HoF to launch TV drive for stores

House of Fraser, the department store group, plans to launch its first corporate umbrella branding TV campaign at the end of the year.

Marketing director Meg Gilmore says the proposed campaign, created by D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, will focus on customer service in the same way as recent campaigns by supermarket chains.

The group’s last umbrella advertising was the 2m pre-flotation awareness campaign in March 1994, which used the “A house of 17 storeys and 56 stores” tagline with a voice-over by Selina Scott.

House of Fraser now has 52 stores (it has closed four) with 17 brands, including Army & Navy, Dickins & Jones and Frasers. Its group marketing budget is over 13m, of which 4.3m is spent on advertising the stores (Register-MEAL). The group spends over 1m more on joint advertising with cosmetics brands such as Lancôme and Estée Lauder.

House of Fraser is also launching a new corporate identity which will be in all stores by next March. It features a revised logo and an updated typeface. It will appear on advertising, merchandise and carrier bags.

The branding activity is part of the group’s five-year recovery plan, mapped out before it floated on the Stock Exchange 16 months ago. It is refurbishing its stores at a rate of about ten a year.