Beverage giant Coca-Cola has handed the majority of its $US4 billion ($A5.4 billion) media and creative spends to WPP following a global pitch that began way back in December last year.
B&T understands MediaCom will handle the soft drink maker’s media here in Australia as part of the deal. IPG’s UM is the incumbent media agency in Australia.
Coca-Cola has confirmed that WPP will be its “global marketing network partner” and will operate under a bespoke unit called OpenX. The new agency will manage Coke’s creative, media, data and marketing technology across its entire portfolio of brands.
WPP will handle Coca-Cola’s media in eight of its nine operating units and the large majority of its creative work, WPP chief executive Mark Read said in an email to staff.
Read said: “This is among our company’s greatest ever new business achievements, the largest win in decades, and a fantastic endorsement of the new WPP we have built together over the last three years.”
Coke added that dentsu would become a complimentary media partner in selected markets (believed to be Japan and Korea) where it bought distinctive strengths.
It added that Publicis and IPG had both performed strongly during the pitch and both agencies would be included in a strategic roster of firms. MediaSense was the pitch consultant on media and PwC led the media pitch, according to sources.
MediaCom AUNZ CEO Yaron Farizon said: “This is a triumphant win for us both globally and locally, an incredible achievement for MediaCom and WPP. I couldn’t be prouder of each person who made this possible. Having hands-on experience on Coke from other markets, I’m so excited for our team here in Australia to work on this exceptional client. WPP stood out as a group of brilliant, talented, inquisitive, creative, and inclusive people that will help to drive transformation of The Coca-Cola Company business leveraging media, data and creative. We are over the moon and look forward to growing Coke’s business in AUNZ. Such an honour!”
Commenting on the move to WPP, Coca-Cola’s global chief marketing officer Manolo Arroyo said: “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. I am delighted to be partnering with WPP as we accelerate our marketing transformation.”
Arroyo added: “We were 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. WPP will bring creative excellence and unparalleled marketing capabilities at a global scale that no other network can deploy.”
Arroyo also thanked IPG for its work on the business and said the agency had “consistently demonstrated a passion for Coca-Cola brands and delivered some of our most important work around the world”.
“I want to particularly recognise the work performed by the other finalist, Publicis Groupe,” Arroyo commented. “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. Agencies like Publicis and Leo Burnett blend creativity with data and technology, and I’m excited to work with them as part of our strategic roster.”
Read concluded: “We are delighted to be appointed as The Coca-Cola Company’s Global Marketing Network Partner, a catalyst for its transformation and growth, and to bring the outstanding creativity, data-rich insights and media expertise needed to create connected consumer experiences.
“This partnership, integrating our capabilities across content, media, data, production and technology, operating locally and globally, will complement The Coca-Cola Company’s globally networked organisation.”
