Havas Red Launches in Japan; APAC Travellers’ Spend Surged Fivefold Fuelled by Olympics; The Trade Desk Developing Smart TV OS

Today’s news: Havas Red Launches in Japan; APAC Travellers’ Spend Surged Fivefold Fuelled by Olympics; The Trade Desk Developing Smart TV OS 

Havas Red, the merged media agency network, has announced the expansion of its reach in the APAC region with the launch of Havas Red Japan. The new division will focus on delivering improved capabilities and meeting the specific needs of the market, for both local and international clients. Havas Japan’s current executive director, Masashi Kitaichi, will lead the division in the role of managing director. This news follows the network’s expansion in India late last year through the acquisition of a majority stake in PR Pundit, one of India’s biggest PR consultancy firms (now operating as PR Pundit Havas Red). 

Keeping our attention on APAC, the Paris 2024 Olympics fuelled a huge spike in spending from Asia-Pacific cardholders in France. There was a fivefold increase in spend on small and medium sized businesses compared to 2023’s average, with over half of this going towards shopping, lodging and dining. Most dramatically, Australia recorded a spend increase of over 100%; mainland China followed in second place with an increase of over 80%. Additionally, contactless was used as a payment option for over eight in ten total visitors. 

Lastly, The Trade Desk has reportedly been building its own smart TV operating system (OS), with dozens of people working on the project. It has been pitching the OS to several hardware makers, with the intention to licence it to device makers who want to avoid Google TV, Amazon’s Fire TV OS or Roku’s OS. It has been promising better revenue sharing than its competition, as well as offering flexibility for user interface customisation. One partner is said to have signed up already. 

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