Media's impact on human experience, as explored by Havas

Havas Media's HX Approach: Putting the Human Experience Back into Media and Advertising

In an effort to counteract the dehumanizing effects of excessive data use and automation in the advertising and media industry, Havas Media UK has introduced its HX (Human Experience) approach. This philosophy aims to put the human experience back at the centre of media and advertising, focusing on real people, their underlying needs, and creating media that is useful, entertaining, and empathetic.

Key aspects of HX include:

Resetting the industry’s relationship with people: HX encourages media and advertising professionals to remember there's a real person on the other end and to genuinely think about what people want and need. It advocates moving away from viewing individuals as mere data points, proxies, or personas, and instead understanding the person behind the screen.
Balancing data and technology with empathy: HX is not anti-technology but criticizes how personalization has been poorly applied, leading to lazy, impersonal advertising. It advocates for a more balanced approach that combines data and technology with empathy.
Serving real human needs: Brands should create media that improves people's lives in meaningful ways, not just seek eyeballs or superficial engagement. This approach encourages brands to focus on creating media that serves real human needs.
Using five core human levers: While the specifics are not detailed, HX operates around emotional and human-centered drivers that connect with audiences on a deeper level. These levers include growth, esteem, love, distraction, and certainty.
Promoting authenticity amid AI disruption: HX emphasizes authenticity, empathy, and trust as strategic responses to technology-driven changes in communication and media. It encourages brands to maintain a human touch amid the increasing use of AI.

An example of a 'human experience brand' in action is the Ocado campaign, where the creative platform is 'Life Delivered', dramatizing the reliability of the service and using high-attention channels like cinema and podcasts to create a connective tissue and deliver a breadth of human experience.

HX has been shown to improve brand and business effectiveness, as demonstrated in the Ocado case, where it led to a positive emotional response. Dan Holt, strategy partner at Havas Media UK, claims that choosing media formats that deliver an experience is essential, not just defaulting to always-on social and digital media.

Emily Fairhead Keen, group head of strategy at Havas Media UK, states that the industry has become lazy with personalization and has stopped considering the person behind the click. She also mentions that younger people trust digital ads more than older people, suggesting that the approach resonates with different demographics.

Patrick Fagan, a behavioral scientist, suggests that trust is generational and social, with patterns across decades, and that excessive focus on untrustworthiness can lead to distrust in everything. Fairhead Keen explains that trust means different things to different people and brands, and it doesn't always need to be a high-level purpose.

In summary, Havas Media's HX philosophy calls for a more human-centric and empathetic approach in media, moving past automation-driven, impersonal advertising to create content that genuinely resonates and serves people’s real experiences and needs.