Storyboard18 | Coca-Cola names WPP as global partner after a massive review

Coca-Cola’s new, integrated agency model is part of an aggressive agenda to transform and modernize marketing and innovation as key drivers of the company’s profitable growth.

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Manolo Arroyo, global chief marketing officer for The Coca-Cola Company, said, “Consumers respond to an entire experience – they don’t separate the message from the medium – and that’s why we’ve designed an agency model to be truly consumer-centric and silo-free.”

Arroyo added, “This model is about seamless integration of the power of big, bold ideas and creativity within experiences, amplified by media and data. It will enable us to create end-to-end experiences that are grounded in data-rich insights and optimized real-time, at scale, as we learn from consumers.”

The global review was one of the longest ever, taking almost a year.

The new agency model has four components:

1. A Global Marketing Network Partner to manage end-to-end creative, media, data and marketing technology, across the whole portfolio.

2. A Complementary Media Partner to bring differentiated capabilities in select markets.

3. A Strategic Roster of approved agencies to provide access to the best creative minds, regardless of their location or affiliation.

4. A common data and technology platform that connects marketing teams of five global categories, nine operating units, Global Ventures and Platform Services to the Global Marketing Network Partner, Complementary Media Partner and Strategic Roster.

Global Marketing Network Partner - WPP

OpenX, the bespoke WPP team, will provide end-to-end capabilities across creative, media and data to serve as the Global Marketing Network Partner for Coca-Cola’s brands.

The breadth and depth of the partnership is unprecedented for Coca-Cola 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,” Arroyo said.

Critics of the long review process and new marketing operating model, however, say that it is anything but simple.

Other Partners and Agencies on Roster

Complementary Media Partner: The company also announced that Dentsu has been named Complementary Media Partner in selected markets.

Strategic Roster: Coca-Cola will also ensure it has access to the world’s best creators through the development of an open-source creative model.

“We know brilliant creative ideas come from anywhere, and we will retain that flexibility,” Arroyo said.

Publicis Groupe and IPG both performed very strongly during the review process. Various agencies from both networks have been selected for Coca-Cola’s Strategic Roster, and will play key roles in the open-source model, which is expected to account for one-third of all marketing work.

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.

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Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said, “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 organization. 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.”