Coca-Cola has appointed Omnicom to manage its media operations in the United States and Canada while retaining WPP for global creative work and media responsibilities across most other markets, reshaping the agency structure behind one of the world’s largest beverage brands.
The decision follows a review of Coca-Cola’s media partnerships and gives Omnicom a major account win after losing PepsiCo’s global media business to Publicis Groupe. Publicis did not participate in the final contest for Coca-Cola’s North American media assignment.
WPP will continue to oversee Coca-Cola’s global creative account through WPP Open X, alongside media operations in markets outside the specified exceptions. Brandspur Brand News reports that the revised arrangement reflects Coca-Cola’s push to combine specialist agency capabilities with more connected marketing operations across regions.
Dentsu will retain responsibility for Coca-Cola’s media business in Japan and South Korea, which were excluded from the latest review. WPP Media will also continue handling the company’s media operations in Australia and New Zealand.
Despite the redistribution of responsibilities, Coca-Cola said Omnicom would work closely with WPP to maintain coordination across its marketing activities.
Manolo Arroyo, the company’s chief marketing and customer commercial officer, said the review was intended to identify the partners, capabilities and operating structure needed to support its next phase of growth.
He also credited WPP with helping reshape Coca-Cola’s marketing operations since the launch of Open X in 2021, highlighting the agency group’s work across more than 200 countries and territories. Arroyo cited WPP’s media, technology and data capabilities, including its Open Intelligence platform, during Coca-Cola’s FIFA World Cup 2026 activation.
The new structure also points to a broader shift in Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy, with media, data, customer relationship management, loyalty programmes and creator partnerships expected to work more closely together rather than operate as separate channels.
For Omnicom, the North American appointment strengthens its position in a competitive global agency market. WPP, meanwhile, retains a substantial relationship with Coca-Cola through its global creative mandate and media responsibilities across most international markets.
