How brands can become part of a real social moment, rather than just sponsors of major events, is the theme of the lecture that Fabrice Plazolles, Chief Creative Officer and Managing Director of the agency Havas Play, will present at this year’s Slovenian Advertising Festival. His talk titled “From Doubt to Pride: How Paris 2024 Reunited a Nation” will take place on 14 May at 13:00 in Grand Portorož.
The starting point of the story about the Olympic Games in Paris was far from euphoric. Preparations for the Games began in an atmosphere of doubt, a divided public and low citizen trust. It is precisely about this transformation process that Plazolles will speak, showing how organizers, institutions, athletes and brands managed, through joint work, to change perception and turn a skeptical beginning into a powerful national moment.
At the center of that process was an approach that went beyond classic marketing campaigns. Instead of traditional sponsorship, partners became active participants in the cultural dialogue around the Olympic Games. Through different formats, events and experiences, brands took part in creating an atmosphere that brought the Games closer to people’s everyday lives, while athletes and communities gained greater visibility and a voice in the public space.
During the lecture, Plazolles will speak about how brands and partners became part of a broader social narrative, how creative partnerships created moments of celebration beyond the stadiums, and how communication can transform initial doubt into emotion, and emotion into collective pride.
His professional path includes work in the three largest communication networks in France, after which he joined the agency Havas Play in 2019 as Chief Creative Officer. With experience in strategy, social media and creative development, Plazolles advocates the belief that big ideas can emerge anywhere, can take different forms and can build authentic connections between brands and people. Under his creative leadership, Havas Play has positioned itself as one of the most awarded creative agencies in Europe, with more than 250 international recognitions, including awards from Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show and Clio, as well as the title of the best French agency on the WARC Media list from 2021 until today.
As a member of the Havas EMEA Creative Council, Plazolles collaborates with colleagues from the network on developing ideas that simultaneously have creative strength and the potential for real transformation of the relationship between brands, culture and audiences.
His lecture at SOF opens a question that is becoming increasingly important for the contemporary communications industry: can brands become drivers of real social moments, rather than just their observers.
