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Tag: Havas CX

  • Deepali Saini steps up as global chief experience design officer at Havas CX

    Deepali Saini steps up as global chief experience design officer at Havas CX

    BENGALURU: Think Design chief executive Deepali Saini has been elevated to global chief experience design officer at Havas CX, the customer experience arm of Havas Group. In her expanded brief, Saini will continue to run Think Design in India while shaping the network’s worldwide experience design (XD) practice.

    The move signals Havas CX’s ambition to place design leadership from India at the centre of its international growth. Saini now joins the global CX leadership board, where she will be responsible for harmonising experience design standards across markets, deepening integration with client programmes, and accelerating growth in new service areas.

    Her mandate also includes strengthening design methodologies across geographies, mentoring talent, building proprietary frameworks, and setting ethical guidelines for deploying artificial intelligence in the design process — a theme gaining urgency across global networks.

    Saini, who co-founded Think Design in 2004, has spent over two decades shaping design-led strategies for organisations in healthcare, banking, telecom, and public services. A graduate of NID Ahmedabad and ENSCI Paris, she is known for championing research-driven design and has taught methodology at NID.

    “This is an opportunity to both honour the foundations we have laid in India and push the boundaries of what experience design can achieve globally,” Saini said. She credited Havas India chief Rana Barua and Havas CX global chief David Shulman for their backing in creating what she called “a truly borderless design practice.”

    Her appointment underscores a wider trend of Indian design talent gaining global prominence within multinational networks, with Havas signalling that southeast Asia, India, and the middle east will be pivotal growth regions for its CX portfolio.

  • Havas CX launches in Singapore, expands reach in Southeast Asia

    Havas CX launches in Singapore, expands reach in Southeast Asia

    Mumbai: Havas CX, the global customer experience network of Havas, has expanded its operations into Singapore as of 13 November 2024, bolstering its presence in Southeast Asia. This move enhances Havas CX’s regional footprint, integrating its established UI/UX and experience design expertise from Think Design with the technical strengths of Ekino, which has operated in Singapore since 2017.

    Havas India, Southeast and North Asia (Japan & South Korea), group CEO, Rana Barua emphasised the strategic nature of this expansion: “Expanding our CX capabilities in Southeast Asia, with Singapore serving as the strategic hub, is a key part of our broader Converged growth strategy in the region. While we establish a robust UI/UX design capability through Think Design, in the coming months, we’ll be introducing more of Havas CX Network’s services into Southeast Asia—reinforcing our commitment to delivering transformative customer experiences in one of the world’s most dynamic digital economies.”

    Havas CX Network global CEO, David Shulman noted the growing importance of integrated brand experiences: “As brands seek to create deeper, more meaningful connections with their audiences, the need for seamless, integrated experiences has never been greater. By expanding our CX capabilities in Southeast Asia, starting with Singapore, we are reinforcing our dedication to customer-centric innovation throughout the region, providing solutions that resonate with audiences at every step of their digital journey.”

    To deliver cohesive brand experiences combining creativity, design, and technology, Think Design will collaborate closely with BLKJ Havas, supported by Ekino’s extensive technological capabilities. This integrated approach will be led by Think Design CEO, Deepali Saini and BLKJ Havas, CEO, Rowena Bhagchandani of both reporting to Barua.

    Sharing their enthusiasm, Saini and Bhagchandani stated, “We are excited to integrate our CX capabilities into the region, positioning Singapore as a leading hub for digital innovation to drive significant growth across the region.”

  • Havas CX announces key appointments, bolsters leadership in India

    Havas CX announces key appointments, bolsters leadership in India

    Mumbai: Havas CX, the specialized customer experience unit of Havas Creative Group India, has strengthened its leadership team with key appointments to build on the vertical’s existing momentum in India.

    Arunima Singh has been appointed as vice president – customer success and Ashtad Gandhi has been roped in as associate vice president – data & analytics. Both Singh and Gandhi will report to Havas CX India managing partner Prashant Tekwani.

    Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua said, “Havas CX India has witnessed exponential growth in less than two years through massive business wins across Mumbai and New Delhi. In addition, it has successfully built resonance in the industry through its annual report X Index. We understand that brands that get CX right will be the ones that stay relevant in the future, and therefore, our aim now is to scale up Havas CX to the next level and further expand both its expertise and our teams.”

    Speaking about the appointments, Havas CX India managing partner Prashant Tekwani said, “Over the past few years, we have partnered with brands to create business solutions with data and technology playing an integral role. As Arunima and Ashtad come on board, we’re embarking on the next phase of our rapid growth. The experience and expertise that both bring to the table will help us strengthen our offering further and empower us with the necessary tools to provide strong, strategic counsel to our clients.”

    With over two decades of experience, Singh has been instrumental in creating award-winning effective campaigns for brands including Pidilite, Godrej Group, Parle, Kotak Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Kellogg’s, and Colgate, among others. In her current role, Singh will head the business operations to streamline the process and work closely with the India Havas Creative team/Havas Village India to expand Havas CX’s scope across the group. She moves into Havas CX from Havas Life Sorento.

