Havas’ CSA launches in India; eyes 2X growth in revenue, ​​client base

New Delhi: Havas Group on Friday announced the India launch of CSA, the global technology, data, and analytics division of Havas, aimed at empowering brands to meaningfully activate customer data and drive business growth.

To further solidify the agency’s data and tech capabilities, PivotConsult, the strategic consulting arm of PivotRoots, has been merged into CSA India. 

Sharing her thoughts on the need for CSA India, Jamie Seltzer, Global EVP CSA & Mx Analytics told BestMediaInfo.com, “When we launched CSA as a global network 18 months ago, our goal was to unify our expertise from different areas and markets under one umbrella. This was to better serve our clients wherever they were. Over the past 18 months, we have focused on expanding in markets where we can enhance our capabilities and support client growth.

This is why we invested in launching CSA in India by acquiring PivotRoots’ PivotConsult. We recognise India’s rapid growth and its importance to both the Havas and CSA networks. This ensures we can meet the needs of both Indian and global clients, delivering for them wherever they are on their journeys.”

When asked about how CSA India will augment other verticals of Havas, Seltzer said, “Havas is uniquely positioned with its village model, allowing close collaboration between media, creative, and other agencies. This model helps us work more effectively for our clients. 

CSA was born from Havas Media, and integrates easily into other parts of the business, supporting Havas Creative, CX, and PR clients. This integration helps us service clients better and drive growth. The village model prevents the silos seen in other large holding companies, fostering closer collaboration across the network.”

Gaurav Seth, who has been appointed as Managing Partner to lead CSA India’s operations, said, “PivotRoots, which includes PivotConsult, was acquired by Havas. PivotConsult has been in business for over two years, with a team of 50 to 55 data analysts, engineers, and consultants, serving around 25 to 30 clients in CPG, financial services, and e-commerce.

With CSA’s global best practices and expertise, especially from markets like North America, we can scale and grow faster in India. Our global affiliations with platforms like Adobe, Google, and Microsoft, along with our acquisitions, will further strengthen our offerings and help us expand more rapidly in India.”

Sharing his vision for CSA India, Seth said, “The vision is primarily driven by two factors. One is the number of clients, and the second is revenue. We are planning to increase our revenue by more than 100% in the next year. To add, we are planning to increase our client base by more than 100 to 150% in the next year.”

While India is known as a growing technological powerhouse, there are multiple business entities that remain skeptical about even going online. 

Seth said, “When people’s attention shifted to digital platforms, ROI-sensitive brands faced challenges in switching from traditional to digital channels due to the need to establish return on investment. Technology like Google Ads Data Hub helps measure user engagement and attribute marketing spends to digital channels, making it easier to understand what works better—brand or performance marketing.

For example, a large offline appliance brand struggled to justify digital advertising to its management. Using Google’s Ads Data Hub, we showed that while sales happened in offline stores, digital marketing played a crucial role. By connecting digital spends to offline sales, we showed ROI, gaining more buy-in from traditional channels. This transition is natural as users increasingly spend time online, similar to the shift from linear TV to connected TV.”

The age-old question of performance versus brand marketing becomes extremely important in an ROI-sensitive market as marketers often put more weight behind performance thinking it offers the maximum ROI leaving brand marketing as an afterthought.

Commenting on this, Seltzer said, “It’s crucial for brands to remember that sales happen overnight, but building a brand takes time. Historically, clients have struggled to see the value in measurement solutions like market mix modeling, which are slow and don’t always provide a complete picture. At CSA, we’ve evolved these techniques to balance brand and performance. 

We’ve developed a product called nested modeling, which looks at the impact of different channels and tactics on both sales and brand metrics like uplift, favorability, and purchase intent. This helps us understand how brand efforts translate into sales over time. Focusing only on performance can drive short-term sales, but building a strong brand foundation is essential for long-term business growth.”

Marrying data and diversity

Data is no longer just a buzzword in the marketing industry but has now transformed into a necessity that agencies can not function without it. In a country full of diversity such as India, data can provide eye-opening insights helping agencies get maximum bang for their buck.

Offering his perspective on how diversity can impact data and tech functions, Seth said, “Think of Facebook for a second, the technology behind it is the same everywhere, but it adapts to the language and cultural nuances of each region. For instance, content recommendation systems need to understand the local language to make suitable suggestions. This means the technology must be trained for that specific language.

Similarly, while some technologies like analytics are more universal, they still need to be adapted to the business use cases and cultural nuances of each country. This is where our expertise as an advertising agency, now transformed into different divisions like CSA, comes in. We use technology to make recommendations that align with local preferences. As people spend more time on digital channels, it’s crucial to use efficient technologies that can adapt to cultural differences, ensuring marketers reach their audience effectively.”