Mumbai: Havas has launched ‘The Science of Desire’, a new global proprietary research study and strategic framework designed to help brands understand and activate the factors that drive consumer preference, loyalty and long-term growth in an increasingly AI-driven landscape.
Announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the report marks the next evolution of Havas’ long-running Meaningful Brands research and reinforces the Group’s client-centric positioning of “Growth, Powered by Desire.”
The study examines how brands can move beyond visibility to create stronger reasons for consumers to choose and continue choosing them over time.
Built on insights gathered from more than 87,500 respondents, over 2,400 brands across 10 markets, and 1,000 AI-powered interviews, the research identifies desire as a critical growth engine powered by three interconnected drivers — attraction, affinity and attachment — which together create a compounding effect on brand performance.
According to the findings, brands that successfully build desire outperform across key business metrics, delivering:
- 2.2x greater fame
- 87% more pricing power
- 2.4x stronger sustained growth
The report also highlights that desirable brands are increasingly advantaged within AI-led discovery environments, becoming up to four times more likely to be surfaced or cited by AI systems.
Despite this opportunity, Havas noted that 84% of brands currently operate in a “desire deficit,” achieving only 61% of their potential due to consumer indifference.
Commenting on the findings, Yannick Bolloré, Chairman & CEO, Havas, said, “At Havas, we believe growth starts with what truly moves people. In today’s AI-driven landscape, the most successful brands will be those that combine technological power with deep human understanding and creativity, to build lasting connections. With The Science of Desire and the continued evolution of our Converged.AI ecosystem, we are equipping our clients to unlock stronger, more sustainable growth.”
Expanding on the role of creativity in an AI-first environment, Mark Sinnock, Global Chief Strategy, Data and Innovation Officer at Havas Creative Network, said, “Being seen is not enough. You must be desired. In a world where optimization is increasingly automated, creativity is what creates connection, builds desire and drives growth. Technology may amplify brands, but desire gives them gravity.”
Joanna Lawrence, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Havas Media Network, added, “When brands are actively chosen by more people, spending more, not just once but repeatedly over time – that’s when growth happens.”
Alongside the research launch, Havas announced the next phase of its Converged.AI ecosystem, aimed at translating insights into real-time business action.
As part of this expansion, Havas has increased its investment in Vurvey Labs, a next-generation agentic intelligence scale-up, and will serve as lead investor in the company’s Series B funding round. The investment forms part of Havas’ previously announced commitment to invest €400 million in data, technology and AI through 2027.
Vurvey’s proprietary AI framework combines millions of real consumer interviews with AI-powered agents to generate synthetic audiences that mirror real human behaviour, enabling brands to test products, messaging and campaigns before market launch.
Commenting on the partnership, Chad Reynolds, Founder & CEO of Vurvey Labs, said, “From the beginning, we believed there was a missing layer in AI: a true understanding of people in motion. At Vurvey, we are building the world’s leading human AI company, helping organizations better anticipate how people think, feel and make decisions, well beyond static snapshots. Havas recognized that vision early, and this expanded investment reflects a shared ambition to build the next generation of human-centered AI.”
As part of Converged.AI’s continued development, Havas also outlined several strategic advancements, including:
- Expanded collaboration with Akkio to strengthen agentic AI capabilities for media and decision intelligence.
- Further evolution of Vermeer.ai, its generative AI production ecosystem developed by Prose on Pixels.
- Scaling of AVA, Havas’ internal AI platform that enables its 23,000 employees to work seamlessly across multiple large language models.
- Enhanced governance frameworks focused on privacy, intellectual property protection and responsible AI deployment.
Speaking about the broader transformation, Dan Hagen, Global Chief Data & Technology Officer at Havas, said, “The opportunity with AI is not simply to optimize performance, but to elevate how we connect data, insight and decision-making. By combining human judgment with intelligent systems, we enable our clients to scale relevance, enhance creativity and build more relevant, desirable brand experiences.”
With The Science of Desire and the continued expansion of Converged.AI, Havas aims to help brands combine human insight, intelligent technology and creativity to unlock long-term business growth in the next era of marketing.
