Australian marketing news outlet B&T has published its list of Best Consumer PR leaders for 2026, adding Havas Red CEO Shane Russell and Consumer and Brand Managing Partner Laura Cario.
Russell and Cario oversee a diverse consumer PR and brand offering at Havas Red, helping brands drive greater influence and reach through earned programs that span traditional and new media, social, influencer, experience, and digital.
The B&T judges had this to say:
Over the past year, Russell has refined Havas Red’s integrated model, bringing together all forms of earned and owned capabilities including PR, social and influencer, experiential, content creation and new offerings including GEO.
That strategic shift has led to high organic client growth and 97 per cent retention, more than a dozen new business wins, and just as many national and international campaign awards, including three PR Agency of the Year wins.
In just three years at Havas Red, Laura has transformed the consumer and brand practice. Under her leadership, the consumer business has grown 10 per cent, while the travel portfolio has grown 20 per cent year-on-year, contributing to one of the agency’s strongest periods of commercial success.
Recently the agency won the Tourism Fiji, Wise, GN Hearing, ECOVAS, Smartsheet and Tangerine Mobile while extending relationships with Toyota and Tourism Tasmania.
Work that stands out includes Tourism Tasmania’s globally recognised Winternships (see above) and ECOVACS’ Guinness World Record-breaking Dad Stance campaign, as well as skydiving Bundy R Bear into NRL Magic Round to launch Drop Bear Spiced Pineapple.
The agency has expanded its services and innovated by launching Havas Blak, which advocates First Nations Communications and EchoWeave, to help brands master generative engine optimisation.
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