Havas Formula PR: San Diego-Founded Consumer PR Firm Profile

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Havas Formula is an integrated consumer public relations agency founded in 1992 by Michael Olguin, headquartered in San Diego with offices in Los Angeles and New York. Formerly Formula PR, the firm was acquired by Havas in 2014 and now operates as a Havas consumer-brand practice, retaining its founder-led operating culture inside the holding-company structure.

Founder and Origin

Olguin founded Formula PR in 1992 in San Diego and built the firm into an integrated communications operation running non-traditional advertising, experiential campaigns, and consumer brand PR. His 25-plus years of senior operator experience covers B2B and B2C campaigns across lifestyle, sports, entertainment, high-tech, consumer technology, and travel. Olguin has been cited in PRWeek, Inc., and has spoken at industry events including Hispanicize and the PRSA International Conference.

On the 2014 acquisition, Havas leadership noted that Formula's operating range — event-first, campaign-integrated, and difficult to categorize — was the strategic asset. Post-acquisition, the firm expanded its event-marketing practice by pairing it with Havas group CRM capacity.

Practice Areas

Havas Formula operates across consumer PR, non-traditional advertising, experiential campaigns, media relations, grassroots initiatives, and influencer partnerships. The Hispanic-specialty work — historically operated under the Havas Formulatin sub-brand — runs Olguin's framework of family, food, sports, music, and beauty as the five cultural anchors of Hispanic brand engagement.

Notable Clients

Client work across Havas Formula's history has covered Kashi, Nestlé, Annie Chun's, PopChips, Veggie Patch, Tribe, Munchkin, Honest Tea, Bear Naked, and Indiana Popcorn, among a broader roster of consumer-brand accounts.

Culture and Talent

Havas Formula runs an annual company-wide retreat in San Diego covering professional development, cross-office team building, guest speakers, an internal awards program ("the Formies"), and senior-leadership breakout sessions. Monthly internal "university" classes cover public speaking, media relations, and management skills. The firm's culture investments — daily summer BBQ lunches, Friday casual and happy hours, stocked kitchens — are treated as talent-retention infrastructure inside a competitive consumer PR market.