Habitat has abandoned its commitment to in-house advertising and has
asked WCRS, BST-BDDP and Lowe Howard-Spink to pitch for its creative
account.
A campaign is scheduled to appear early next year, but the budget is
still under wraps. Richard Millar, the marketing director of Habitat,
has planned press and poster work but hasn’t ruled out the possibility
of a television campaign in the future.
Habitat spent just pounds 500,000 on advertising last year with media
buying through Zenith Media, which remains unaffected by the review.
The furniture retailer’s last agency of record was Saatchi and Saatchi,
which was appointed to the account, then worth pounds 4 million, in
April 1991. A three-year relationship, which produced award-winning
work, effectively ended when Habitat went in-house to produce a campaign
for its 30th anniversary.
Since then, marketing activity has focused on brochures, tactical sales
promotion, direct marketing and press.
