Why Pepsi's surprise $1.7 billion Publicis deal has Madison Avenue reeling
Publicis Groupe secured a $1.7 billion global media account from PepsiCo without a traditional pitch, causing significant disruption in the advertising industry. This move forces Publicis to drop its competing account with Coca-Cola, highlighting the intense rivalry and consolidation in agency marketing.
Why it matters
This shift illustrates how major corporations are consolidating their marketing tech and data needs, fundamentally changing the landscape for global advertising agencies.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images A version of this post appears in the CMO Insider newsletter. Sign up for Business Insider's weekly marketing newsletter . Forget the Jets and the Sharks, the Yankees and the Red Sox, or Arsenal v. Spurs (on my side of the pond). Few rivalries run as deep as Coca-Cola and Pepsi . That explains why Madison Avenue was so stunned by last week's news: Publicis Groupe had won PepsiCo's $1.7 billion global media, data, and tech account without a traditional pitch. (Omnicom was Pepsi's global media partner for more than 25 years, though Publicis media agencies did already work with the beverage and snacks giant in some markets in Asia.) The context: Publicis handles Coca-Cola's media in North America — and was competing against incumbent WPP for Coke's global business. "I was gobsmacked and shellshocked all week," one marketing consultant told me.
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