Omnicom has secured Coca-Cola’s media business in the United States and Canada, giving the advertising group a major account win after Publicis Groupe displaced it from PepsiCo’s global media business. The appointment follows Coca-Cola’s review of its media partnerships, which leaves incumbent WPP with the bulk of the global assignment while Omnicom takes responsibility for media operations across North America. Notably, Publicis Groupe did not participate in the final contest after winning PepsiCo’s account from Omnicom, leaving WPP and Omnicom to compete for Coca-Cola’s North American media mandate.

Under the revised arrangement, WPP Open X will continue to manage Coca-Cola’s global creative business and retain its media responsibilities in markets outside the exceptions specified by the company. These include North America, Japan and South Korea.

For Australia and New Zealand, the decision means Coca-Cola will remain with WPP Media, while Dentsu will continue to handle the beverage company’s media business in Japan and South Korea, which were outside the scope of the latest review.

Coca-Cola also indicated that the new arrangement would not create a complete separation between its agencies, saying Omnicom would work closely with WPP to maintain coordination across its marketing operations.

Explaining the rationale behind the review, Manolo Arroyo, Chief Marketing and Customer Commercial Officer at The Coca-Cola Company, said the company sought partners and operating structures capable of supporting its next phase of growth. “Our objective was to 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 strengthened the company’s confidence in its global marketing network, with greater emphasis on understanding consumers, improving agility and applying emerging technologies responsibly.

Reflecting on WPP’s contribution, Arroyo said the agency group had played a central role in reshaping Coca-Cola’s marketing operations since the launch of Open X in 2021, supporting its activities across more than 200 countries and territories.

He also praised WPP’s performance during the review, highlighting its media, technology and data capabilities, particularly Open Intelligence, which he said had demonstrated its value through Coca-Cola’s FIFA World Cup 2026 activation.

Beyond the agency appointments, Coca-Cola’s decision signals a move towards a more integrated marketing model in which media, data, customer relationship management, loyalty programmes and creator partnerships operate as connected capabilities rather than separate channels.

Arroyo said Omnicom’s appointment in North America reflected the company’s intention to match specialist expertise with the distinct opportunities of individual markets. He explained that bringing these capabilities together within one operating structure would help Coca-Cola develop more connected consumer experiences and move beyond conventional, channel-by-channel media execution. “Our review was about designing the future of our marketing organization,” Arroyo said, adding that effective marketing systems depend on combining strong talent with the right agency partnerships.

Coca-Cola is therefore retaining WPP’s global creative role while introducing Omnicom into its North American media operations, with collaboration between the groups expected to support consistency across the company’s wider marketing ecosystem.

For Omnicom, the appointment represents a significant gain in a competitive agency market, particularly following the loss of PepsiCo’s business to Publicis Groupe. For WPP, retaining Coca-Cola’s global creative assignment and media responsibilities across most markets preserves a substantial part of its relationship with the beverage company.