LG Electronics starts £80m global rethink
LG Electronics, the South Korean consumer electronics business, has called a review of its $150m (&£80m) global advertising and media business. The review is being run by its European headquarters in Amsterdam.
It is claimed that the review does not affect the company’s local agencies including Banner, the WPP-owned technology agency that was appointed to handle the &£1.5m UK advertising business in September (MW September 9).
The news comes just days after it was confirmed that LG’s biggest rival Samsung has consolidated its $770m (&£411m) advertising business in the WPP Group (MW last week). WPP has strong global links with LG. In 2003, LG consolidated $100m (&£53m) of business in the US in WPP, which formed an internal unit, Team LG, to handle the work. The agencies include Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, which handles LG’s digital display units, Marsteller, which handles its appliances division, and Brand Buzz, formerly part of Young & Rubicam, which has its mobile phone business. LG also moved its $22m (&£12m) media business in India to Group M.
An eletronics industry insider says that LG believed for some time that it should consolidate its advertising, media and PR accounts into a global network, which would have been WPP because of the existing links. But he adds that Samsung and LG are highly competitive companies and Samsung’s decision to appoint WPP means that LG will look more seriously at other networks.
