NOW PLAYING
Havas Host
Team PROFILE
Agency Type
Creative
Ownership
Havas
tagline
Unusual Works
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Gayle While
CEO
Olly Taylor
CSO
Phil Pickering
Head of strategy
Anna Yates
Creative lead
Al Ferrier
Head of integrated production
Laura Mahony
Head of client experience
Key Stats
Offices
Sydney, Melbourne
Headcount
48
Gender Balance Staff
M: 40%
F: 60%
Gender Balance Leaders
M: 60%
F: 40%
Client book
Client Wins
7
Client Losses
1
Client extensions
2
Largest clients
IKEA
Stockland
Danone
Agency Scorecards report
Havas Host put in a tuneful, spirited performance in 2025. While not the most jaw-dropping and spine-tingling of albums, there were a number of very solid singles that caused a stir in the hit parade and got the dancefloor moving.
Top of pops for the agency in 2025 was its work for headline client IKEA. The French-owned agency launched the Swedish retailer across the ditch in New Zealand—a mammoth undertaking described by its outgoing CMO as a once-in-a-career opportunity. It was a fully-integrated effort spanning social, paid media, TV, earned moments and nationwide activations.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the IKEA work was its cultural resonance with smart activations and creatives with a decidedly personal, local touch. That didn’t happen by accident as Host took pains to strengthen its full‐funnel capability by embedding PR, social and content into core account teams.
Over the course of the year, Host won seven new clients, including the retained accounts for Aptamil and Karicare, YoPro and Asahi Super Dry—though the latter was part of a global win.
It also won project work for Border Force and electronics giant Acer, joining its global agency roster. It did lose one client, Geely, via a mandatory pitch following a one-year contract to Bastion. Its work with Tassal led to an expansion of its account. It also signed a contract extension with Tourism Fiji, another cool client that does impressive work.
Backstage, Host set about “thoughtfully” bringing AI into its operations strategy, creative, production and workflow, to help it with “faster thinking” and “richer insights”. It also partnered with CareerTrackers to welcome First Nations interns across creative disciplines. It “opened conversations” with Bus Stop Films and other diversity‐focused production businesses to improve its efforts there.
Host was certified as a Great Place to Work and advanced its DEI offering with “meaningful” updates to its Gender Pillar and Gender Pay Gap Action Plan, including a 50 per cent bump in paid leave for secondary carers. It removed the payment split for primary carers and extended superannuation contributions across the unpaid leave period, though these will be phased in over a three-year period.
Host likened itself to Daft Punk in its submission (and as its head of design spent 12 months working from its London office, it can claim to go Around the World).
It said like the French electro duo blends precision with creativity to create work that lands with cultural and commercial resonance. And we reckon that’s pretty bang on.
It might not be the flashiest, or the biggest, but should its work appear, it’ll get your toes tapping.
Hightlights reel
IKEA New Zealand Launch
One of the most ambitious market entries, IKEA’s New Zealand launch was a fully integrated effort spanning social, paid media, TV, earned moments and nationwide activations. The result: one of IKEA’s most successful country launches globally.
To embed the brand meaningfully in local culture, we developed a number of initiatives including; LiBILLYry. The library that Billy Bookcase built. We worked in partnership with local media and Upokongaro School to build a school library using IKEA design principles and of course Billy Bookcases.
Pop-ups. To demonstrate accessibility beyond Auckland, we launched immersive pop ups experiences in Wellington and Christchurch. Rather than traditional retail previews, these were art led galleries created with local artists, showcasing iconic products like the POÄNG chair in unexpected, culturally resonant ways. Demonstrating pricing as well as the quality of the product.
And in the final countdown, IKEA was everywhere. High impact OOH in Auckland combined with contextual, hyper local executions across the country, using tailored product messaging to show New Zealand that IKEA didn’t just understand design, it understood Kiwis.
Havas Host's take on 2025
In 2025, we had a strong year, especially in the context of broader industry change . We deepened long term strategic partnerships and produced some of our most culturally resonant, and commercially effective work. Anchored in our Unusual Works philosophy,
we helped our clients maximise their marketing dollars through connected platforms and ideas that travelled — from the nationwide launch of IKEA New Zealand to Tassal’s disruptive shift to Summer ownership and major growth across tourism, FMCG and
lifestyle brands.
We also evolved how we work. By thoughtfully adopting AI across strategy, creative, production and workflow, we’ve started to unlock faster thinking, richer insights and more time for creative and craft. Our team have embraced this shift with openness and
ambition, proving that creativity thrives when technology and human ingenuity work in harmony.
Above all, 2025 was powered by our culture, a connected, passionate team committed to work that’s distinctive, relevant and focused on delivering impact.
Al Ferrier, Head of integrated production
In a year filled with agency firsts, from IKEA’s first brand sound, its first local TVC in over a decade, and its entire New Zealand launch, to Fiji Airways’ first anthemic brand song and Tassal’s first collaboration with Budgy Smugglers, Al was the calm, brilliant centre of it all. As our production guru, he delivered exceptional craft within tight timelines and budgets, all while guiding the agency through its AI evolution and leading his team with assurance. Unflustered, unshakeable and endlessly capable, Al was one of our true stars of 2025.
What a HERO!
If we were a musician we'd be...
Daft Punk
Deliberate, distinctive and designed for impact.
Like Daft Punk, we blend precision with creativity to create work that lands with cultural and commercial resonance. Our Unusual
Works philosophy gives clients a partner they can grow with year after year, through relationships that are thoughtful, consistent
and driven by creative ambition. Every brief becomes an opportunity to craft something meaningful, effective and built to last. And
much like the band, we’re not the showiest act in the room; we let the work take centre stage, earning attention for its quality, and
craft.
Havas Host
B&T's Agency Score
7.3
Previous season: N/A
Critic's Comment
“A couple of toe-tappers and some tune ups here and there, Havas Host had its moments in 2025.”