Gala hands £5.7m media account to Coral adviser

Gala Interactive has awarded its £5.7m media planning and buying account to London-based agency the7stars, the firm currently responsible Coral Interactive’s media activities.

The multi-year contract award, which was first reported by marketing publication The Drum, followed a competitive tender process with the selection of the7stars coming soon after Gala Coral announced plans to merge its Gala and Coral online subsidiaries.

Despite the merger, it is understood that the7stars’ Gala and Coral accounts will be run in parallel to one other and are to be handled by separate teams.

“We are delighted to appoint the7stars to our media planning and buying account, and look forward to working closely with them over the next few years to drive our business into its next exciting growth phase,” Phil Walker, Gala Interactive CMO, said.

“The7stars has performed strongly for our sister company Coral Interactive for many years and we expect similar success with Gala Interactive,” he added.

According to global information company Nielsen, the Gala Interactive account, which had previously been handled by media agency Home, was last year worth £5.7m.

Coral Interactive first signed-up the7stars in 2011 soon after the agency’s two-year deal with William Hill had ended.