#e4mExclusive:  Cheil ropes in Havas to handle Samsung India's Rs 300-crore ATL media business

Havas Media India is set to manage the above-the-line (ATL) 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 familiar with the development.

The arrangement comes weeks after Samsung India awarded its consolidated media mandate, estimated to be worth around Rs 300 crore for traditional media, to Cheil India after a multi-agency review. The broader integrated mandate, including digital responsibilities, is estimated at nearly Rs 700 crore, making it one of the largest media accounts in the country.

Read earlier e4m report on Samsung awarding media mandate to Cheil 

Under the new operating structure, Cheil will remain Samsung India's agency of record, while Havas Media India will oversee planning and buying for ATL media, including television, print and radio, on behalf of Cheil, the source said. 

The model allows Cheil to retain overall strategic ownership of the account while leveraging Havas' scale and expertise in traditional media execution.

"The business has been structured in a way where Havas will manage the ATL responsibilities via Cheil. Cheil continues to lead the overall mandate, but Havas will be responsible for execution of the traditional media business," the top industry source told e4m. 

The move reflects an increasingly common collaboration model in India's advertising ecosystem, where lead agencies partner with specialist media networks to deliver large, integrated mandates without significantly expanding internal capabilities.

Samsung's decision to consolidate its fragmented media operations marks a significant shift in its agency strategy. For more than a decade, IPG's Lodestar UM had handled the company's traditional media buying, while Cheil managed digital media, outdoor advertising and retail activations. The latest review merged these responsibilities under a single lead agency in an effort to create a more integrated media ecosystem.

Industry executives say the restructuring is aimed at improving coordination across Samsung's diverse portfolio spanning smartphones, televisions, home appliances and other consumer electronics, while enabling unified audience planning and measurement across channels.

Cheil emerged victorious after a competitive review involving several leading agency networks. 

The final stages of the pitch included Cheil and Publicis Groupe's Starcom.

The partnership with Havas is expected to provide Cheil with additional depth in television negotiations, print buying and radio planning, while allowing Samsung to benefit from a consolidated agency structure.

Neither executives from Cheil nor Havas Media India responded to e4m's query.