SEOUL--LG Mobile is understood to have selected Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe to help reinvigorate its global PR profile.

The Korean handset maker is in final negotiations with the WPP duo, who joined forces for the pitch, as revealed by the Holmes Report last week.

Incumbent firm Burson-Marsteller is expected to handle HQ duties in Seoul, while Cohn & Wolfe will oversee product communications in Europe and North America. The two firms prevailed over competition from WPP sibling LG One, the Hill & Knowlton/Ogilvy PR unit that won LG Electronics’ global corporate PR activity in 2009.

The brief is estimated at approximately $500,000.

LG has struggled to carve out a successful smartphone offering against competitors such as Apple, RIM and Samsung; it is understood that the company is hoping to rejuvenate global perceptions.