AdAge reports that the company’s telecommunications unit will switch its digital ad business to Interpublic’s RGA from Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish.
Samsung Telecommunications is taking action as it experiences flagging sales for its most profitable product, the Galaxy S4. The Dallas, Texas-based subsidiary of the Korean electronics company changed its digital ads agency, switching to Interpublic’s RGA from Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish. AdAge reports:
“Due to budget cuts and a change in direction on Samsung
Telecommunications America’s digital media work to be more
tactically-focused, Razorfish is no longer working on the account,” said
a Razorfish spokeswoman. “We’re exceptionally proud of the work we
developed as their digital AOR over the past 18 months. While we’re
disappointed the relationship is changing, we wish nothing but great
success for our clients.”
No comment so far from Samsung, but it’s been a tough month for the electronics giant and it can’t quite gloat at Apple anymore. Along with slowing sales of the Galaxy S4, its stock has been dropping and its currently dealing with a huge PR fallout after it bungled the promotional giveaway of 1 million copies of rapper Jay-Z’s highly anticipated Magna Carta Holy Grail album through an app on its phones (the move was also heavily criticized for being a huge data-mining/privacy invading operation.) Jay-Z himself called the Samsung app experience “not cool.”
It’s a big win for RGA however. As we reported in an infographic from AdAge/Kantar, Samsung is the 15th biggest spender on advertising in the country, with an annual budget of nearly $600 million, with the lion’s share of that amount going marketing its smartphones.
