Royal & Sun property arm to review £8m business

Royal & Sun Alliance’s property services division, Sequence, is reviewing its &£8m media buying account.

The company has seen pitches from incumbent JWT Communications and two undisclosed agencies.

The company aims to change the structure of its media buying process. At present, media buying is done by individual estate agencies within the business, but administered by JWT Special Communications.

Marketing director Mike Sommers, formerly a chief marketer at Prudential and Woolworths, wants to centralise the process: “The existing system has been in place for years. The review is more to do with effectiveness than efficiency, as the discounts estate agents already get are good.”

The move comes on the back of an overhaul of the estate agency business, which has taken over a year, and was latterly overseen by Sommers, who joined the business in May.

The 360 agencies in the business were rebranded internally as Sequence in October (MW October 18). The 12 brands that have traditionally made up the division – including Barnard Marcus – will remain on fascias. However, these brands are expected to be phased out in the longer term.

The new brand was created by Fitch. Sommers denies he is now seeking a creative agency.