The account is believed to be worth US$4.5 million, with campaigns breaking at press time. Creative is being handled by Samsung's existing creative partners in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia.
The news comes after Group M was appointed as media agency for Samsung's global brand brief, as part of WPP's successful pitch for the account. Initiative previously handled global media, through its alignment with FCB under the Interpublic banner.
The D500 is billed as a digital convergence offering, incorporating a range of multimedia features. The handset is positioned as a rival to RIM's Blackberry 7100, which it recently defeated to win the 'Best Mobile Handset' award at the recent 3GSM World Congress in Cannes.
MindShare beats Initiative in race for D500 launch
Samsung has tapped MindShare/Group M to handle media for the launch of its new D500 handset model in Southeast Asia and Australia. The agency was awarded the account following a pitch against Initiative in Seoul.