Gumtree awards ad business to Albion

by Caroline Lovell, Campaign 20-Nov-08, 06:55

LONDON - Albion has been appointed to handle the £1.5 million advertising account for Gumtree.com without a pitch.

Gumtree, an international classifieds website, does not have an incumbent agency.

Albion won the brief on the basis of its existing relationship with Gumtree's parent company, eBay, and Skype.

The agency has been briefed to handle advertising and an on- and offline rebranding project.

Gumtree has appointed an agency because it wants to bring brand cohesion to the website and related offerings.

Kijiji, eBay's international classifieds division, acquired Gumtree in May 2005.

Albion was appointed to the Skype account in October 2005, a month before eBay's buy-out of the internet phone company for £1.4 billion.

The agency was later appointed to the £10 million UK eBay account in June 2007.

Gumtree.com launched in March 2000 as a local London classified ads and community website. It now covers 60 cities across countries in-cluding New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and Poland.