Havas Group announced it has invested in Republica, the No. 1 independent multicultural agency in the U.S. Located in Miami, Florida, Republica was founded by Chairman & CEO Jorge A. Plasencia and President Luis Casamayor in 2006 to address the “seismic multicultural and digital revolution.”
Republica’s team of 120 experts specializes in creating relevant, enduring connections across culture, language, and technology, providing strategy, creative, research, media planning and buying, analytics, consumer science, digital, public relations, social, and experiential for brands in the U.S. and around the globe. Today, the agency works with numerous brand partners including Walmart, Toyota, Google, Nielsen, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Freixenet USA, Azamara Club Cruises, NBCUniversal Telemundo, Universal Parks & Resorts, Miami Super Bowl 2020 and Goya Foods, to name a few.
The agency will be renamed Republica Havas and will remain headquartered in Miami, with expansion plans to other key U.S. markets including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Republica Havas will continue offering expert multicultural marketing intelligence, combined with the ability to leverage Havas’ global integrated communications network as well as tap into parent company Vivendi’s media and entertainment properties.
Republica Havas will continue to be led by Plasencia, Casamayor and their executive team, and sit under the direction of Paul Marobella, Chairman and CEO, Havas Creative, North America.
Yannick Bolloré, CEO Havas Group, said: “With multicultural consumers making up nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population and $3.4 trillion in spending[1], the current American landscape is the most culturally diverse and technologically fluent in history. Multicultural marketing intelligence needs to be in every brand’s DNA. Republica’s industry-leading expertise further expands our multicultural capability and understanding. Miami is the right place to serve as our anchor.”
“Our mission as a creative agency is to ignite the businesses of the brands we work with through cultural relevance. As such, it was important for us to find the best partner that doesn’t just understand multicultural marketing but is embedded in the fabric of different cultural communities in America—Republica is that partner. Combining our integrated capabilities with Republica’s fluency in multicultural values and preferences will allow our clients to connect to diverse audiences with authenticity and impact,” added Marobella.
Plasencia said: “Many suitors have approached us over the years, and although we always listened, it never felt right. That changed with Havas. The fact that Republica Havas now becomes the Group’s leading multicultural offering in the U.S., coupled with the endless opportunities we will be able to offer both our clients and the members of the Republica family, joining forces now made
perfect sense. This is the right partnership because it allows us to continue to do what we love, staying true to our culture and our people, while being able to offer our deep multicultural expertise to Havas’ many agency partners. Luis and I are thrilled to join the Havas and greater Vivendi family on this new chapter of our journey; and we extend our gratitude to both our extraordinary team and our incredible client partners for believing in us.”
Republica was recently ranked seventh on Ad Age’s 2018 annual list of the top 50 U.S. Hispanic agencies, making the firm the No. 1 independent shop on the list. The agency has also recently garnered 56 top industry awards and accolades, including a Cannes Lions Shortlist, Clio, Spain’s Festival El Sol, New York Festivals, Imagen Award and PRSA Bronze Anvil, among others.
