Havas Group India launches India’s first sport, culture and entertainment agency, Cake

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India will be the London-headquartered Cake’s first global office outside the UK 

July 20, 2022 Mumbai: Havas Group India, the fastest growing advertising conglomerate, has announced the launch of UK-based creative agency, Cake, in the country. Cake India will be the country’s first creative agency specialising in sport, culture, and entertainment.

The agency will be part of Havas Creative Group India, that has been growing exponentially on the back of client wins, acquisitions, and strategic tie-ups. The creative group includes agencies like Havas Worldwide India (creative), Havas CX (customer experience), Think Design (UI/UX), Conran Design Group Mumbai (brand design), Shobiz Havas (experiential), and Havas QED (integrated), its recent expansion into eastern India.

Cake will be seamlessly integrated with Havas Village India, and work closely with Shobiz Havas and the recently renewed Havas Sports & Entertainment vertical of Havas Media Group India. Cake will further augment the expertise brought forth by Shobiz Havas in the space of activation & deals, and partnerships by Havas Sports and Entertainment.

To lead Cake in India, Havas Group India has appointed Rajika Mittra as Managing Partner. Rajika has over two decades of experience working in high-growth markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, and her expertise lies in establishing businesses, conceptualising high-end projects spanning industries such as Media & Entertainment, Sports (where she worked closely with F1 Singapore), curating art and luxury events across Asia, and bringing India's first Michelin star experience to the country.

“Over the last few years, we have been strengthening our offerings in India through Meaningful Conversations, launching new expertise, strategic tie-ups, acquisitions, and joint ventures. As a result, in a very short span of time, we grew from 3 to 15 companies and specialist verticals, which has led to unparalleled growth for us,” said Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India.

“As we race back to normalcy, our endeavour is to become the most future-ready network in the country, focusing on introducing first-in-India expertise, products, and innovations. Bringing Cake to India is a resolute step towards that goal. Moreover, there has been a steady increase in India's young affluent class that wants to be part of new, innovative experiences. Cake will collaborate seamlessly with Havas Village India to drive these reimagined ideas," he further added.

Rosie Holden, Chief Executive Officer, Cake, said, “Cake’s expertise in sport & culture, our channel-agnostic creativity, and boundless passion and energy have always delivered best-in-class work for our clients. We felt that there simply wasn’t a better moment in time than now to bring Cake to India, as it is the most exciting sports & entertainment market in the world right now. And we feel privileged that our partnership with Havas Group India has enabled us to do that.”

"What really excited me about Cake was the novelty of the idea. Through my career, I have realised that there is an untapped land of opportunity for a structured ecosystem like Cake in the space of sport, culture, and entertainment,” said Rajika Mittra, Managing Partner, Cake India.

She further added, "Cake India will help marketers connect with affluent consumers by tapping into their passion-points of sports, culture and entertainment. I’m delighted to lead the agency and confident that we will make a meaningful difference in India."

Founded in 1999, London-headquartered Cake joined the Havas Group in 2008. Since then, the agency has worked on several ground-breaking campaigns for some of the most well-known global and UK brands and rights holders in sport, entertainment, and culture, including Aston Martin F1, BT, Commonwealth Games England, Diageo, EE, Major League Baseball, Molson-Coors, NFL, PayPal, Puma, Sport England, The FA, and UNICEF. India will be Cake’s first global office outside the UK.

The agency’s expertise lies in building meaningful connections between brands and consumers through culture, using its proprietary Meaningful Brands in Culture study and strategic approach. Its services and capabilities are delivered by an in-house team across three divisions – Strategy, Creative and Account Management - that helps create and execute 360-degree integrated campaigns, creating bespoke teams to cater to clients’ individual needs.