The Coca-Cola Company Unveils Strategic Agency Partnerships to Accelerate Marketing Innovation
The Coca-Cola Company has completed a comprehensive review of its global marketing operating system, reaffirming its commitment to building a world-class marketing ecosystem that supports business growth, deepens consumer relationships and unlocks new capabilities through data, technology and artificial intelligence (AI).
The review focused on ensuring that Coca-Cola has the right agency partners, expertise and operating structures to respond effectively to an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving marketing environment. As consumer expectations change and digital technologies reshape how brands communicate with audiences, the company aims to strengthen collaboration, improve operational agility and deliver more relevant consumer experiences across its global markets.
As part of the review, Coca-Cola confirmed that WPP Open X will remain its global media partner in most markets, with the exceptions of North America, Japan and South Korea. Omnicom has been selected to serve as the company’s media partner in North America, where it will work closely with WPP StudioX. Meanwhile, Dentsu will continue managing media activities in Japan and South Korea, markets that were not included in the current review.
WPP Open X will also continue serving as Coca-Cola’s global creative partner. The global creative partnership was not part of the review, allowing the company to maintain continuity in its creative strategy while making adjustments to its media operating structure in selected markets.
The decisions reflect Coca-Cola’s strategy of combining global scale with market-specific expertise, enabling its marketing organization to respond to local opportunities while maintaining a consistent brand vision across regions.
Coca-Cola Focuses on Building a Future-Ready Marketing Ecosystem
Manolo Arroyo, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Customer Commercial Officer at The Coca-Cola Company, said the review was designed to ensure that the company has the appropriate partnerships, capabilities and operating model to maintain its leadership in a changing marketing landscape.
“We began this process with a clear objective: ensure we have the right partners, capabilities and operating model to continue to lead in a rapidly changing marketing landscape,” Arroyo said.
He added that the outcome reinforces Coca-Cola’s confidence in its existing global marketing ecosystem and creates opportunities to accelerate growth through a deeper understanding of consumers, improved agility and the responsible use of emerging technologies.
The company views marketing transformation as an ongoing process rather than a one-time organizational change. By aligning its agency partnerships with its business priorities, Coca-Cola aims to build a more connected system that brings together creative development, media planning, consumer data, technology and commercial execution.
This approach is intended to help the company understand consumer needs more effectively, deliver relevant brand experiences and improve coordination across the many markets in which it operates. Integrating these capabilities can also support more consistent decision-making and enable marketing teams to respond faster to emerging consumer trends.
Data and AI are expected to play increasingly important roles in this transformation. As marketing becomes more personalized and technology-driven, Coca-Cola is focused on applying these capabilities responsibly to improve consumer insights, strengthen campaign effectiveness and support long-term business performance.
WPP Continues Its Global Partnership With Coca-Cola
WPP has played a central role in Coca-Cola’s marketing transformation since the creation of Open X in 2021. The partnership has supported the company’s efforts to modernize its marketing operations across more than 200 countries and territories.
Through this collaboration, Coca-Cola has worked to bring creative, media, data and technology capabilities into a more integrated operating structure. The objective has been to establish a connected global ecosystem that supports the company’s brand portfolio while allowing marketing activities to reflect the needs and characteristics of individual markets.
Arroyo praised WPP’s performance during the review, highlighting the agency group’s capabilities in modern media, technology and data.
“WPP delivered a stellar performance during the reviews, demonstrating their strong, modern media, tech and data capabilities,” he said.
One of the capabilities highlighted during the process was Open Intelligence, WPP’s data solution. According to Arroyo, the platform builds on proven results from Coca-Cola’s FIFA World Cup 2026 activation across markets worldwide.
The example underscores the importance of connecting data and technology with large-scale brand campaigns. International sporting events provide opportunities for brands to engage diverse audiences, coordinate activity across regions and develop marketing experiences that reflect local consumer interests while reinforcing a global brand identity.
WPP’s continued responsibilities also include creative, media and marketing capabilities supported by its connected WPP Open ecosystem. The platform integrates data, technology and AI capabilities at scale, helping Coca-Cola coordinate its marketing activities across markets and channels.
In addition to its technology and data expertise, WPP demonstrated capabilities in creator marketing, commerce and retail media. These areas have become increasingly important as brands look to engage consumers across digital platforms, social communities, online marketplaces and retail environments.
