Havas Adds Gaming Expertise to their Mobile Marketing Empire

 

Communications group Havas has acquired mobile agency Plastic Mobile. The addition of the Canadian company to Havas’ existing services brings a wealth of expertise on user experience, design, strategy and engineering.  

Plastic Mobile is an award winning mobile marketing agency operating out of Toronto and New York City. Since 2007 the company has been a major player in mCommerce and app development, specializing in mobile wallets, mobile coupons and location-based marketing. As the new string to Havas’ bow, Plastic will further the group’s interests in Canada and the rest of North America. 

One of Plastic’s main areas of expertise is the game-ification of mobile marketing. A recent eMarketer report found that US mobile game revenues - including both downloads and in-app purchases - was expected to reach $3.04 billion this year. That’s a 16.5% increase from 2014. The same report also found that mobile gaming accounts for nearly a third of the entire mobile content market. 

Few analysts believe these figures represent the peak of mobile gaming. Smartphone ownership continues to rise; overall mobile device ownership (including tablets) has surpassed 200 million, and groups like Havas are capitalizing on this shifting consumer culture. Their new partners hope to play a major role in the future of mobile marketing. Melody Adhami, the president of Plastic Mobile, said of the merger: 

“As mobile continues along its explosive growth path, our agency recognised that it was the right time to join a large international group in order to continue our development and attract more Fortune 500 brands. Being part of Havas will enable us to benefit from the strategic advantages of a world leader in communications and its network of industry experts and global resources.”