Samsung India awards Rs 300 crore consolidated media mandate to Cheil India

Samsung India has awarded its consolidated media mandate to Cheil India following a closely watched multi-agency review, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision marks a significant shift in the company’s agency structure and ends IPG-owned Lodestar’s over decade-long association with the Korean electronics giant.

The mandate, estimated at around Rs 300 crore, covers media planning and buying responsibilities across Samsung’s entire product portfolio, including smartphones, consumer electronics and appliances. The account is among the largest media businesses in India and has been keenly tracked by the advertising and media industry.

Publicis Groupe’s Starcom was the other finalist in the review process. Industry sources said the final round came down to a contest between Cheil India and Starcom, both of which leveraged their global Samsung relationships and integrated media capabilities during the pitch.

Samsung had earlier invited WPP Media, Starcom and independent agency Madison World to participate in the review. Agencies under Omnicom Media India, including incumbent Lodestar, were not part of the process.

Industry executives linked the review to the ongoing global consolidation between Omnicom and IPG, which has triggered potential conflict-of-interest concerns for several multinational advertisers. Apple, Samsung’s biggest global competitor, is aligned with agencies within the same network, prompting Samsung to reassess its long-standing media partnerships in India, according to executives aware of the matter.

The win significantly expands Cheil India’s role within Samsung’s India operations. While the agency already handled retail, outdoor and digital responsibilities for the brand, Lodestar managed traditional media duties spanning television, print and radio. The new structure consolidates all media responsibilities under a single agency framework.

The development is seen as a major milestone for Cheil India, which pitched for the full-spectrum mandate for the first time in the country. Industry observers believe the agency’s deep integration with Samsung’s business, combined with its understanding of the brand ecosystem, played a crucial role in the final outcome.

The move also reflects broader changes in advertiser priorities, with large marketers increasingly consolidating fragmented agency structures to improve efficiency, data integration and cross-platform execution. Unified mandates are enabling brands to deploy first-party data more effectively, optimise media spends and create seamless consumer journeys across traditional and digital platforms.

Samsung has been ramping up investments in digital media, e-commerce-led campaigns and retail activations amid intensifying competition in India’s smartphone and consumer electronics market. The company continues to maintain a strong presence across mass media while accelerating its focus on performance-driven and data-led marketing initiatives.

For Cheil India, the Samsung mandate is expected to substantially strengthen its position in India’s highly competitive media agency landscape. The win also underscores the growing influence of aligned global agency ecosystems in managing integrated, multi-channel mandates for multinational brands.