Havas Media India is set to manage the above-the-line media business for Samsung India through Cheil India, following the Korean electronics giant’s decision to consolidate its media mandate with Cheil, according to a top industry source.
The arrangement comes weeks after Samsung India awarded its consolidated media mandate – estimated at around Rs 300 crore for traditional media – to Cheil India following a multi-agency review. The broader integrated mandate, including digital, is estimated at nearly Rs 700 crore, making it one of the largest media accounts in the country.
Under the new structure, Cheil remains Samsung India’s agency of record, while Havas Media India will handle planning and buying for ATL media – including television, print and radio – on Cheil’s behalf. The model lets Cheil retain overall strategic ownership while tapping Havas’ scale in traditional media execution.
The move reflects a growing collaboration pattern in India’s advertising ecosystem, where lead agencies partner with specialist media networks to deliver large, integrated mandates without expanding internal capabilities significantly.
Samsung’s consolidation marks a shift from over a decade of split duties, where IPG’s Lodestar UM handled traditional media buying and Cheil managed digital, OOH and retail activations. The final stages of the competitive pitch included Cheil and Publicis Groupe’s Starcom, with Cheil ultimately winning the mandate.
Neither Cheil nor Havas Media India had responded to queries at the time of reporting.
