HAVAS Red Grows PR, Social and Content Capabilities in Africa with Expansion to Ivory Coast

Merged media agency network HAVAS Red adds West Africa to its growing bench of global markets and offerings 

HAVAS Red (formerly Red HAVAS), the global PR agency micronetwork, today announced the addition of HAVAS Red Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire). Aurélie Jarry has been named managing director of the new start-up.  

This follows the network’s initial expansion into Africa last October, when it opened in Johannesburg. Today’s announcement brings its merged-media capabilities into a total of 18 markets around the world.  

“Bigger, better, bolder — and more borderless — that’s how HAVAS Red continues to grow each year,” said James Wright, global CEO of HAVAS Red and global chairman of the HAVAS PR Network. “Opening up shop in South Africa last year was a big step for us into an exciting region, and now we’re ready to grow our footprint into West Africa, where our HAVAS colleagues have already been doing groundbreaking work with iconic clients on the Ivory Coast who are also looking for PR and social support.” 

In 2023, HAVAS Red expanded to two new markets, with the start-up of HAVAS Red South Africa in October and the acquisition of India-based PR Pundit in November, which operates as PR Pundit HAVAS Red. Its entry into West Africa marks the 18th market that HAVAS Red has stepped into since it launched in 2019. In addition to South Africa, India and now the Ivory Coast, HAVAS Red has offices in Australia, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, the Middle East (U.A.E., Saudi Arabia and Oman), the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, the U.K. the U.S., and Vietnam.  

“The HAVAS Village in Africa operates with one vision, one shared way of working and under one P&L. By bringing in additional PR, social and content capabilities through HAVAS Red in Ivory Coast, we’re even more primed to make a meaningful difference to the brands, the businesses and the lives of the people we work with,” said Vineel Agarwal, CEO of HAVAS Africa. 

The Ivory Coast office now operates in a unified way across HAVAS Red’s seven disciplines around the world: health and wellness, corporate PR and reputation management, technology and e-commerce, consumer and lifestyle, automotive and mobility, travel and hospitality, as well as employee engagement and internal communications. 

“We’ve been fortunate to work already with a wonderful portfolio of clients at the Havas Village in West Africa,” added Aurélie Jarry, managing director of HAVAS Red Ivory Coast. “Now, by expanding to become HAVAS Red Ivory Coast, we will be even more powerful and integrated partners for these clients on everything from social media to experiential to public relations.” 

2023 marked another period of strong growth and performance for HAVAS Red, which was named Campaign’s Global PR Network of the Year and shortlisted for Global Agency of the Year in the PRWeek Global and PRWeek Purpose awards. In Australia, India, Middle East, Spain and the U.S., HAVAS Red took home AOTY honors. The agency’s roster of clients includes Galderma, the U.K. Department of Education, Molson Coors, Meltwater, Kellogg’s, ManpowerGroup, Cox Automotive, UNICEF, Toyota, Baddoo and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, among others.  

In 2023, HAVAS Red introduced Peaks, its award-winning multichannel executive branding support, and SWAY by Havas Red, an end-to-end influencer marketing service. Other global offerings from HAVAS Red include Red Impact, a global offering that brings together its ESG and sustainability expertise; Health by Havas Red, a specialized offering focused on health and wellness; and Red Connect, a B2B content marketing practice.