Havas Media Lands Penguin Random House & DK UK Account

Leading media communications agency, Havas Media, has won the £5 million Penguin Random House and DK UK consolidated media account following a competitive pitch.

Havas Media will focus on planning and buying across all media on campaigns for a diverse range of authors and brands including James Patterson, Jamie Oliver, Jo Nesbo, Mary Berry, Doctor Who, Nick Hornby, Jacqueline Wilson, Terry Pratchett, Malcolm Gladwell, Jeff Kinney and Sophie Kinsella.

Havas Media has worked on the Penguin Group account, including DK UK, since 2012. Last year, Penguin merged with the UK’s largest book publisher, The Random House Group, and the newly formed company decided to seek a single agency in which to consolidate their total media spend.

Hannah Telfer, Group Director, Consumer & Digital Development at Penguin Random House, said: “Havas Media has a great reputation, and we wanted a partner who understood both the challenges and opportunities presented to the evolving publishing industry.  We’re looking forward to working with Havas Media to drive the discovery of our authors and grow audiences for their books across all the formats we publish.”

Natasha Murray, Managing Director at Havas Media, added: “We’re delighted to be also working with the Random House Group and its authors. Having worked with the Penguin Group since 2012, we are excited about demonstrating our expertise and passion to the broader portfolio and bringing their fantastic content to life through meaningful communications planning and innovation to truly make a difference to their business.” 

This win follows the recently launched Havas Media Labs – an innovation and thought leadership hub of the Havas Village in the UK. This is the second major account win for Havas Media this year, following the £10m Iglo Group account win earlier this year.