Cheil Attempts to Break from Samsung and Join International Team, with Haines Leading the Plays

Cheil, South Korea’s leading advertising agency, seeks to expand its business ventures beyond Korean borders. With Samsung as their most dominant, successful client, Cheil has developed the reputation as a “one-client” agency, and they wish to change that image by establishing international connections with the powerful markets including New York, New York and London, England. Former Leo Burnett London chief Bruce Haines was hired by Cheil to help launch their global presence.

Cheil originated from within the parent company, Samsung, which has now become one of South Korea’s biggest corporations, highly ranked internationally as well. The company plans on working towards becoming a full-service agency that is capable of working with multiple clients on a personal basis. Hiring Bruce Haines was a positive step for Cheil in the direction of developing international offerings. Bruce Haines has prior experience in global campaigns for Samsung that make him qualified for effectively spreading the word of Cheil, as some industry players believe. Others, less convinced by Haines’ previous work with Samsung, believe that perhaps Haines isn’t as capable of changing Cheil’s situation as the agency lets on to believe.

Whether seen as a effective brand person or operations manager, Haines recognizes the importance of avoiding the mistakes that have been made by Japanese marketers in wrongly targeting the Western world, without properly looking at them through the eyes of people in the Western world. Haines believes that his experience in working with people of the Western world will significantly aid his plans for expanding Cheil’s clientele basis.

The future will decide whether Cheil can successfully establish itself as a global agency, gaining business from Western countries including England and the United States. Cheil is looking for the opportunity to embrace success and business outside of its connection with Samsung, and based on the campaign work designed for this global project, Haines will help determine whether or not Cheil can stand alone without parental support of Samsung brand name association.



[Lester, Robert. "Is there more to Cheil than Samsung?" Marketing Week 31.9 (Feb.
2008): 11. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Ithaca Coll. Lib., Ithaca, NY.
18 Mar. 2008 pdf?vid=5&hid=6&sid=2539a05f-1b9a-4461-9b6b-e02f19cfb1cc%40sessionmgr7>. ]