On July 14th, Havas Australia kicked off their newest initiative for employees – Hava-Listen, an event series that highlights the creative talents of employees immersed in the performing arts and help them make connections in these spaces.
The first event involved a concert in the Sydney office featuring a performance by Havas Media Group employee (and singer songwriter!) Anna Natlacen. Hear more about the event from Francis Coady, CMO of Havas Media Australia, in Dare!.
Can you talk about how you conceived Hava-Listen? How did the idea come about?
As an ex-band manager and executive producer in music and film, I have always been passionate about the creative talent of others and helping profile people’s passions, so I thought – why don’t we do that within the Havas Village in Australia? With the support of all the CEOs across the Havas Village, including Media (Virginia Hyland), Creative (Laura Aldington), and PR (Simone Gupta), we officially launched the all-staff call out for talent last month. Now, the first Hava-Listen session is going live this Thursday, with a great guest singer-songwriter and Havas Media Snr Digital Trader Anna Natlacen.
What’s the most exciting part about kicking off the series?
Seeing the joy on staff members’ faces when they learn about the talent of a colleague who works with them every day and, of course, the complete happiness of the individual about to get some serious recognition for their talent.
“We have been overwhelmed with the talent in our midst that no one ever knew about.”
What has the employee reception of this initiative been so far?
Incredible. We have been overwhelmed with the talent in our midst that no one ever knew about. We have the first three sessions locked and loaded for the next six months in Australia.
What does the future of Hava–Listen hold?
We would love to run this initiative across the globe and help bring the creative passions of our staff to life across every Havas Village and Vivendi more broadly.
If employees want to get involved with future editions of Hava–Listen, how can they do that?
All they have to do is email me at francis.coady@havasmedia.com, and we can talk through their creative ambitions and how we can bring those passions to life via our deep connections across the global media landscape within the Havas Village.
