Havas acquires Bearded Kitten to boost experiential

Havas has acquired experiential agency Bearded Kitten, strengthening its ability to deliver large-scale brand experiences in the UK and internationally. The move expands the capabilities of Havas Play, enhancing its creative, production and experiential expertise at a time when demand for immersive brand activations continues to grow.

Founded in 2007, Bearded Kitten is known for end-to-end experiential work for brands including Netflix, Unilever, Intuit, L’Oréal, Twitch and Beavertown, as well as existing Havas Media Network UK clients such as Red Bull, Pokémon, Google and Disney. The 45-person agency brings specialist skills in immersive experience design, prop-making and theatrical production across entertainment, retail and luxury sectors.

Strengthening the Havas Play proposition

The addition of Bearded Kitten forms the next stage of Havas Play’s UK evolution, creating a 200-strong team focused on developing connected brand experiences. Bearded Kitten will operate as Bearded Kitten, Part of Havas Play, continuing from its current premises. Founder Barney Sutton will join the Havas Play leadership team reporting to CEO Nick Wright.

Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas: "Bearded Kitten consistently ranks among the top experiential agencies worldwide. We are thrilled to welcome Barney Sutton and the entire team at Bearded Kitten to the Havas family. Their creativity, craft and proven track record will help us capitalise on the experiential marketing boom. The acquisition of Bearded Kitten is a statement of our ambition to scale our Havas Play offering globally."

Patrick Affleck, CEO, Havas Media Network UK and Ireland: "Experiential is back in high demand and growth, and Bearded Kitten’s creativity and craft set the benchmark for what best-in-class looks like. Bringing them into Havas Play supercharges our ability to deliver bold, immersive experiences that earn brands a meaningful role in culture. This is an exciting new chapter for both them and us as we look to deliver breakthrough work for our clients."

Expanding experiential scale and production capabilities

Nick Wright, CEO of Havas Play UK: "Experiential has always been front and centre in our offering, and with Bearded Kitten now part of the team, we can supercharge and scale this even further. Their arrival unlocks bigger, bolder ideas driven by integrated thinking and seamless delivery through one fully connected team. With Bearded Kitten’s award-winning experiential craft and robust in-house production capabilities, we can deliver best-in-class brand experiences at the heart of integrated campaigns, across every brief."

Barney Sutton, CEO of Bearded Kitten, part of Havas Play: "From our first conversations with Havas, we knew it was the right fit. We've been particularly selective about potential partners, but Havas Play instantly felt like the missing piece. We're still very much Bearded Kitten, the same people and culture, but now with the scale and resources of Havas Play behind us. We couldn't be more excited for this next chapter!"

A fast-growing global market for experiential work

Industry data highlights sustained growth in experiential marketing. Global spending is valued at 128.3 billion dollars, and 74 percent of Fortune 1000 marketers plan to increase experiential budgets in 2025. UK investment in events and experiences rose sharply in 2024, with sustained growth projected into 2025.

Bearded Kitten brings an extensive awards portfolio across agency performance, creative events, retail experiences and venue activations, further reinforcing Havas Play’s ambition to scale its experiential footprint worldwide.

www.havas.com

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