Havas Australia and New Zealand has officially opened its Melbourne Village in Richmond, bringing together more than 100 staff across six agencies in a move designed to bolster integration, collaboration, and client service.
The new premises unite Havas Red, Havas Media, Havas Play, Havas Host, Bastion Brands, and Pulse under one roof. The Village model mirrors Havas’ existing Sydney hub and is central to the group’s broader vision of becoming the most client-centric agency network in Australia and New Zealand.
Located at 4–12 Amsterdam Street, the Melbourne hub includes dedicated content and production studios, as well as large indoor and outdoor collaboration and entertainment spaces. It follows several years of local growth, both organic and via acquisitions.
“Havas has enjoyed a long and successful history in Melbourne and we’re investing further to ensure we continue to deliver world-class results for our clients that are based or operate there,” said James Wright, Group CEO, Havas ANZ and Global CEO, Havas Red.
“Following several years of excellent growth in Melbourne, it’s an exciting time to bring all our talent and capabilities together to meet the rapidly changing needs of marketers and brands.”
The group has made multiple local acquisitions since 2022, including Frontier Media, Australian Public Affairs (APA), Bastion Brands, and Hotglue. Hotglue now operates as Havas Media Melbourne, while APA has rebranded to H/Advisors APA.
Melbourne is considered a strategic market for Havas, with the new Village forming part of the group’s global Converged.AI transformation strategy. The initiative is backed by a €400 million investment over four years and aims to integrate data, AI, and creativity into a single operating system.
“Forming the Melbourne Village helps us accelerate our vision to be the most client-centric agency network that utilises data, tech, people, and AI to unlock the full potential of our capabilities. Havas has committed €400 million to deliver its Converged.AI strategy over the next four years, and we’re supporting that investment through growth and integration of our local agencies” Wright said.
In addition to Melbourne, Havas ANZ has offices in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Perth, and Auckland. Across the region, the network now employs more than 400 staff across agencies including Havas Blvd, Havas People, Organic, One Green Bean and H/Advisors APA.
Top image: James Wright