Samsung Australia Appoints Publicis Groupe as Media Agency, Ends Seven-Year Run With Clemenger

Cheil retains creative duties as consumer electronics giant realigns Australian marketing operations with its global agency network

Samsung Electronics Australia has confirmed the outcome of a closely watched agency review, appointing Publicis Groupe as its new media agency of record and bringing an end to a seven-year relationship with Clemenger Group. Cheil, Samsung’s long-standing creative partner, will continue in that role and take on a broader remit across the local market.

What Changed

The review, which Samsung confirmed publicly in February 2026, examined both the media and creative sides of its Australian business. Clemenger BBDO — the agency that had handled Samsung’s combined media, creative, digital and social duties since 2020, when the account sat with its CHE Proximity division — did not advance to the final round of either pitch.

In a statement, Samsung Electronics Australia acknowledged the participating agencies and confirmed the process had wrapped up, welcoming Publicis Groupe into its local agency roster while noting Cheil would continue its creative work alongside the company’s other agency partners. The company also thanked Clemenger Group for seven years of partnership.

Clemenger’s exit was foreshadowed in May 2026, when Omnicom Oceania chief executive Nick Garrett confirmed the agency would not continue as Samsung’s creative and media partner once the current arrangement ended, pointing to the strength of the relationship built over the prior seven years.

Why Publicis Groupe

The appointment brings Samsung’s Australian media operations in line with its global structure. Publicis Groupe already serves as Samsung’s media agency of record in most markets worldwide, working with the brand through its Starcom and Leo Burnett networks internationally. According to trade outlet B&T, Publicis Groupe will stand up a dedicated “Power of One” team for the Samsung account locally, mirroring a global unit known as “Publicis Constellation.”

Michael Rebelo, CEO of Publicis Groupe ANZ, said the agency was looking forward to bringing its connected capabilities to bear across Samsung’s Australian business, describing the timing as significant for both companies.

Notably, Samsung’s relationship with Publicis is not new. Before Clemenger’s CHE Proximity took over in 2020, Samsung had spent roughly a decade partnered with Publicis-owned Leo Burnett, meaning the account has effectively returned to a previous global partner rather than moved to an entirely new one.

Cheil’s Expanded Role

Cheil, the Samsung Group-owned advertising company that produces the bulk of Samsung Electronics’ global brand advertising, will now operate as Samsung’s sole creative agency in Australia, having previously shared creative duties with Clemenger. Cheil Australia CEO Marvin Park said the agency’s deep familiarity with Samsung’s business was central to what he called a genuine partnership.

Cheil Australia employs around 90 staff locally, part of a global network of roughly 8,000 people across 46 countries.

The Numbers Behind the Account

Samsung is understood to spend approximately AUD 120 million annually on media billings in Australia, according to B&T, making the account one of the more significant media reviews to play out in the local advertising industry this year. The creative shortlist reportedly also included Leo Burnett, Ogilvy and M&C Saatchi before Cheil was confirmed as the retained partner.

Context for Clemenger

The loss adds to a difficult run for Clemenger, which has also recently lost creative accounts including Asahi and Bupa, though the agency separately picked up the Stan account around the same period. Samsung and Clemenger BBDO had been recognised at the previous year’s MFA Awards, including a Grand Prix win for a campaign built around Samsung’s “Clash of the Commuters” work — a detail that underscored how, despite the strong creative track record, the account ultimately moved on strategic and global-alignment grounds rather than performance concerns.

What It Means for the Market

Samsung’s decision reflects a broader pattern among large multinational advertisers of consolidating local agency relationships with their global agency-of-record structures, even where local incumbents have delivered award-winning work. For Publicis Groupe, the win adds one of Australia’s largest technology and consumer electronics advertisers to its ANZ portfolio at a time when the group has also picked up other notable accounts, including Tourism Australia’s media business earlier in 2026.

Samsung Electronics Australia said it will continue working with a wider roster of specialist agencies across other marketing disciplines, indicating the media and creative changes are part of a broader, ongoing realignment rather than a single-agency consolidation.

Sources: Mi3 Australia, B&T, AdNews, Mediaweek, Mumbrella, LBBOnline, MarketingReport (reporting published between February and July 2026)