StopPress understands FCB has won the Samsung account in a six-way pitch, ousting the incumbent Colenso BBDO.
Also believed to be involved in the pitch were DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT and an independent agency (according to one source, information was, ominously for some, sent out to agencies a few days before Christmas so they could think about over the holidays).
Acumen Republic, Samsung’s PR agency, says Samsung had no comment to make at this stage.
StopPress has contacted FCB and Colenso for comment and will update the story accordingly.
It’s understood the change of agency will see Samsung consolidate its creative as well as other marketing activity, for which it has worked with other agencies. Starcom will continue to hold the media account.
Colenso formalised its relationship as Samsung’s agency of record in 2013. In taking on the client, Colenso had to say goodbye to long-time client Haier-owner Fisher & Paykel.
Most recently, Colenso worked with Samsung and Flying Fish to launch the new S9 smartphone in a live video stunt that saw 25 of the phones rigged up to film a spectacle of colour and movement.
The agency has created a number of clever, award-winning campaigns in its time with Samsung, among them the Smartphone Line campaign, the live cartoon campaign, the Samsung Smarthome in central Auckland and the solving of the black cat selfie problem. But there were a few eyebrows raised in the industry last year when the agency created an ad for Spark about a ‘constant companion’ that happened to be in direct competition with Samsung.
