March 12, 2025  |  SIGN UP

Michael Bürgi
SENIOR EDITOR, MEDIA BUYING AND PLANNING

For several weeks, Digiday (and other outlets covering the marketing and media landscape) worked to verify rumors that Coca-Cola was quietly reevaluating its North American media agency work, which since 2021 has been handled by WPP's GroupM. Indications appear that the massive media spender will shift that media work to Publicis without a formal review. 

Whether the shift happens or not, the move signals somewhat of a change in the way marketers handle media decisions. It doesn't happen often but it does happen that a big spender will move its business from one agency to another somewhat furtively. McDonald's essentially did the same back in late 2021, when it switched media without a review from Omnicom Media Group’s OMD to Publicis. 

Will we see the same moves from other major marketers as the agency world continues to consolidate to serve those giants? It seems more than possible. Either way, the growing world of media consultancies to help those marketers make their decisions will be laughing all the way to the bank. 

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