Aunt Bessie's 'Margaret and Mabel' by VCCP
Agency: VCCP
Rating: 5.0
School Reports 2012: The7stars
By Staff, campaignlive.co.uk, Monday, 02 April 2012 12:00AM
The independent media agency the7stars had good news in 2011 - six years after it launched, it broke into the UK's top 20 media agencies by billings.
Recent Phones 4u work
Score: 6
| Agency fact file: The7stars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of agency | Media planning and buying | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Company ownership | Independent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key personnel | Jenny Biggam founding partner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Jarvis founding partner | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liam Mullins head of trading | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nick Maddison head of new business/account director | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Julian Ireland head of digital | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen billings 2011 | £55m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen billings 2010 | £44m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Declared income | n/s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total accounts at year end | 52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts won | 17 (biggest: Gala Coral) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accounts lost | 2 (biggest: William Hill – resigned) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV | 37% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Press | 31% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outdoor | 10% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | 4% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Search/online | 18% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of staff | 38 (+35%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This added weight to its claim to be the UK's leading independent media agency (though this very much depends on your definition of independence).
Under the leadership of the hard-working, high-profile Jenny Biggam, the agency picked up a raft of new accounts including the H Samuel and Ernest Jones jewellers, Dune, Sandals, Atlantic Records and the charity Rethink Mental Illness. It did, however, lose the £15 million William Hill business when it declined to repitch for the account - a move that threatened to put a major dent in its billings tally. However, it quickly landed another betting company in the shape of Gala Coral, though its spend wasn't as significant.
Eden, the joint venture media agency that the7stars founded alongside the creative agency Adam & Eve (with Phones 4u as a founding client), also continued to grow and, in 2011, picked up Uniqlo and Pizza Express.
New-business growth meant revenue rose by more than a third in 2011, enabling the7stars to invest in staff and a larger office in Dean Street. However, with a predominantly retail-dominated client list that also features Peacocks and Habitat, it will be interesting to see how the agency's growth is impacted by the high-street slowdown. Pertinently, this might feed into the wider issue of how much longer the7stars remains independent.
Score last year: 6
How the7stars rates itself: 7
"We have built the UK's leading independent media agency by our approach to trading, talent recruitment, high standards of transparency and our uncompromising quest for innovation."
Return to the School Reports 2012 A-Z directory
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
Additional Information
Campaign Jobs
- Digital Account Director - Creative Agency - London Sphere Digital 50-70k +bonus +benefits, London, South East
- Managing Director - Equity potential DU Group £120,000 - £150,000, South Oxfordshire
- Sales Support Exec (Online Hospitality) Digital Gurus £20000 - £25000 per annum, City of London
- Ad Ops Specialists (Online/ Digital) Digital Gurus £20000 - £35000 per annum, City of London
- Head of Content David Thatcher Recruitment £80-100 + benefits, London or Reading
Highest rated
Most viewed
Most commented
-
The console is dead: The Socialisation of Gaming
The games console as we know it is dead. When Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One earlier this week, it was clear that this was more than a device that would enable you to play Call of Duty or FIFA – this was, in Microsoft’s own words, “an all-in-one home entertainment system”.
