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08 May 2025

Havas Media Network Wins Olive Garden’s Media Business and Sets Course to Support Iconic Italian Brand

Strategic partnership will drive growth through innovative video strategy and next-generation consumer engagement for America’s favorite Italian restaurant

Olive Garden Signature Dishes 2

Havas Media Network today announced its selection as the media agency of record for Olive Garden in the U.S, the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment. As the media agency of record, Havas Media will oversee strategic communications planning and video media investment for the iconic brand.

Havas Media Network emerged as the winner following a competitive review. The agency will begin a 45-day transition period and will manage Olive Garden’s Upfront investment this year.

Havas Media Network has a proven track record of engaging fans with iconic brands across various media. We were impressed with the level of innovation in their approaches to meaningfully connecting with our guests, and we’re thrilled to work with their team as we continue to showcase what makes our brand special – our never-ending, abundant, craveable Italian food.
Jaime Bunker
Senior Vice President of Marketing for Olive Garden
Olive Garden Restaurant Exterior

Olive Garden continues to look for new ways to reach guests where they are through media. Through its partnership with Havas Media Network, Olive Garden will benefit from the agency’s proprietary Converged Operating System, and products such as Propensity Modeling, AI Planner, and CTV Pulse to deliver personalized and data-driven media solutions.

Our passion, innovation, and value-driven approach truly resonated with Olive Garden because we understand their business from the inside out. Our personal history with the brand, with several team members starting their career as Olive Garden servers, give us insights that fuel our partnership, and we’re focused on helping Olive Garden’s media strategy to not only drive value, but resonate with today’s diners.
Adam Rattner
North America Chief Growth Officer of Havas Media Network

Havas Media Network will also support both brand-building efforts and promotional campaigns.

Olive Garden’s commitment to delivering endless value to their diners aligns perfectly with our passion for driving meaningful, results-focused media experiences. Through our client-centric mindset, audience-first strategies, and data-driven solutions, we’re ready to unlock meaningful business growth. Backed by our deep retail expertise and proactive leadership, this partnership is a powerful opportunity to deliver winning work, especially as we head into Upfronts season. This collaboration not only reflects our ability to connect brands with their audiences in smart, effective ways, it also reinforces our continued momentum in delivering real business results for category leaders.
Greg James
North America CEO of Havas Media Network

About Olive Garden

At Olive Garden, we know that life is better together and everyone is happiest when they’re with family. As the leader in the Italian dining segment, Olive Garden has more than 900 restaurants and employs more than 100,000 employees. Olive Garden is committed to making a difference in the lives of others in the local community. As part of this commitment, Olive Garden restaurants have donated more than 50 million pounds of food to local nonprofit organizations across the country. For more information, visit OliveGarden.com. Connect with @OliveGarden on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or X.

About Havas Media Network

Havas Media Network is the media experience agency. Havas Media Network delivers this brand promise through the Mx System, where meaningful media helps build more meaningful brands. Havas Media Network is part of Havas, one of the world’s largest integrated content, media and communications groups. Havas Media Network also consists of two global media networks: Havas Media and Arena Media. The media experience agencies are home to specialists across 150 countries worldwide, with 73 Villages. Clients include BBC, Canal+, Credit Agricole, Dolce & Gabbana, EDF, Fidelity Investments, Grupo Carso, Hyundai, JDE, Kia, Leroy Merlin, Lidl, PNC Bank, Puma, Reckitt Benckiser, Red Bull, Sanofi, Shell, Telefonica, YUM Brands, among many others. For more information, visit the website or follow Havas Media Network on LinkedIn @Havas Media Network or Instagram @havas_media_network.  

Press Contact:

Lauren Beneventano

Lauren.beneventano@havasmedia.com