Page 60 - Adnews Nov-Dec 2022

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and merchandising - I offered the full 360 of management,” Coady told AdNews.
Like Coady, Havas Media has cultivated an entertainment, instead of an advertising, ethos.
The group’s ecosystem of enter- tainment and culture is largely guided by the agency’s holding group Vivendi, which is a major shareholder of the biggest music company in the world Universal Music, owning around 80% of music content on YouTube.
Plus, the entertainment power- house also has ownership of Dailymotion, GameLoft and the giant European film house Canal Blues - owning Paddington Bear and John Wick films.
Therefore, the initial appoint- ment of Coady as general manager of Havas Sports and Entertainment - the global brand partnership specialist division of the Havas Group - was a no-brainer.
“Having this entertainment backbone through the Vivendi ownership was probably the rea- son Mike Wilson came to me,” Coady said.
After saying no for about two years, Coady eventually departed his management business and took up the Havas Sports and Entertainment role which required him to set up the Australian division from scratch.
“I spent the next five years basi- cally building the business around existing clients, new client wins and targeting major partnerships.
“One of the first big clients we won was Bupa, and the second was Guillet who have been a client for six years now.”
Havas Sports and Entertainment Australia is now a multi-million dol- lar operation with a slew of inter- national industry awards from working with local and global cli- ents including NRMA, CGU, NSW Environmental Protection Agency, Avis, Budget and KAYO to name a few highlights.
Then Virginia Hyland was appointed CEO of Havas Media Group Australia and she asked Coady to step out of his day-to-day role of running Havas Sports and Entertainment and take a more senior role helping her run the whole company.
Francis Coady, along with Eardrum and Resonance Sonic Branding founder Ralph van Dijk, delivered Love Is In The Ear at MFA EX 2022. Their presentation highlighted how audio entertainment creates long-term memories and emotional connections. With microphone in hand, Coady showed no hesitation approaching the audience to get involved with over 1400 media professionals tuning in.
“I recognised that Havas Media could benefit from the effort and energy Francis delivers when creating marketing communication plans,” Hyland said.
“His ability to share innovative and award-winning work, celebrate our industry leading talented team in a way that engages and piques interest, is exceptional.”
Coady was hesitant at first and asked what the role would look like. And Hyland essentially said: “Whatever you want. I want to build a role for you.”
Roped in with the role’s flexibility, Coady said yes.
“When you work for yourself, titles and stuff are nebulous, because you don't really care about the title; I care about the output of the work,” Coady said.
“We talked about a chief commercial officer role, which is ostensibly straight commercials and business, but Virginia knew that wasn't me, even though I love that side of the world.
“She came to the conclusion that the CMO role was for me as it’s cre- ative element excited me.”
What does a media agency CMO actually do?
Having a CMO means Havas is ahead of the game because as Coady has found, the C-level role is a solution to un-siloing the advertising industry, creating a more unified end-to-end marketing process.