Creator marketing can help brands build more authentic connections with audiences, while commerce and retail media offer opportunities to link marketing exposure more closely with shopping behavior. Bringing these capabilities together within a connected ecosystem can help Coca-Cola coordinate campaigns and create a more consistent consumer journey.
WPP also contributed thought leadership in Systems of Influence, an approach relevant to understanding how different voices, platforms and consumer interactions can shape brand perception and purchasing decisions.
By retaining WPP Open X as its global media partner in most markets and maintaining WPP Open X as its global creative partner, Coca-Cola is preserving a significant element of its existing marketing infrastructure while refining the organization of its media partnerships in specific regions.
Omnicom Selected to Lead Media in North America
Coca-Cola’s appointment of Omnicom as its North American media partner represents a targeted change designed to align specialized marketing capabilities with opportunities in one of the company’s key operating regions.
Under the new arrangement, Omnicom will work closely with WPP StudioX. The collaboration is intended to support a more integrated model that brings together media, data, customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty and creator marketing.
Rather than treating these functions as separate channels, Coca-Cola aims to connect them within a coordinated ecosystem. This structure can help marketing teams develop more cohesive consumer experiences, improve the use of customer insights and coordinate brand interactions across different stages of the consumer journey.
The company expects this evolution to further accelerate the North America Operating Unit’s (NAOU) marketing transformation. By aligning media execution with CRM, loyalty initiatives and creator engagement, Coca-Cola aims to strengthen its ability to establish meaningful consumer connections that contribute to business growth.
An integrated approach can also help marketing teams better coordinate their activities across digital and traditional media, customer engagement platforms and commerce-related channels. The intention is to create a more unified system in which different marketing investments support shared objectives.
The arrangement also reflects Coca-Cola’s recognition that marketing requirements can vary considerably across regions. While global coordination remains important for brand consistency and operational efficiency, individual markets may require different combinations of expertise, technology and consumer engagement strategies.
Selecting Omnicom for North America while maintaining WPP’s involvement through StudioX illustrates the company’s focus on combining specialized capabilities with collaboration among agency partners.
Dentsu Retains Media Responsibilities in Japan and South Korea
Coca-Cola confirmed that Dentsu will continue to handle media in Japan and South Korea. These markets were not included in the current review, meaning the existing media arrangements will remain in place.
Maintaining Dentsu’s role allows Coca-Cola to preserve continuity in these markets while implementing the changes identified through its broader marketing operating system assessment.
Japan and South Korea have distinct consumer environments, media landscapes and cultural characteristics. Continuing with the existing partner in these regions supports Coca-Cola’s ability to maintain locally informed marketing activities while pursuing its wider global objectives.
The company’s overall model therefore combines different partnership arrangements according to regional requirements. WPP Open X will continue as the global media partner outside the specified exceptions, Omnicom will lead media in North America in collaboration with WPP StudioX, and Dentsu will retain its existing responsibilities in Japan and South Korea.
Marketing Transformation Built on Talent, Innovation and Collaboration
For Coca-Cola, the review was ultimately about designing the future of its marketing organization and ensuring that its partnerships can support its evolving business priorities.
“Our review was about designing the future of our marketing organization,” Arroyo said. “The best marketing systems are built when you combine the best marketing talent with the right partnerships. We are confident that this combination of global scale, local expertise, innovation and collaboration gives us exactly that.”
The company’s approach emphasizes the importance of bringing together skilled marketing professionals, agency expertise, technology platforms and consumer insights within a coordinated structure.
As the marketing industry continues to evolve, brands face growing pressure to deliver relevant experiences, demonstrate the effectiveness of marketing investments and adapt quickly to changing consumer behavior. Advances in AI, data analytics and digital engagement are creating new possibilities, but realizing their value requires effective collaboration and a clear operating model.
Coca-Cola’s updated marketing partnership structure is intended to address these demands by maintaining global capabilities while adapting selected regional arrangements. Its continued relationship with WPP, the appointment of Omnicom in North America and the retention of Dentsu in Japan and South Korea reflect a combination of continuity and targeted change.
The company is positioning its marketing ecosystem to support stronger consumer understanding, more connected execution and responsible technological innovation. By aligning global reach with local expertise, Coca-Cola aims to build a marketing organization capable of responding to emerging opportunities while sustaining meaningful connections with consumers around the world.
The completed review marks another step in the company’s broader effort to modernize its marketing operations and establish a flexible, technology-enabled foundation for future growth.
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