PepsiCo CEO defends moving global media account to Publicis

Key points

• Ramon Laguarta praised the Publicis partnership to investors, calling it "an important capability for us" for PepsiCo.
• PepsiCo moved its global media account from Omnicom, which had managed it for three decades, without a formal review.
• COMvergence estimates PepsiCo spends about $1.9 billion on media a year, $780 million of it in North America.
• Coca-Cola, a Publicis client in North America, is reportedly preparing a review and in talks with Omnicom and Dentsu.

Why it matters for marketers: Marketers should watch whether CFOs treat advertising as an investment or an operating cost, since that classification shapes how budgets hold up under margin pressure.