HAVAS GROUP ACQUIRES LEMZ TO BUILD THE MOST MEANINGFUL AGENCY IN THE NETHERLANDS


HAVAS GROUP ACQUIRES LEMZ
TO BUILD THE MOST MEANINGFUL AGENCY
IN THE NETHERLANDS

The Havas Group announced today that it is taking a 100% stake in Amsterdam-based Lemz, a leading full service agency in The Netherlands. The agency combines advertising, PR, digital and technology to create meaningful campaigns and creativity to contribute to a happier and healthier society.

Founded in 2000, Lemz was recognized at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in 2014 as the 2nd best independent agency in the world, in particular for its globally acclaimed Sweetie campaign, against online child abuse. The agency is known as a pioneer for pro-social creativity and its team of 45 digital natives dedicate their talent to clients such as IKEA, Nederlandse Loterij, health insurer CZ, Greenchoice, pension fund PFZW and Hallmark.

Yannick Bolloré, CEO of the Havas Group said: "We are very excited to welcome Lemz to the Havas family. The Dutch market is one of the most international and dynamic markets in Europe and many of our key clients are based in The Netherlands. Lemz's agile organizational model fits perfectly with our Together strategy; we share the same values which include innovation, entrepreneurship, generosity and unfailing commitment to our clients. Combining our strengths will allow us to better achieve our mission to create meaningful connections between people and brands.

Lemz will join forces with Havas Boondoggle, the existing Amsterdam based Havas Group agency, to create Havas Lemz. Willem van der Schoot, CEO of Lemz, will lead the 80 talents of the combined agency.

Willem van der Schoot, CEO of Lemz commented: "Over the past 2 years we carefully explored our options to become part of a bigger group and to increase our creative impact. We found in Havas a strong meeting of minds. It is a huge opportunity for Lemz, its talents and clients to benefit from the strategic advantages of a world leader in communications and its global resources. We will be better together." 

Christian de La Villehuchet, Chief Integration Officer of Havas Group and CEO for the Northern European region, added : "Over the last year we have made significant steps to improve our competitive position in the Netherlands. Christiaan van Mansfeld, Nils Taildeman and Menno Schipper have been instrumental in rebuilding a competitive position for the agency. The arrival of Lemz is a unique opportunity to accelerate the process of building a hub where talent and ideas can flourish and deliver impactful integrated creativity".

Click here for a photo of the Lemz management team.

About Havas Group
Havas is one of the world's largest global communications groups. Founded in 1835 in Paris, the Group now employs 20,000 people in over 100 countries. Havas Group is committed to being the world's best company at creating meaningful connections between people and brands through creativity, media and innovation. Havas is also the most integrated Group in its sector:  the Together Strategy is implemented through Havas Villages where most creative and media teams share the same premises which increases synergies for clients and better serve their needs.
Havas Group is organized into two divisions: Havas Creative Group and Havas Media Group. Havas Creative Group incorporates the Havas Worldwide network (havas.com), present in 75 countries, the Arnold micro-network (arn.com), 10 agencies in 9 countries, as well as several leading agencies including BETC and the Fullsix Group. Havas Media Group (havasmediagroup.com) is made up of three media brands, Havas Media (havasmedia.com), Arena Media (arenamedia.com) and Fullsix Media all of which work alongside Havas Sports & Entertainment (havas-se.com), the industry's largest global brand engagement network.
Further information about Havas Group is available on the company's website: www.havasgroup.com

About Lemz
Lemz was founded in 2000 by Peter de Lange, Mark Woerde and Maurice Maas. The Amsterdam-based agency currently employs 45 people who are organized into autonomous teams of around 11. Lemz works for clients such as IKEA, Nederlandse Loterij, health insurer CZ, Greenchoice, pension fund PFZW, and Hallmark.
Lemz was founded on the core belief that the imaginary brand worlds of yesteryear have lost relevance and connection to real-world issues. This does not mean the end of advertising. Rather, it offers brands a huge opportunity to engage with society in an honest and meaningful way - a way in which brands grow by improving the world. Lemz became a pioneer in prosocial advertising when they realized that prioritizing societal impact over profit actually results in achieving bigger business gains for their clients. From that day onward, the agency stopped dreaming about advertising awards and started dreaming about the Nobel Prize. Until today the agency's management and ownership were in the hands of Peter de Lange, Mark Woerde, Tim Claassen, Remco Marinus and Willem van der Schoot.
Further information about Lemz is available on the company's website: www.lemz.net

Contact :

Lorella Gessa
Director of Communications, Havas Group
+33 (0)1 58 47 90 36
lorella.gessa@havas.com
@Lorella_Gessa

Aurélie Jolion
Director of Investor Relations, Havas Group
+33 (0)1 58 47 92 42
aurelie.jolion@havas.com


Willem van der Schoot
CEO, Lemz
+31 (0)20 3057020
willem@lemz.net

29-30 quai de Dion Bouton, 92817 Puteaux Cedex, France 
Tel +33 (0) 1 58 47 80 00
SA au capital de 167 862 108 € - 335 480 265 RCS Nanterre - APE 7311Z

www.havasgroup.com
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Attachments:

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Attachments

Press Release.pdf