Overview

Samsung Electronics Co. is a consumer electronics and appliance marketer.

Samsung’s headquarters is in Suwon, South Korea.

Samsung has four business divisions:

DX (Device eXperience) includes TVs, monitors, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, smartphones, telecommunications network systems and computers.

DS (Device Solutions) includes memory products such as dynamic random access memory and flash memory.

SDC includes display panel products.

Harman includes connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions and connected services.

Read more about Samsung’s business

U.S. ad spending:
Total U.S. advertising spending figures shown in the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers report are Ad Age Datacenter’s estimate of Samsung’s U.S. spending on advertising and sales promotion.

Worldwide ad spending:
Total worldwide advertising spending figures shown in the Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers report are Samsung’s stated worldwide “advertising” expenses plus “sales promotion” expenses converted to dollars at average exchange rates by Ad Age Datacenter.

Ad Age calculated that Samsung spent $9.276 billion on worldwide advertising and sales promotion in 2023, down 9.7% from $10.276 billion in 2022.

Ad Age Datacenter ranked Samsung based on stated “advertising” plus “sales promotion” expenses starting with the World’s Largest Advertisers’ December 2017 report (covering 2016 spending). Ad Age Datacenter previously excluded sales promotion from its calculation of Samsung worldwide spending.

Stated worldwide “advertising” expenses (rounded):

2023: 5,213.896 billion won ($3.994 billion) (2.01% of worldwide revenue)
2022: 6,112.951 billion won ($4.750 billion) (2.02%)
2021: 5,376.015 billion won ($4.677 billion) (1.92%)
2020: 4,269.043 billion won ($3.629 billion) (1.80%)
2019: 4,614.525 billion won ($3.968 billion) (2.00%)
2018: 3,998.491 billion won ($3.639 billion) (1.64%)
2017: 5,350.839 billion won ($4.762 billion) (2.23%)
2016: 4,432.109 billion won ($3.812 billion) (2.20%)
2015: 3,852.478 billion won ($3.429 billion) (1.92%)
2014: 3,773.649 billion won ($3.585 billion) (1.83%)
2013: 4,165.290 billion won ($3.832 billion) (1.82%)
2012: 4,887.089 billion won ($4.350 billion) (2.43%)
2011: 2,982.270 billion won ($2.714 billion) (1.81%)
2010: 3,282.798 billion won ($2.856 billion) (2.12%)
2009: 2,702.874 billion won ($2.135 billion) (1.98%)
 
Stated worldwide “sales promotion” expenses (rounded):

2023: 6,894.395 billion won ($5.282 billion) (2.66% of worldwide revenue)
2022: 7,110.649 billion won ($5.526 billion) (2.35%)
2021: 6,286.159 billion won ($5.469 billion) (2.25%)
2020: 5,861.954 billion won ($4.983 billion) (2.48%)
2019: 6,678.078 billion won ($5.743 billion) (2.90%)
2018: 7,113.183 billion won ($6.473 billion) (2.92%)
2017: 7,262.078 billion won ($6.463 billion) (3.03%)
2016: 7,080.554 billion won ($6.089 billion) (3.51%)
2015: 7,101.937 billion won ($6.321 billion) (3.54%)
2014: 7,760.648 billion won ($7.373 billion) (3.76%)
2013: 8,019.462 billion won ($7.378 billion) (3.51%)
2012: 6,055.105 billion won ($5.389 billion) (3.01%)
2011: 4,649.293 billion won ($4.231 billion) (2.82%)
2010: 3,271.993 billion won ($2.847 billion) (2.12%)
2009: 3,416.652 billion won ($2.699 billion) (2.51%)
 
Sum: stated worldwide advertising plus sales promotion expenses (rounded):
 
2023: 12,108.291 billion won ($9.276 billion) (4.68% of worldwide revenue)
2022: 13,223.600 billion won ($10.276 billion) (4.38%)
2021: 11,662.174 billion won ($10.146 billion) (4.17%)
2020: 10,130.997 billion won ($8.611 billion) (4.28%)
2019: 11,292.603 billion won ($9.712 billion) (4.90%)
2018: 11,111.674 billion won ($10.112 billion) (4.56%)
2017: 12,612.917 billion won ($11.225 billion) (5.26%)
2016: 11,512.663 billion won ($9.901 billion) (5.70%)
2015: 10,954.415 billion won ($9.749 billion) (5.46%)
2014: 11,534.297 billion won ($10.958 billion) (5.59%)
2013: 12,184.752 billion won ($11.210 billion) (5.33%)
2012: 10,942.194 billion won ($9.739 billion) (5.44%)
2011: 7,631.563 billion won ($6.945 billion) (4.63%)
2010: 6,554.791 billion won ($5.703 billion) (4.24%)
2009: 6,119.526 billion won ($4.834 billion) (4.49%)
 
Ad Age ranked Samsung as the world’s seventh-largest advertiser based on 2023 advertising and promotion spending.

Ad Age ranked Samsung as the world’s fifth-largest advertiser based on 2022 and 2021 spending.
 
Ad Age ranked Samsung as the world’s fourth-largest advertiser based on 2020 and 2019 spending.
 
Ad Age ranked Samsung as the world’s second-largest advertiser, behind Procter & Gamble Co., based on 2018 spending.
 
Samsung had displaced P&G as the biggest advertiser in the December 2018 ranking of Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers based on Ad Age’s calculation of Samsung spending for calendar 2017 ($11.225 billion) and Ad Age’s estimate of P&G “advertising plus other marketing costs” for the year ended June 2018 ($10.539 billion).

Links to Ad Age’s advertiser rankings

Latest rankings: U.S.

The Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2024 ranking was released Oct. 28, 2024.

Past rankings: U.S.

Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2023
Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2022

Latest rankings: worldwide

The Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2024 ranking was released Dec. 9, 2024.

Past rankings: worldwide

Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2023
Ad Age World’s Largest Advertisers 2022

Financial results

See more: Samsung’s financial results

See Samsung’s business report and financial statements

Agencies

Cheil Worldwide:
Samsung owned 25.2% of Cheil Worldwide, a South Korean agency company, as of December 2023, according to Samsung’s financial filings. Cheil grew out of the Samsung network. Samsung remains a key client.

Deals and strategic moves

Samsung in 2017 bought Harman International Industries for about $8 billion.

Harman was a U.S.-based marketer of products for automakers and consumers including connected car systems, audio and visual products, automation solutions and connected services.

Harman’s brands included AKG, AMX, Crown, Harman/Kardon, Infinity, JBL, JBL Professional, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Martin, Revel, Soundcraft and Studer.

Management and employees

Jong-hee Han is Samsung’s vice chairman and CEO.
 
See more: Samsung management
 
See more: Samsung careers

Stock

Samsung trades on the Korea Stock Exchange. Ticker: 005930

History

Samsung was founded in 1938 as a trade exporter that sold dried Korean fish, vegetables and fruit to Manchuria and Beijing.
 
Samsung Electronics Co. was incorporated in South Korea in 1969 and listed its shares on the Korea Stock Exchange in 1975.
 
Samsung in the 1970s began manufacturing consumer electronics (starting with black-and-white TV sets) and major appliances (including washing machines, refrigerators and microwave ovens).
 
Samsung began developing mobile phones in 1991.
 
Samsung means “three stars” in Korean.
 
See more: Samsung’s history