Havas Media Group said it will be using FreeWheel’s Strata platform for its media buying and management business in the U.K. and France.
The multi-year agreement with Comcast's FreeWheel follows a competitive review of media-buying platforms.
Using Strata will give Havas enterprise wide consistency. The platform provides media planning, activation, optimization and reconciliation capabilities. It also allows seamless API connections with data, financial and internal agency systems.
“Today’s media landscape is incredibly fast-changing and dynamic, so we sought a technology partner with a strong track record for innovation and a proven ability to deliver client results while staying ahead of the marketplace,” said Darren Todhunter, chief financial officer, Havas Media Group. “FreeWheel impressed us with its ability to expertly adapt its portfolio of media buying and management solutions to address our range of client needs in different markets across the globe. We are very excited about working together, and we look forward to this partnership.”
The two companies have been working on a phased deployment of the software that went live in France late last year and that launched in the UK in Q1 2020.
“From the start, we found great synergy in what Havas was looking for in a technology partner and what we could provide,” said Andrew Perry, head of commercial, FreeWheel. “Havas’s business is global and complex and so, they needed a technology company that had expertise creating innovative solutions for clients on both a regional and worldwide level, while taking into account local market and large-scale industry trends and factors. This connection between what Havas was looking for and our expertise in this space is a powerful one and we are very excited to be working together.”
