Samsung appears to have concluded its global ad review – a matter of some importance as it spends at least $4bn on advertising and $11bn in all on ad-related stuff.
So who’s won out?
Well, according to Ad Age, which appears to have heard from some US agency execs (who may or may not know what’s going on in Seoul) Publicis Groupe has kept its slice of business more or less with now wholly-owned BBH being added to Samsung’s roster of more-creative-than-the-rest shops.
Wieden+Kennedy also joins this select group while MDC’s 72andSunny, which has produced some outstanding work for Samsung over the past couple of years, has kept its place. Even though it looked destined for the chop when the review was originally announced. Then it appeared it would be confined to the big holding companies.
The big loser – or non-winner to be accurate – looks like WPP, which hasn’t won anything. This follows a similar failure to land Microsoft’s creative a while ago (which went to Interpublic’s McCann).
This will not please WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell, who knows all too well that these giant accounts come around once in a blue moon.
Back in the day WPP won the bulk of Samsung, to be housed in one of its ‘bespoke’ agencies. But this arrangement only lasted about six months before the business reverted to Cheil, then Samsung’s in-house agency.
So how has Cheil, not owned by Samsung any more but still highly connected, emerged from all this?
We don’t know – but, on previous performance, it will be called in by the Korean tech giant when life with a rather complex agency line-up becomes a bit too difficult.
Update
Looks like CHI & Partners which handles global work for Samsung TVs has survived the cut too. Which makes you wonder what it was all for? But more news will emerge, I’m sure.
