The Coca-Cola Company has completed its global marketing operating system review, retaining WPP Open X as its media partner across most international markets while selecting Omnicom for North America. Dentsu will continue handling media in Japan and South Korea, while WPP Open X retains Coca-Cola’s global creative remit. The decision signals a focus on connecting media, data, customer relationship management (CRM), loyalty, creator marketing and AI-enabled capabilities within a more integrated marketing ecosystem.

Coca-Cola reshapes its global marketing operating model around data and AI

Coca-Cola’s agency review was not simply a media buying decision. It was an assessment of how the company organizes marketing capabilities across markets, with an emphasis on consumer understanding, operational agility and technology-enabled execution.

Under the revised arrangement, WPP Open X will remain Coca-Cola’s media partner globally, excluding North America, Japan and South Korea. Omnicom has been selected to manage media in North America and will work closely with WPP StudioX. Dentsu retains its existing media responsibilities in Japan and South Korea, which were outside the current review. WPP Open X will also continue as Coca-Cola’s global creative partner, a role not included in the review.

The new structure builds on a relationship that began with the creation of Open X in 2021. Coca-Cola says WPP has helped modernize its marketing operations across more than 200 countries and territories, citing capabilities in media, data, technology, creators and commerce.

Coca-Cola executive Manolo Arroyo, executive vice president and chief marketing and customer commercial officer, also highlighted WPP’s Open Intelligence data solution and its application during the company’s FIFA World Cup 2026 activation. These capabilities reflect the growing importance of connecting marketing investment with audience insights and campaign performance.

Omnicom’s North American remit extends beyond media

The North American appointment is particularly significant because Coca-Cola intends to bring several capabilities together rather than manage them as separate marketing functions.

According to the company, Omnicom’s remit will connect media, data, CRM, loyalty and creator marketing within a more integrated ecosystem. The goal is to move beyond channel-by-channel execution toward consumer experiences that are coordinated across interactions.

That approach aligns with a broader shift in enterprise marketing: brands increasingly need to understand how paid media, customer relationships, loyalty initiatives and creator-led activity work together. When those functions operate in silos, teams can struggle to maintain consistent audience insights, coordinate campaigns and evaluate business outcomes across touchpoints.

Coca-Cola’s announcement describes the operating model it wants to build, but it does not disclose specific performance targets, implementation costs or quantified returns expected from the new arrangement.

Why the decision matters for marketing technology

The review places data infrastructure and AI alongside agency expertise as components of Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy. WPP’s connected technology ecosystem, including WPP Open and Open Intelligence, is part of the retained global relationship. In North America, the collaboration between Omnicom and WPP StudioX introduces an additional coordination requirement across agency teams and technology capabilities.

For large advertisers, an integrated marketing model can support more consistent audience understanding, campaign planning and measurement. However, the benefits depend on how well data is shared, how responsibilities are defined and whether teams use consistent performance measures.

The arrangement also illustrates that global consistency does not necessarily require a single agency to manage every market. Coca-Cola is retaining a global partner while selecting a different media partner for North America and maintaining Dentsu in two Asian markets.

The revised operating model is expected to be introduced in phases beginning December 1, 2026, according to industry reporting.

The key test will be execution: whether the agency structure can combine global scale with local market expertise while improving the speed, relevance and measurable impact of marketing. For the wider MarTech sector, Coca-Cola’s decision reinforces a central priority for enterprise brands: integrating people, data, platforms and AI into a coordinated marketing system rather than treating technology as a collection of disconnected tools.

Market Landscape

• Integrated agency models: Large advertisers are organizing creative, media, data and technology capabilities around connected operating structures.

• Data-led marketing: Audience intelligence and measurement are becoming central to campaign planning and optimization.

• AI-enabled marketing operations: Brands and agency networks are investing in technology intended to improve workflows, insights and execution at scale.

• Local-market specialization: Coca-Cola’s arrangement shows how a global marketing model can retain central coordination while assigning specific markets to different agency partners.

• Ecosystem governance: Multiple agency groups working together will need clear accountability, data-sharing rules and consistent measurement standards.

Strategic Outlook

Coca-Cola’s decision gives WPP continuity across much of its global media business and preserves its global creative role, while expanding Omnicom’s responsibilities in North America. For Coca-Cola, the strategic objective is to coordinate capabilities that have often been managed separately.

The outcome will depend on implementation. Key indicators to watch include campaign effectiveness, speed of execution, audience and customer insights, media efficiency, creator and retail media performance, and the ability to connect marketing activity to business results.

For marketing leaders, the broader lesson is that agency selection increasingly involves evaluating not only creative quality or media buying scale, but also the technology, data practices and collaboration model behind delivery.

Top Insights

• WPP retains a central role: WPP Open X remains Coca-Cola’s global media partner outside North America, Japan and South Korea, and continues as its global creative partner.

• Omnicom takes North America: The new remit is designed to connect media, data, CRM, loyalty and creator marketing in a more integrated operating model.

• Dentsu remains in two markets: Japan and South Korea were excluded from the current review, so Dentsu continues its existing media responsibilities.

• Technology is part of the agency proposition: Coca-Cola highlighted WPP’s data and technology capabilities, including Open Intelligence and WPP Open.

• Execution will determine the impact: The announcement sets out an operating direction, but does not quantify expected savings, ROI improvements or campaign performance gains.

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