Havas debuts Havas Consumer Health targeting OTC health and wellness brands

Havas has launched Havas Consumer Health (HCH) this week, a consumer health unit which will specialise in over-the-counter (OTC) health and wellness brands.

HCH will integrate expertise from two of Havas’ business units—Havas Health & You, and Havas Creative Network—to produce work for clients and change “the way people think about their health and wellness,” the agency said in a press release.

The new agency will also largely draw from an already existing team that has focused on the OTC space, which Havas said grew 54% in 2023. HCH will focus on behavioral economics, influencer and content strategy, as well as holistic media planning and activation.

Donna Murphy, global CEO of Havas Health & You and Havas Creative Network, called the unit a “uniquely blended agency” that is driven by the increasingly influential role consumerism is playing in health and wellness.

“We see an incredible opportunity to help brands drive that journey and close the delta in the siloed consumer and traditional health advertising landscapes,” Murphy said in a statement.

Havas is launching the consumer health unit as other big name brands in the pharma space have taken similar routes over the last year or two.

Big Pharma companies like GSK and Johnson & Johnson have spun off their consumer health units—Haleon and Kenvue, respectively.

“The most competitive brands recognise the value in separating their consumer health businesses to meet changing consumer needs,” Weaden said in a statement. “Consumers are increasingly more empowered to take charge and make more informed and confident choices about how they care for themselves. Our goal is to make our clients’ brands visible, engaging and influential, so we can help them be chosen in this crowded and rapidly evolving space.”

The move to launch a consumer health unit comes just two months after reports emerged that media giant Vivendi indicated it was considering splitting off several of its business units, including Havas.

That came on the heels of Havas releasing its Q3 2023 earnings with 4.5% organic revenues growth. The agency noted it was seeing sizable growth in Latin America—51.1% specifically— compared to 2.0% in Asia and 1.5% in Europe.

Last year, Havas also unveiled Welltainment—its latest creative initiative focused on bridging the health equity gap.