The Coca-Cola Company has renewed its global creative and media account with WPP’s Open X, doubling down on its partnership with the agency network.
The announcement follows a significant reshuffle in March, when Publicis Groupe clinched Coca-Cola’s U.S. and Canada media accounts for an estimated $700m after a competitive pitch.
Manuel “Manolo” Arroyo, Coca-Cola’s global chief marketing officer, confirmed the renewed partnership on LinkedIn.
“Since 2021, our unprecedented partnership with WPP Open X has delivered significant value to the company,” Arroyo wrote.
He credited the model’s evolution with helping Coca-Cola achieve major milestones, including its 2024 Cannes Lions Creative Brand of the Year win and recognition from Kantar as the world’s most valuable food and drink brand.
“We built and scaled Open X, the industry’s first open-source marketing model,” Arroyo wrote. “We’ve significantly stepped up our capabilities—scaling innovations like Studio X, experimenting with AI, and becoming a stronger global network.”
A WPP spokesperson in Australia confirmed the partnership continuation. “We are pleased to confirm that The Coca-Cola Company has renewed its partnership with WPP Open X, and we look forward to continuing our momentum as their global marketing network agency partner.”
Created in November 2021 specifically for Coca-Cola, Open X is led by WPP chief marketing and growth officer Laurent Ezekiel. The unit oversees creative, media, data, and marketing technology across Coca-Cola’s full portfolio, including Sprite, Fanta, Costa Coffee and Innocent.
When WPP first secured the nearly $4 billion global account, the remit included creative, media, social, and production. In subsequent years, it expanded to encompass commerce, data, technology, influencer marketing, and live experiences.
One of Open X’s standout achievements was the global Olympic campaign ‘It’s Magic When the World Comes Together’ for Paris 2024, with EssenceMediacom leading media planning and buying.
Still, the partnership renewal arrives at a pivotal moment for WPP. The holding company has recently faced a tough quarter, with GroupM’s global revenues down 0.9 per cent and other integrated agencies earnings dropping 4.4 per cent. WPP is reportedly preparing to retire the GroupM brand as it shifts to a single P&L structure – a decision which is not expected to impact Australia too greatly.
Losing the North America media business, worth $785 million in the U.S. and $52 million in Canada, according to COMvergence, was a blow. The review, managed by MediaSense, ended WPP’s four-year run in the region.
But the continued global partnership with Coca-Cola is expected to help stabilise WPP’s momentum. The deal not only represents a financial boost, it’s a vote of confidence in Open X’s model, reinforcing the agency group’s position as a strategic partner during a period of significant change.
Coca-Cola, meanwhile, shows no signs of slowing its marketing transformation. With an increasing focus on digital, AI, and consumer-centric experiences, campaigns, like the local Share A Coke reboot, reflecting a brand intent on remaining culturally relevant, globally and locally.
