Red Havas Launches SWAY— a Global Practice for Influencer Marketing Excellence

Red Havas Group, the micronetwork of borderless merged media agencies, today announced the global launch of SWAY, an end-to-end influencer marketing service designed to help clients drive authentic, engaging and effective brand conversation through influencers.

SWAY by Red Havas works with PR, social and experiential marketing teams within the agency to develop creative social-first marketing campaigns with influencers that deliver tangible business impact. The practice’s conception globally is the result of increasing recognition of influencer marketing as a performance channel and encompasses centers of excellence in Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

“More brands than ever before are adapting their broader strategy and communications to include significant influencer activity,” said James Wright, global CEO of the Red Havas Group and global chairman of the Havas PR Global Collective. “Some even put influencer marketing front and center, recognizing them as a full-funnel marketing channel. It’s no longer about just a paid transaction. Brands are building long-term relationships with influencers who are advocating their messages and experience.”

SWAY by Red Havas offers an end-to-end solution for influencer marketing, with an approach that includes:

• Five-step best practice framework from identification to measurement

• Strategic cadence roadmap with a focus on long-term, authentic relationships

• Defined roles of channel for all social media platforms

• Advise and brand reputational management for new and emerging technologies and trends

• Access to best-in-class data and social tools and close working relationships with industry partners

• Custom-built proxy measurement frameworks for robust campaign evaluation and reporting

Wright adds, “Across the Red Havas Group we have been working in this area for a number of years now and presently are working with more than 100 brands and organizations on their influencer activity, so it’s a natural next step to formalize and focus on this as a global practice.”

Earlier this year, Red Havas Group launched Peaks a multichannel executive branding service designed to help C-suite executives develop a personal brand. Other global offerings include Red Impact, which focuses on ESG and sustainability communications; Red Havas Health, a specialized offering focused on health and wellness; and Red Connect, a B2B content marketing practice.

The Red Havas Group has 25 offices across 14 markets and was launched in 2019 as the global PR arm of the Havas. Red Havas employs a strategic model called “merged media” that replicates the convergence of media consumption — blending traditional and digital publishing, content, social media and data in a way that it believes defines the future of PR as a category.