New Office, New Biz, New World
Week 2 of HAVAS Lofts Paris
Nearing the end of my 2nd week in Paris and one thing is for sure, we are busy! I have been placed in the New Business and Communications group at Havas Worldwide. My 4 week project is an actual pitch, lead by the Paris office. Without sharing too much, I can say this is one of the most interesting and educational pieces of new business I have been exposed to in my career.
My coach, Valerie Planchez, is hugely impressive. She’s a natural leader, extremely passionate about her role, the team and HAVAS. She is leading this pitch and in my short time with her, I can quickly see that she’s an all around communication force.
The rest of the New Business and Communication group consists of 8 highly skilled, vastly different team members. Each focuses on different projects. Each with such interesting backgrounds and experience. Most of the team ‘practice’ English with me each day. The majority of the team claim they don’t speak English very well and then proceed to hold a beautifully spoken English conversation about any number of topics. Quite impressive and such a modest bunch! Being one of the few (possibly only) folks on the Lofts Paris team that doesn’t speak even basic French, this new biz group puts my language skills to shame. They have made me want to go back to NY and sign up for French, Spanish, Italian…whatever… lessons. Maybe one will stick?
I’ll share more about each of the team members in later posts. For now I want to share some of the biggest, most interesting observations I’ve made about my new office in Paris:
- Paris is the village at work — I feel like I am in a completely different office. And while obviously I am, I didn’t expect the overall agency flow to feel so different. The Paris office is a communication hub comprised of so many different groups. HAVAS Worldwide, HAVAS Media, HAVAS Event and on… Within each of these groups there are many departments and subgroups. Creative, Strategy, Content, Influence, PR, … I won’t even begin to claim I know (or fully grasp) them all, but what I do grasp is that the model is hugely impressive. It’s very clear to me that there is so much more than advertising behind these walls. This is the place for any company, product, organization, leader or even country to come to with a communication need.
- Collaboration — Of course being in the new business department thrusts you into the inner workings of an agency. You get to see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. You work with many different departments and most everyone seems to know you or your group. With that role you might expect some tension or frustration. To date… I haven’t seen it. The team collaboration I have witnessed along the way is stellar. I sit in status meetings with no less than 15 people from all the different departments. Creative, media, international affairs, event, design and so on. The pressure is on. The meetings are near. Not once has there been a time where there wasn’t a genuine sense of unity to get the best outcome. Is it the cast of people? The culture? The agency? All of the above? I am not sure. But it’s clearly a collaborative effort. And it works.
- Specialists — Beyond my new business project, I’ve had the opportunity to meet one on one with 4 different HAVAS leaders so far.
- Ludo Tenart — Digital Creative Director
- Benoit Viala — General Director of Influence
- Nicolas Favier — Associate Director of Brand
- Renee Kaplan — Chief Content Officer
Each of these people are highly respected in their area of expertise, but also shared impressive experiences in other backgrounds. They opened my eyes to how much knowledge is within this office. Havas Paris doesn’t just hire advertising experts. Havas Paris hires specialists and experts from every field. From journalists to art experts, from DJs to crisis managers, from bankers to international affairs… the best of the best are hired to work in the village. To collaborate, to unify and make Havas what it is in Paris.
