18 Sep Inside: Havas Dublin
They’re disruptive, fun, and curious. They’re “creative warriors” fighting for their clients. They’re the Havas Dublin team “making awesome happen.” Get to know them in our tour below.
The Mag: What makes Havas Dublin a great place to work?
Havas Dublin: Ultimately, if we’re not enjoying what we’re doing every day, then we can’t expect to create inspiring work. So the culture starts with the people. The first thing that happens when you start working here is that you get your own Luchador mask. The masks started about six years back at a party we had in the agency, and they represent us as creative warriors fighting in our clients’ corners.
Another way we bring everyone together is an in house event called Fantastic Fridays. Industry experts, artists, inventors, and our own team members are invited for breakfast in what we call “The Good Room” for a talk or presentation to the staff. It’s designed to educate and inspire, but we have an inkling that most people just turn up for the brekkie; if they happen to get a head full of inspiration as well as a belly full of food, then all well and good.
We believe no idea is stupid – anyone for Banana Boat Jousting? – and everyone gets to have their say. We encourage personal growth and the sharing of knowledge and interests. At the end of the day: we’re a team, we love what we do, and that’s what matters.
The Mag: Can you tell us a bit about your “Making awesome happen” philosophy? How is this executed at the agency?
Havas Dublin: We have a core set of beliefs which drive us to surpass our potential and deliver awesome work and results for our clients. We believe that the biggest insight is making someone smile, that moving hearts is as important as moving minds – and that emotion leads to action. We believe that “fine” isn’t good enough, and that to be the best requires brilliance, bravery, and a degree of ball-breaking (ours included). We believe in each other and in our future. We believe that an agency should acknowledge all of the above, and strive to be awesome. This attitude permeates every aspect of what we do, and inspires us all to be our best selves.
The Mag: What recent client work is most talked about around the office?
Havas Dublin: We ran a campaign for Tiger Beer this year where we brought the spirit of the tiger to life. We commissioned two local artists to build a human-controlled mechanical tiger, which we brought – totally unannounced – into bars around Dublin and prowled through the crowd emitting deep grumbles and roars. It was inspired by a random idea on a post-it note entitled “Robotic Disco ball Tiger” and emerged as a dramatic experiential event. The client told us later that one bar marked its departure with a standing ovation.
The Mag: Tell us a bit about the office space. What are some of the unique spaces and conversations pieces?
Havas Dublin: To make awesome happen, you need an awesome space. And 64 Lower Leeson Street has been our awesome agency home since 1943. As a result, the building itself is an integral part of our culture and history. The uniqueness of the building is in its inherent Georgian characteristics – high ceilings with intricate stucco chandelier features, creaky floors, and heavy doors.
We’ve renovated the space recently to bring it back to its former glory, opening up the rooms and putting in large communal desks so that all our teams within Havas Village from account services to media, creative to digital, and public relations to production can bounce insights, ideas, and insults off each other.
No Irish house is complete without “The Good Room,” the room we all had in our homes as kids where guests were allowed, but you weren’t let in (unless you took your shoes off). It’s now a relaxed bright red space where we still host our clients and guests, but they don’t have to take their shoes off.
The Mag: How does the office location and Dublin culture influence or inspire your team?
Havas Dublin: Havas Village Dublin is nestled in a triangle of a Jesuit House (where they found a Caravaggio painting hanging in the basement kitchen) a Starbucks, and Buck Whaley’s, one of Ireland’s oldest and most cringe-worthy nightclubs. How could we not be influenced and inspired by this?
