WPP Clinches Samsung Account After Seven-Month Wrangle
Global advertising giant WPP has succeeded in winning the highly lucrative rights to electronics firm Samsung’s world-wide media account, worth around £380 million, following a closely fought battle with incumbent agency, Omnicom.
The win brings to a close seven months of contest between WPP, pitching against Publicis, and previous contract-holder Omnicom.
Samsung’s account will now be divided up between WPP’s companies, with Group M handling planning and buying, while Berlin Cameron takes control of the company’s creative, alongside the company’s own in-house advertising team.
The new partnership has already begun to bear fruit, with WPP wasting no time in getting to grips with Samsung’s business. Commenting on the deal a Samsung spokesman said: “WPP’s agencies have already begun preliminary work on the account, with the aim of having a new advertising campaign launched in early 2005.”
The latest win adds to an impressive year so far for WPP. Earlier this month saw subsidiary company MindShare winning Unilever’s £700 million European media account, giving the company advertising business across all Unilever’s divisions and in 15 European markets. Reports suggest the move represents the largest single account to change hands in the history of the European media business (see MindShare Wins £700 Million Unilever Account).
The company also stove off competition in May to secure the global media contract for HSBC, believed to be worth around $600 million, and resulting in the bank consolidating its business with one marketing services organisation for the first time (see WPP Beats Rivals To Win Global HSBC Media Account).
WPP set another financial record earlier this year, exceeding investor expectations in the third quarter to see revenue rise by nearly 4% to £1.068 billion, marking the first time ever the company has broken through the billion-pound barrier in a three-month period (see WPP Revenues Exceed Expectations And £1bn Barrier).
WPP: 020 7408 2204 www.wpp.com
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