WPP’s bespoke team Open X grabbs The Coca-Cola Company creative and media over 4Bn business. Dentsu to bite a slice of the media cake in selected markets. Several Publicis and IPG agencies selected for the open source creative network.
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.
Between 2015 and 2019, The Coca-ColaCompany invested an average of $4Bn each year to market its drinks to consumers around the world. The multinational spent roughly $4.24 billion on global advertising in the 2019 fiscal year.
“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,” Manolo Arroyo, Global Chief Marketing Officer for The Coca-Cola Company said. “I am delighted to be partnering with WPP as we accelerate our marketing transformation. 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.”
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. “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,” said Manolo Arroyo, global chief marketing officer for The Coca-Cola Company. “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.”
Four components for a new integrated agency model
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.
Implementation of the new marketing model will begin immediately.
Dentsu, complementary media partner
The company also announced that Dentsu has been named Complementary Media Partner in selected markets where they bring distinctive strengths.
“Dentsu is an incredible agency that combines rich human insights with the leading-edge analytics and technology capabilities required to design and execute connected consumer experiences,” Arroyo said. “They are the perfect complementary partner for us, bringing distinctive strengths in some of our highest priority areas.”
Strategic agency roster from IPG and Publicis for open creative sourcing
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, demonstrating leading-edge capabilities, innovative ideas and impressive talent. 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.
“I want to particularly recognize the work performed by the other finalist, Publicis Groupe. 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,” Arroyo said. “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.”
“IPG has consistently demonstrated a passion for Coca-Cola brands and delivered some of our most important work around the world,” Arroyo said. “Their agencies like McCann and Mercado will continue to be key partners for the company.”
No trace on a chance for Havas, despite the agency who signs Real Magic’s global brand platform spot is Betc.
Image over the headline.- WPP matrix brand in red and yellow. Images © WPP. Composition, © Eastwind.
Related Eastwind Marketing links:
The spaniard Manuel Arroyo, new CMO Global at The Coca-Cola Company
