Coke reduces European ad agencies

Coca-Cola has cut down on the number of ad agencies working on the European advertising account its flagship Red brand. From 20 agencies, the company has now reduced the count to just four in an attempt to produce improved marketing strategies.

The business, is estimated to be worth over £100 million. The reduction in agencies comes as part of a review of its global marketing strategy in a bid to save $400   million to $500 million (£200 million to £250 million) a year by the end of 2011, in the face of a consumer slowdown.

Ad agencies that will remain on the roster will be Mother London, Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam, McCann Erickson Spain and Senior Rushmore Madrid. The agencies are believed to be being briefed later this month on the strategy behind the Coke Red European Agency Network.

A statement from Coca-Cola said, "We will continue to evolve our agency model to get the most compelling, effective and scalable work we can on behalf of our global brands. That may entail using fewer agencies overall, while instilling greater agency collaboration to drive truly integrated marketing communications."