St Luke’s gains online dating task

St Luke’s has been appointed to handle the UK launch of US online dating site, eHarmony. The service hopes to challenge the dominance of Match.com.

It is understood St Luke’s was appointed following an informal process after the company split with Ogilvy Advertising. Ogilvy was previously hired to work on the launch.

Launched in 1997 in the US, eHarmony claims 236 people get married each day in the US because of the company, representing 2.5% of US marriages, according to research carried out by Harris Interactive in 2007.

The brand, which also operates in Australia and Canada, says it is prepared to spend a “significant” amount to establish it as a mass-market brand where British people can find lasting love.

St Luke’s managing partner Neil Henderson says: “If Match.com is ‘shag first then work it out’, eHarmony is for people who’ve done that and now want to find a proper partner.”

The company was founded by clinical psychologist marriage specialist Dr Neil Clark Warren, and has carried out psychological profiling of UK couples with Oxford University ahead of its launch to establish the ingredients to successful UK marriages.

The company recently reported new registrations had been significantly boosted in the US by the recession.

The St Luke’s win follows the agency gaining the Mills & Boon business (MW December 18).