Coca-Cola's global media review pits Publicis against WPP

Coca-Cola has put its multi-billion-dollar global media, data and technology account into review, with Publicis and WPP going head-to-head — and Publicis reportedly chasing arch-rival PepsiCo at the same time.

What's in play

Coca-Cola has opened a global review of its media, data and technology business, and the two networks left standing are Publicis and WPP. Trade reports describe a multi-billion-dollar account — one of the largest single prizes in global advertising — now up for grabs across dozens of markets.

The review is the next act in a long-running story. In 2025 Coca-Cola pulled its North American media out of WPP — which had run the business through a bespoke unit built for the client since 2021 — and handed it to Publicis. Putting the entire global account into play raises the stakes from a regional loss to a potential worldwide realignment.

Publicis on the front foot, WPP under pressure

The timing flatters Publicis. The group has been the industry's new-business champion, has leaned hardest into data and AI, and recently prised the roughly $1.7bn Mars account away from WPP. Momentum, in pitches this size, is its own argument.

WPP, by contrast, is defending from the back foot. The holding company reported first-half 2026 revenue less pass-through costs down 4.4% to £6.37bn, and is deep in a turnaround under new leadership. Losing — or even having to re-pitch — a marquee client like Coca-Cola would land at the worst possible moment.

Pitching for arch-rivals: the conflict question

The most striking wrinkle is that Publicis is reported to be pitching for PepsiCo at the same time as Coca-Cola. Handling both cola giants would once have been unthinkable — a textbook client conflict. In the holding-company era, where data platforms and AI stacks are walled off inside separate teams, the networks increasingly argue those walls make rival accounts workable.

Whether Coca-Cola and PepsiCo agree is another matter. For advertisers, it is a live test of how much conflict clients will tolerate in exchange for a partner with the deepest data and technology bench.

What it means beyond the giants

Our read: this pitch is being fought on data and technology, not just creative reels. Coca-Cola is reviewing 'media, data and technology' as a single bundle, which tells you where the leverage now sits. The networks that win the biggest accounts are the ones that can plug first-party data into addressable media and prove outcomes.

For mid-market brands the lesson travels down: when you next review an agency, weight the pitch toward measurement, data integration and AI capability as heavily as the ideas. The creative still matters — but increasingly it is the plumbing that decides who wins.

Quick FAQ

Who is pitching for Coca-Cola's global media account?

Reports name Publicis and WPP as the two networks going head-to-head in Coca-Cola's global media, data and technology review.

Didn't Publicis already win Coca-Cola?

Publicis won Coca-Cola's North American media from WPP in 2025. This new review puts the wider global account in play.

Why is Publicis pitching PepsiCo too?

Trade reports say Publicis is chasing both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, testing traditional client-conflict norms in an era where data and AI teams are kept separate.

Accounts this size are won on plumbing now, not just posters. Coca-Cola is reviewing media, data and technology as one bundle — and that is the tell. The agency that proves it can turn first-party data into measurable outcomes will win, and every brand should copy that scorecard. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute

Global pitches are now decided by data and technology as much as creative — weight your own agency reviews the same way.

If you were Coca-Cola, would you let one agency group also handle Pepsi — or is that a conflict too far?

If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk

Sources: The Drum; Ad Age; Campaign Asia; Horizont; CB News; eMarketer.

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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute