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EXCLUSIVE:LG Dumps PR Company But WPP Scores Another Bite Of The Cherry

By David Richards| 23 Jun 2014

Public Relations


	In Australia the LG account has been handled by Pulse a division of Ogilvy and Mather. Branded LG one this PR group is also owned by the WPP. No reason has been given for the sudden decision to dump LG One in Australia. Back in 2009 LG Electronics appointed “LG-One,” a multi-agency team of WPP companies, to provide public relations support, the appointment, was initially for a three year period. The Company was responsible for corporate and product communications across all five of LG Electronics business divisions. In May 2013 after persistent rumours that the account was set to move LG Electronics came out with a statement claiming that the account was set to stay with WPP’s LG-One unit after an extensive review. It was the third time in four years that that LG who is having to compete with multibillion dollar PR programs by Samsung had reviewed their PR account. Included in the first quarter 2013 pitch that saw LG One appointed was Ogilvy PR and Hill + Knowlton who lost the account in Australia following an earlier LG review. In May 2013 LG Electronics global communications director Ken Hong dismissed the notion that the 2013 review process was a futile one for the other holding groups involved in the pitch. “We took this review very, very seriously and were eager to hear from the top players in the industry,” said Hong. “The outcome could have gone in one of many different directions, it was a wide open field.” “In the end, the decision to retain LG-One was made after thorough deliberation by key stakeholders in the company. Collectively, the group felt that LG-One had the most to offer in terms of resources, the largest network and the strongest backing from the agency’s top executives in WPP.” At this stage it is not known whether all of LG Electronics product groups will stay with Hill + Knowlton in Australia. ChannelNews has been told that none of the LG One team will be going over to work on the account. Last year, LG Mobile globally chose to shift their global PR duties to Burson-Marsteller after working with Porter Novelli for one year at the same time LG Australia appointed Philip Anderson as their internal Communications Manager.

About Post Author

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.