Incumbent Fleishman-Hillard Stratcom (FHS) is one of five agencies vying for the account, said Tara Bourne, corporate marketing executive for Samsung Australia. She would not reveal the names of the other shortlisted consultancies. Bourne said the review was prompted by "due diligence" with the incumbent invited to repitch.
FHS was appointed in June 2002, following a review, to work across all Samsung product divisions and with corporate marketing to raise awareness of the brand and the company's various products. These include memory chips, mobile phones, monitors and VCRs.
A full PR schedule has been set for 2004 in line with product launches, corporate branding and leveraging sponsorships but is expected to be tweaked once the consultancy is decided, said Bourne.
As well as sponsoring a number of local sporting teams, Samsung will also provide equipment for the Olympic Games, and is co-sponsoring (with Coca-Cola) the first international Olympic Torch Relay, which will be run across each host city.
Samsung kicks off Aussie review
Samsung Electronics Australia is currently reviewing its local PR account with a decision expected in two weeks.