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PepsiCo is consolidating its global media business with Publicis Groupe. As exclusive global lead media partner, the group is set to build a new model called "One PepsiCo", which brings together strategy, planning, activation, connected identities, data and technology under one structure. The mandate covers brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade and Lay's in more than 200 markets.
According to Adweek, the model will rely more heavily on AI and data. The selection process is also noteworthy: according to Adweek, there was no classic pitch but a review of the media capabilities of various partners.
Publicis replaces OMD in key markets
With the new model, Publicis takes over from Omnicom subsidiary OMD in key markets such as the US and the UK. OMD had worked for PepsiCo there for more than two decades. Omnicom is reportedly to continue supporting PepsiCo on selected creative, sports and PR tasks.
For the advertising industry, the agency change itself is less interesting than the nature of the mandate: PepsiCo is not only buying media planning and buying, but wants to organise media, data, identity and technology more tightly as one connected system.
This fits a broader trend in which advertisers are linking data and measurement infrastructure more closely with actual ad delivery. Retail media networks are also now trying to make ad exposure measurable all the way through to visits and transactions. At the same time, the recent US ruling on Google shows how central the infrastructure behind digital advertising has become: Google avoids a break-up of its adtech business but must expect behavioural remedies.
3,4 billion dollars in advertising spend as a scale indicator
According to its latest annual report, PepsiCo spent 2025 a total of around 5,4 billion US dollars on marketing activities. Of this, according to Adweek, around 3,4 billion dollars went on advertising.
This figure cannot automatically be equated with the value of the Publicis mandate. It does, however, show the scale at which PepsiCo manages media and advertising globally.
In parallel, PepsiCo is already working on a broader AI transformation. In April 2026, for example, the company announced a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to embed AI more deeply in operational decisions and its technical infrastructure.
Publicis reportedly withdraws from Coca-Cola pitch
The new PepsiCo mandate also has consequences for Coca-Cola, according to Adweek. Publicis already handles the media business for the US and Canada there, but according to sources it is now reportedly withdrawing from the pitch for further parts of Coca-Cola's global media account.
Publicis itself did not comment on this part. The withdrawal should therefore be understood as a reported consequence of the PepsiCo win, not as an officially confirmed statement from the group.
What marketers can take away
For large brands, agency selection is increasingly shifting from individual campaign capabilities to how well media, first-party data, identity, automation and measurement work together. This is the same logic behind weather-triggered programmatic advertising and incrementality measurement in retail media.
The PepsiCo deal is therefore mainly a signal about the structure of large media accounts: fewer separate silos, more centralised data and technology architecture across markets and brands.