Content conversation with Levent Guenes - Chief Growth Officer, Havas Group APAC & CEO Southeast Asia

Q Everybody is talking about content and most of the times it is not strategic in nature, how do you think brands can start thinking about content in a more integrated manner? 
A According to Havas' Meaningful Brands study, more than 70% of consumers wouldn't care if brands disappeared tomorrow. This is an issue and we have to take it seriously. Content, if not meaningful to the consumer, is no longer relevant in today's cluttered environment, where adblockers and various formats are forcing brands to be more strategic about what and how they communicate. 

Q ROI is the toughest question a CMO needs to answer when it comes to Content Marketing, do you think they are measuring it the wrong way? What is the correct method then? 
A There obviously is no standard recipe for how to create a world class content campaign, apart from working with the right partners, who are able to offer the right solutions in the most integrated way. What all great campaigns have in common is one simple thing: A great idea fuelled by data and a fundamentally thought-through strategy as a result. While strategic tools and programatic solutions offer a wide variety of predictable KPIs and ROI, they do require a great idea to start with. Disconnecting the two more than often lead to less desired outcomes. One simply can't work without the other.

Q How does one balance between content creation & content distribution as most of the budgets are currently going towards creation leaving nothing for amplification? 
A The right balance between creation and distribution is mission critical. The trend we have been observing over the past is that brands are pre-defining budgets such ways, that there isn't much room for recommendation. Havas has been trying to solve this problem by offering the Village solution, where Creative and Media are operating under a single P&L concept, and where budget allocations are no longer driven by P&L considerations, but rather by offering totally unbiased solutions to clients. We believe that this is the only way forward to address this fundamental topic.

Q B2B brands have almost mastered the art of storytelling, why is it proving to be so difficult for B2C brands? Any suggestions for B2C brands? 
A Knowing who and how to talk to your consumer in a meaningful and relevant has to be the predefined KPI of every campaign. The way content is consumed between the 2 categories is fundamentally different and this is where we have to start. We often focus too much on the message we want to convey instead of putting the consumer at the very heart of every campaign. Big mistake!

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