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Kate O’Ryan-Roeder. Credit: Havas<\/p>\n
AI may automate parts of media planning and buying, but Havas Media ANZ CEO Kate O’Ryan-Roeder says agencies risk overlooking the skills that will matter more once that happens.<\/p>\n
O’Ryan-Roeder, more than 100 days into the role after leaving the Mindshare and WPP network, says the industry’s focus on tools and automation is missing a larger shift around strategy, critical thinking and relationships.<\/p>\n
“AI and automation will definitely change the composition and shape of agency teams and not just agency teams, most organisations,\u201d O’Ryan-Roeder told AdNews.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the opportunity is that it should allow us to place more value on high-output work.”<\/p>\n
Havas uses Converge as its media planning stack and Ava as its AI capability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Coming into this and seeing the tools we have available for media planning, they’re exceptional,\u201d O’Ryan-Roeder, a former planner, said.<\/p>\n
A concern, she said, is whether agencies are developing people fast enough alongside the technology.<\/p>\n
“Because here’s what I think people are missing. While we’re on this journey of upskilling our teams in AI and automation, a lot of organisations are forgetting about soft skills,\u201d O’Ryan-Roeder said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re spending a lot of time right now working out what training programs our people need, not just for the tech side, but for the critical thinking and the human skills.”<\/p>\n
O’Ryan-Roeder said AI should create more space for strategy and relationship-building rather than simply reducing manual work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question isn’t just whether AI is saving us time. It’s are we using our critical thinking in the right ways to get maximum value?\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we forging the best bonds with clients, with publishers, with each other?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That instinct, asking questions and listening to the answers, is something O’Ryan-Roeder said she has leaned on heavily since stepping into the CEO role.<\/p>\n
She said curiosity underpins not just her leadership style but the agency’s broader approach to extracting value from AI.<\/p>\n
“The numbers will tell you what’s happening, but they won’t tell you why. If you don’t ask the questions, you don’t understand what’s actually driving the results,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“You get much stronger business outcomes if you ask questions and then listen to the answers.”<\/p>\n
Havas Group CEO James Wright said agencies are shifting away from execution-focused work toward business transformation and strategic consultancy.<\/p>\n
“AI unlocks potential. It’s not about humans versus tech, it’s about humans with superpowers,\u201d Wright told AdNews.<\/p>\n
“We’re becoming business transformation businesses, not just advertising and media agencies. Strategy becomes the premium currency.”<\/p>\n
Wright said clients increasingly want guidance around business transformation rather than AI tools alone.<\/p>\n
“The biggest concern at a global CMO level right now is ensuring they have the right strategic thinking behind their business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sets the tone for which tech stacks to use, which intelligence pools to draw from, which channels to consider, what trends are happening today and tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
Wright also warned against treating AI adoption as a race.<\/p>\n
“For brands, the smart move is actually to watch what’s working and not get caught up in using AI just because it’s possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wright described the industry’s current AI moment as immature and fragmented.<\/p>\n
“We’re still very much at a toddler stage with AI. It’s falling over sometimes, it’s doing mischievous things and then it’s cute and amazing at other times,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who tells you they have all the answers is wrong.”<\/p>\n
He said many organisations still are not structured to implement AI consistently across departments and the barrier isn’t always technical.<\/p>\n
“There’s also a structural problem: organisations aren’t always set up to actually use it,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n
He pointed to a global client which asked Havas to build AI efficiencies into its marketing before legal and procurement teams blocked AI use in the final contract.<\/p>\n
“Their commercial team and their legal team simply weren’t talking to each other. That’s happening a lot right now,” Wright said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The issue, he said, goes beyond marketing teams.<\/p>\n
Agencies now need to bring procurement, legal and board stakeholders into AI discussions as clients try to work out governance, risk and operational policy.<\/p>\n
Wright said the leadership culture within Havas helps navigate that complexity, both internally and with clients.<\/p>\n
“When you pick up the phone and ask for a favour, it gets done. A rising tide floats all boats, that’s very much the culture at Havas, and I take it very seriously,” he said.<\/p>\n
O’Ryan-Roeder said agencies also need to rethink how they create value as brands build more internal capability around data and technology.<\/p>\n
“You’ve got to offer something of genuine value and usefulness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don’t want to hold a client captive because you hold their data, that’s not what this is about.”<\/p>\n
Instead, O’Ryan-Roeder believes agencies need to provide strategic advice and broader business perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s about using your people, your craft, and your tools to provide broader perspective and strategic recommendations that help their business move faster and smarter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
On transparency, a common pressure point across the sector, O’Ryan-Roeder said trust can only be built through honest, ongoing conversation.<\/p>\n
“You’re not going to build trust with anyone if you’re not upfront and honest,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wright believes the shift is also changing the role of marketing itself.<\/p>\n
“Marketing used to be about attention. It’s increasingly about invitation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you’re in an invitation dynamic, you’re inviting people into your brand, creating a much deeper connection.”<\/p>\n
The AI discussion sits inside a broader transformation plan underway across Havas Media Network.<\/p>\n
O’Ryan-Roeder said the group’s three-year roadmap focuses first on foundations, then proving its market positioning before scaling for growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s about shaping the composition of the agency alongside the changing industry, with AI, automation, and everything else,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can serve our clients even better going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright said the fundamentals of agency growth still come back to people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s hiring and retaining the best people. If you do that, you’ll do great work, which is the second step,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you do great work, you’ll be a commercial success, which is the third step.\u00a0But don’t try the second and third step, get the first one right.”<\/p>\n
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