Havas Group Singapore launches cultural and entertainment offering – ANNEX led by Le Messie

Havas Group Singapore has announced the expansion of ANNEX, the group’s cultural and entertainment offering to the Asia Pacific via Singapore, and the appointment of Grammy-nominated producer – Le Messie – as Chief of ANNEX, Singapore.

Messie (pictured) will report to Valerie Madon, Chairwoman, Singapore and Chief Creative Officer, Southeast Asia, and Jason Peterson, Chairman & CCO of Havas North America, who leads the ANNEX offering globally. Messie will also serve as the ambassador and spokesperson for ANNEX in Asia Pacific. In his new role, Messie will focus on leveraging multi-media storytelling encompassing design, content, activation and social media, working closely with local influencers and artists – who are at the forefront of emerging trends and culture.

Founded in Chicago in 2015 by Jason Peterson Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Havas Creative, North America and Paul Marobella, Chairman & CEO of Havas Creative, North America, ANNEX is a cultural epicentre focused on emerging consumers, including Millennials and Centennials. ANNEX operates under the Havas Group integrated offering and puts Havas at the center of culture. It is also the ideal intersection point that can leverage all of Vivendi’s assets – Havas Group’s parent company. Since its launch, ANNEX has expanded to New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles, and now employs 200 people who work with top brands such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, Bloomingdales, Adidas Originals and MARS.

Peterson said, “ANNEX’s mission is to help its clients remain on the cutting edge of cultural trends, by engaging and interacting with the very influencers and artists at the forefront of these trends. Whether it’s an experience, content, music, etc., the ANNEX objective is to be relevant above all else. Talent comes from diverse backgrounds and ANNEX is home to some of the world’s best YouTubers, Twitch Streamers, and content creators. We always knew we’d expand ANNEX globally, and now is the right time to extend it to our clients in the Asia Pacific, starting with Singapore. There is no one in Singapore that better shares the cultural values than Messie with his understanding of emerging street culture and the role major brands can play within it.”

Madon added, “We are excited to extend ANNEX to our clients in Singapore. We will be able to not only tap into the Millennial and Centennial culture, but we will help create it and bring brands deep inside emerging culture, while having the ability to tap into a global network of creative voices. We will also scale the approach together with our parent entity – Vivendi and leverage their assets (Universal Music, Bravado, GameLoft) to create a marketing force, unique to Havas and in the market.”

Messie said, “I have been an entrepreneur for almost two decades and am truly blessed to be able to do the same under the Havas umbrella with ANNEX in the region. ANNEX is essentially a collective of multi-disciplinary creators who live and breathe culture. There are lots of exciting initiatives being planned over the next few months in this region, which will showcase the strength and effectiveness of what we offer.”

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