The7stars wins Homeserve £3m planning and buying

The7stars, the start-up planning and buying agency, has won the &£3m planning and buying for household repairs service Homeserve.

It is understood that the agency picked up the business following a series of meetings with Homeserve marketing director Charlie Herbert. There was no incumbent media agency, and it is not thought that any other agency was invited to pitch.

Herbert, who is an ex-British Gas marketer, had worked with the agency’s founding partners Colin Mills, Jenny Biggam and Mark Jarvis at Carat, their previous agency.

Homeserve, which operates via a website, offers users a variety of emergency services such as plumbing, electrical and heating services as well as insurance.

The service has been predominantly aimed at the business community until now, but the appointment of The7Stars is said by the company to mark the start of a consumer-facing strategy. The agency will work with the company to develop a brand and digital strategy as well as planning and buying its media.

Its first step into the consumer market will be the launch of a new website, which is expected to go live in the middle of the year. It will be available nationally,

and will offer the consumer quick access to a wide variety of services on offer.

Homeserve is the fourth win for The7Stars since it launched in autumn last year. It picked up the &£1m planning and buying account for Crown Golf last November and has recently been working with production company Farringdon Films and performance art organisation Blue Man Group.