The Impact of Coca-Cola's Massive Agency Revamp on the Advertising Sector
Coca-Cola has announced a renewed global marketing partnership with WPP, the world's largest advertising holding company. The partnership, effective from Monday, will see WPP handle various aspects of Coca-Cola's marketing, including creative development, media buying, data, and technology strategy, across the majority of its portfolio (outside North America media).
The partnership, led by WPP's bespoke agency Open X, represents a modern, agile marketing model. It unifies creative, media buying, production, social, influencer, and other disciplines in a seamless way, reflecting collaborative workflows across disciplines to adapt swiftly to market changes and consumer behavior shifts.
Under the partnership, WPP Open X will handle Coca-Cola’s entire global marketing scope. While WPP retains media buying responsibilities globally (except in North America, where the media account has been moved to Publicis), the model concentrates on leveraging data and technology to deliver targeted, scalable media campaigns.
Open X acts as a unified creative hub, blending talent from multiple WPP agencies and regions to produce cohesive, localized marketing outputs. The agency group retains some complementary creative assignments from other global groups such as Interpublic's McCann and Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett for certain markets.
This partnership is significant for its integrated end-to-end marketing approach. It demonstrates a modern, agile marketing model that unifies creative, media buying, production, social, influencer, and other disciplines in a seamless way, creating an “integrated agile modern marketing team.”
Coca-Cola's sizable advertising spend (over $5 billion annually) makes this a crucial client for WPP. The partnership renewal and continued collaboration illustrate Coca-Cola's confidence in WPP's ability to drive future marketing innovation and value, despite shifting segments to other groups.
It's worth noting that Dentsu will manage a few select Asian markets for Coca-Cola’s media business, while WPP will not manage media buying in these markets. The creative partnership between Coca-Cola and WPP does not cover media buying in all markets, and the creative partnership between Coca-Cola and WPP's shops includes strategic partners.
The announcement leaves some questions unanswered about the review process. However, the renewed partnership between Coca-Cola and WPP is a high-profile example of a fully integrated global marketing relationship that combines strategic media buying with cohesive, scalable creative solutions, leveraging data and technology to deliver consistent, localized brand expression worldwide. This relationship highlights evolving agency models toward unified and agile marketing ecosystems.
[1] Ad Age. (2025). Coca-Cola Renews Global Marketing Partnership with WPP. [online] Available at: https://adage.com/article/news/coca-cola-renews-global-marketing-partnership-wpp/2429294
[2] Marketing Week. (2025). Coca-Cola renews global marketing partnership with WPP. [online] Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/2025/03/22/coca-cola-renews-global-marketing-partnership-with-wpp/
[3] Campaign Live. (2025). Coca-Cola renews global marketing partnership with WPP for integrated end-to-end approach. [online] Available at: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/coca-cola-renews-global-marketing-partnership-wpp-integrated-end-end-approach/1778296
[4] The Drum. (2025). Coca-Cola renews global marketing partnership with WPP for integrated end-to-end approach. [online] Available at: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2025/03/22/coca-cola-renews-global-marketing-partnership-wpp-integrated-end-end-approach
[1] The renewal of Coca-Cola's global marketing partnership with WPP signifies a significant move in the finance and business industry, as it illuminates an integrated marketing model that combines creative ideas with effective media buying strategies.
[2] Under this partnership, WPP Open X will manage Coca-Cola's entire global marketing scope, utilizing data and technology to deliver targeted, scalable media campaigns across various aspects of the industry, reflecting the company's commitment to remain competitive in the ever-evolving business environment.
