CocaCola, the world’s largest softdrinks firm, is to stage a winnertakesall UK corate comms and public affairs pitch as it responds to public pressure for food firms to assist healthy diets.
CocaCola: fighting obesity backlash
The review threatens the work of at least three of the firm’s existing agencies.
It is understood that, as part of a joint initiative between CocaCola GB and bottling arm CocaCola Enterprises, incumbent agencies Lexington Communications, BursonMarsteller and Cohn & Wolfe are repitching for the brief, which includes reputation issues surrounding obesity.
Ogilvy PR Worldwide and at least one other agency are also thought to be involved in the contest.
CocaCola GB public affairs and comms director T Wilkinson issued a statement saying it was looking ‘at other potential expertise to ensure that [CocaCola] has the optal input to supt the business’. No one at CocaCola Enterprises, which retains Lexington, was available for comment.
The move to consolidate its corate and PA account comes in the same month that the company cut growth forecasts and admitted it had been slow to spot the trend towards healthier drinks.
CocaCola chairman and CEO Neville Isdell cut the firm’s profitgrowth forecasts for next year from 1112 per cent to ‘high single digits’.
Ratings agency Fitch last week said CocaCola’s arch rival PepsiCo was better positioned to respond to the ‘significant challenges’ both firms faced from pressures to adopt healthier diets.
