Coca-Cola taps WPP for global marketing duties, new agency model unveiled

The Coca-Cola Company has appointed WPP as its global marketing network partner to play a key role in executing a new marketing model built to drive long-term growth for the company's portfolio of brands across more than 200 countries and territories. Known as OpenX, the bespoke WPP team will provide end-to-end capabilities across creative, media and data. The pitch was first called late last year.

According to Coca-Cola, the partnership's breadth and depth is unprecedented and is expected to be a catalyst in the transformation of marketing effectiveness and efficiency. It is also unprecedented for the industry, given its scale and geographical reach, including more than 200 countries and territories; the company’s five-category beverage portfolio; and global ventures, including innocent and Costa.

“As we designed our new marketing operating model, it became increasingly clear that simplicity was critical to successfully operating a vast geographical and diversified business network, which also includes our bottling system,” global CMO Manuel Arroyo said.

The company was impressed by WPP’s ability to balance what it takes to deliver integrated consumer experiences at a global scale with the agility, speed and data-driven insights that are required to win locally. According to Arroyo, WPP will bring creative excellence and unparalleled marketing capabilities at a global scale "that no other network can deploy".

WPP CEO Mark Read said the partnership will complement Coca-Cola's globally networked organisation. "It’s unparalleled in our industry in terms of breadth and depth of capabilities, and reflects WPP’s scale and reach around the world. Our success in the industry’s biggest-ever pitch is testament to the talent and hard work of hundreds of people across WPP and our agencies, and to the strength of our simple, integrated offer to clients," he added.

WPP's appointment is part of Coca-Cola's new agency model which also saw dentsu being named complementary media partner in selected markets. Arroyo described dentsu to be "an incredible agency that combines rich human insights with the leading-edge analytics and technology capabilities required to design and execute connected consumer experiences". This makes it the "perfect complementary partner" for Coca-Cola.

Meanwhile, various agencies from Publicis Groupe and IPG have been selected for Coca-Cola's strategic roster. According to Coca-Cola, both networks "performed very strongly during the review process, demonstrating leading-edge capabilities, innovative ideas and impressive talent". As such, Arroyo said they will play key roles in the open-source model, which is expected to account for one-third of all marketing work.

"I want to particularly recognise the work performed by the other finalist, Publicis Groupe. Publicis demonstrated being a phenomenal agency with a bold vision that challenged our thinking, making it one of our most challenging business decisions we have confronted, given its world-class capabilities," Arroyo said. "Agencies such as Publicis and Leo Burnett blend creativity with data and technology, and I’m excited to work with them as part of our strategic roster," he added.

"IPG has consistently demonstrated a passion for Coca-Cola brands and delivered some of our most important work around the world. Its agencies such as McCann and Mercado will continue to be key partners for the company," he added. Implementation of the new marketing model will begin immediately. PwC advised on the global marketing network partner and strategic roster reviews, and MediaSense was the consultant on the complementary media partner review.

The company launched a new global brand philosophy and platform in September called "Real Magic", which invites everyone to celebrate the real magic of humanity. This marks the first new global brand platform for Coca-Cola since 2016 and features a refreshed visual identity. Inspired by its representation on Coca-Cola’s iconic packaging, the “Hug” logo lifts the curved Coca-Cola trademark on the bottle and can labels to provide a visual signature that will embrace and frame moments of magic across Coca-Cola’s communications.

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