The pitch is understood to be worth around US$30 million and comprises of three divisions, including ginseng, tobacco and pharmaceutical.
Three agencies - JWT, Oricom and incumbent TBWA - are currently in the running for the account. The account has until now been split between TBWA and Phoenix Ad, with the latter agency excluded in the first round of pitching.
While the company is obligated to conduct an annual review, pitches of this scale are uncommon.
A source close to the review indicated that the company would be likely to continue to split the account between two of the shortlisted agencies.
KT&G is Korea’s largest tobacco company, with reported annual sales in excess of US$2 billion.
