AdConnection wins Bunches planning and buying work

Bunches, the flower delivery service, has appointed media agency AdConnection to handle its £1m planning and buying account. It follows a pitch against undisclosed agencies.

The account was previously handled in-house and the agency appointment is part of the family-run florist’s ambition to become the number-one flower delivery service in the UK by 2015.

AdConnection is working on a campaign to reinforce Bunches’ position as an “ethical” florist and help it increase share in the flower delivery market, worth £3bn.

The company faces stiff competition in a fastgrowing market, which has seen retailers and businesses, including Marks & Spencer, attempt to cash in on an industry dominated by Interflora.

Last year, low-cost airline Flybe launched Flybe Flowers (MW October 12, 2006). The service is marketed to customers through online, e-mail and onboard channels.

Bunches was launched in 1989 as a flower stall but signed a deal in 1990 with the Post Office to provide bouquets to customers delivered by Royal Mail. Orders were taken via Post Office counters, which also helped to market the business. The service was expanded to all Post Offices in 1992. Bunches also launched a direct mail business in the same year.

The Post Office partnership ended at the end of 2004 and Bunches now operates through its own branded website and direct mail-order business.