Publicis has been picked by Coca-Cola to handle its pan-European
branding assignments in a further move by the US soft drinks giant to
make its marketing more responsive to local conditions.
The Paris-based group saw off the other Coke roster networks,
McCann-Erickson and Leo Burnett, as well as the fledgling UK agency Soul
to win the task to develop the brand's "Enjoy" theme for European
markets.
It is the first time Coke has appointed a network to produce work on a
regional basis.
It is believed that the Publicis agency in London will take pole
position in the development of the work, drawing on creative resources
from other Publicis offices.
Commercials will be offered to local managers for use either in addition
to or instead of more locally produced work. They alone will decide
whether or not they wish to run it. The appointment does not affect
existing agency assignments.
Publicis handles Coke business in some 40 countries, including the UK,
where it produces creative work for the Coca-Cola and Diet Coke
brands.
Last year, the group was appointed to spearhead a crisis communications
programme after tainted Coke cans were found in Belgium.
The latest assignment is in line with the company's mandate to 'think
local, act local' and with the declared intent of Mr Douglas Daft,
Coke's worldwide president, to devolve marketing control out of the
company's Atlanta headquarters and allow local managers greater
autonomy.
"Until now, 90 per cent of Coke's advertising in the UK has been driven
and controlled from Atlanta," an industry source said. "Now they want to
go local and get away from a situation in which Atlanta creates
advertising solutions to be disseminated around the world."
The contamination scandal in Belgium - and Coke's slow response to it -
as well as a sluggish domestic market have all helped fuel the
trend.
The devolvement is not expected to lead to advertising on a
country-by-country basis but campaigns which would run across countries
with similar cultures.
