True Value Co. turns 75 this year and it’s celebrating the anniversary with its first agency of record in at least a decade. The hardware wholesaler appointed Laughlin Constable its AOR, tasked with developing a new integrated brand, creative and media strategy.

“Now is the time to explore marrying our strengths of local expertise with the needs of the 2023 shopper,” wrote Kelly Megel, who joined True Value last year as senior VP, marketing, after working at Discover Financial Services, in an email. “Independent hardware stores are such special places in the communities they serve, and we were looking for an agency partner who understands that and could help us tell that story.”

The wholesaler, which is based in Chicago and supplies hardware services and goods to more than 4,500 stores, previously handled its advertising in-house. A representative would not say how long the company searched for a new agency.

A new creative strategy for True Value is underway. 

Laughlin Constable maintains offices in Chicago and Milwaukee. The shop was recently named agency of record for Vienna Beef.