    Gandhi has over a decade of experience in solving business problems with solutions that connect with their customers. At Havas CX, he will lead the data and analytics wing to build and develop the practice and enhance the customer-centricity of all offerings through data-led processes that’ll help clients arrive at better decisions. Through his career, Gandhi has managed an array of brands, including Škoda, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Pfizer, GSK, TCS and ITC foods, amongst others. He moved to Havas CX from Publicis.

    Singh and Gandhi will be further supported by the creative duo, Sarthak Ghose and Amarttya Majumdar along with Siddhant Natarajan who is a part of the customer success team. While Sarthak and Amarttya join Havas CX from WATConsult and AutumnGrey (Grey Group), Siddhant was previously a part of Publicis.

    Part of the Havas CX global network, Havas CX India combines the power of data, technology, and design to create meaningful experiences and deliver value across the entire customer journey. Launched globally in 2020, Havas CX network spans across 18 major Havas Villages around the world with India as one of the key focus markets globally.

  • Forget brand loyalty & price, efficiency and emotions pivotal in good CX: Report

    Forget brand loyalty & price, efficiency and emotions pivotal in good CX: Report

    MUMBAI: What makes a customer tick? A new report by Havas CX would have you believe that efficiency and emotion are the two most important factors when it comes to good CX (customer experience).

    Based on consumer attitudes towards CX as a practice by brands, the study titled The X Index surveyed 28,000 consumers across five markets – China, France, India, UK and US – and found that of the 40 criteria analysed, two factors – “the customer journey was simple” and “the customer journey was pleasant” scored the highest – even above other factors including brand loyalty, customer service and price.

    The study highlights that in India, the customer-brand relation factor is the main driver of CX efficiency, with a conjunctural impact of Covid. For Bricks & Clicks brands (bricks-and-mortar retailers that have implemented digital transformation programmes), relevant and responsible communication alongside the pleasantness of the experience ranked as the most important factor. For Pure Players, the quality of their customer service was the single most important factor. While pleasantness of experience did emerge as a discerning factor for Pure Players (digital natives, online-only), it was less pronounced than it was for Bricks & Clicks brands.

    The top five X Index emerging categories are automotive, hospitality, fashion, finance and quick service restaurants. The top 10 brands in India are Apple, Tanishq, Morris Garages, Maruti, Michelin, Hyundai, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Citroën, AirBnB and Marriott.

    Overall, the study, conducted by Havas CX in partnership with research institute OpinionWay, shines a light on the dual but contrasting needs of consumers who demand an almost Darwinist functional efficiency while simultaneously seeking an emotional connection from the brands they interact with (and buy from).

    It also uncovers a divide in consumer expectations of Bricks & Clicks brands versus digital Pure Players – with emotional needs ranking higher for the former and functionality for the latter. This underlines a clear opportunity for Pure Players – with functionality very much a given, the emotional can represent a clear differentiating factor.

    While the importance consumers place on efficiency and emotion stands out, effective CX is driven by a unique combination of certain factors in each market. Havas CX has analysed this data to identify four key overarching principles of best-in-class customer experience in 2021:

    Create personalised experiences

    Customers today expect communication to be personalised in accordance to their profile and brands need to take into account their previous interaction with customers in order to deliver data-led personalised experiences. The fact that the fit of brand communication to audience profile as well as previous purchase ranked high for both Pure Players and Bricks & Clicks, underscores the importance of data-led personalisation for an effective CX.

    Deliver a seamless omni-channel experience

    It is imperative for Bricks & Clicks brands to extend their existing offline experiences onto digital platforms, as the customer is looking for a consistent and seamless experience across touchpoints. And while delivering it, Bricks & Clicks players should pay that extra attention to exceed consumer expectations and deliver an experience that is reflective of the brand’s core.

    Be responsible and caring

    In the post-pandemic world, consumers are expecting brands to act more responsibly. They expect brands to step up their post-sales service, especially in the case of Pure Players. Ranking high for both Pure Players and Bricks & Clicks is the need to enable consumers by providing them easy access to helpful and useful content on relevant touchpoints throughout the journey.

    Simple emotional connect to delight

    Customer Experience is integral to all the brand interactions and the customer is not concerned about all the science and data that goes behind the design of the customer experience. What the consumer is looking forward to is a simple and pleasant purchase journey, which is easy to navigate. The simplicity of the experience leads to a delightful CX.

    "The Havas X Index is a proprietary tool designed to serve as a global barometer for assessing customer experience. In addition to ranking brands and categories basis consumer’s evaluation of their CX offering, the report also highlights the most important factors that determine good CX,” said Havas Group India, chief strategy officer Neeraj Bassi. He opined that the findings of the X Index report will be particularly useful to CMOs and CEOs who are looking to revamp their CX offering post the pandemic.

    According to Havas CX India EVP & business head Prashant Tekwani, while there has been accelerated adoption of digital in 2020, terms like ‘new normal’ and ‘pandemic has changed the way people purchase’ have become overused to the point of becoming cliché    ; brands need to rise above generalisations and define their own customer strategy. 

    "Each brand will have to curate a buying journey that is meaningful, unique, and relatable for the consumer to win loyalty. The lack of in-store experience has forced the Bricks & Clicks brands to look towards technology innovations to personalise the buying experience for the customer, contrary to treating each interaction as a transaction," he added.