Samsung has awarded its media account to Publicis Groupe and will provide its creative agency Cheil with a much broader remit following a competitive review, B&T can reveal.
Clemenger BBDO was the incumbent on both, but did not progress to the final round of the review. Cheil has also worked with Samsung on creative in this market, and will now become its sole creative agency.
Publicis Groupe is Samsung’s media agency of record in most markets around the world, while Cheil is an advertising company owned by Samsung’s Group that produces the majority of global brand advertising for Samsung Electronics.
Samsung spends around $120 million on media billings in Australia. B&T understands that Publicis Groupe will create a bespoke ‘Power of One’ team to work on the Samsung account. Globally, the Samsung unit is called ‘Publicis Constellation’.
A Samsung Electronics Australia spokesperson told B&T: “Samsung Australia recognises the efforts of every participating agency in its recent roster review, and can confirm the process has now concluded. We welcome Samsung’s global media agency of record, Publicis Group to the local agency village; and can confirm Cheil will continue creative work alongside our existing roster that spans a number of disciplines.
“We would also like to extend our gratitude to the incumbent, Clemenger Group, for a successful seven years of partnership, and wish the entire team every future success.”
Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO Michael Rebelo said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Samsung at a particularly exciting time for both organisations. We look forward to bringing the full power of Publicis Groupe Australia’s connected capabilities to help unlock growth across the entire Samsung Australia enterprise.”
Cheil Australia, led by Marvin Park, has about 90 staff, while globally it has a workforce of 8,000 in 46 countries.
“We’re thrilled to continue our work with Samsung Australia, as we believe no other agency understands Samsung’s business the way we do. This is what true partnership looks like,” Park said.
As B&T first reported in May, Publicis Groupe had been the frontrunner for media in the final stages of the review. Cheil, M+C Saatchi and Ogilvy were the final three creative agencies in the running.
The pitches, which B&T first heard about in February, ran separately but concurrently, with input from Samsung’s regional and global teams.
Clemenger BBDO’s seven-year partnership with Samsung Australia was unusual in a global context, but the pair produced award-winning work.
Its recent Clash of the Commuters campaign cleaned up at last year’s MFA Awards.
When Clemenger bowed out of the review, Omnicom Oceania chief executive Nick Garrett told B&T: “Multiple people across our network have worked on this business over the past seven years with enormous care and love and we believe that is reflected in the work and impact we’ve been able to achieve together.
“Given BBDO has been an outlier in Samsung’s global media agency alignment, we’re proud to have maintained such a strong and enduring partnership here in Australia for as long as we have. We thank Samsung for the trust and collaboration over the years and wish the team every success moving forward.”
