity being part of Havas affords us will allow us to realise that mission. I can’t wait for us to get started.”
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