PepsiCo has launched a global review of its marketing agency ecosystem as the food and beverage company looks to restructure how artificial intelligence, data and technology are integrated across its marketing operations.
The review is focused on building a more AI-enabled marketing model and assessing how external partners can support the company's evolving requirements across creative, media, data, technology and marketing execution.
The move comes as PepsiCo expands the use of AI across its business and attempts to connect technology more closely with the way campaigns are planned, produced, activated and measured.
Rather than treating AI as a collection of individual marketing tools, PepsiCo has been working towards an end-to-end ecosystem in which artificial intelligence can support multiple stages of the marketing process.
Josep Hernández, Vice President of Media for PepsiCo Europe, Middle East and Africa, has previously outlined the company's shift away from what he described as isolated "islands of innovation" towards a connected AI marketing ecosystem. The approach spans consumer insights, creative development, media activation, conversion and campaign performance.
PepsiCo is already applying generative AI to consumer research and creative localisation. In one example involving Lay's in Belgium and the Netherlands, Gemini was used to analyse insights from 6,000 consumers and identify cultural differences that could inform locally relevant campaign creative.
According to PepsiCo, the resulting campaign reached 6.5 million unique users in one month, increased ad recall by four percentage points and delivered a cost per thousand impressions 30% below its typical campaigns. The results are company-reported and relate to that specific activation.
AI is also playing a growing role in media. PepsiCo says AI-powered Video Reach campaigns account for more than 60% of its YouTube advertising activity and have contributed to an approximately 25% year-on-year reduction in YouTube CPM across the relevant operations.
The company's technology transformation extends beyond advertising. In April, PepsiCo announced a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud that includes the use of Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. The partnership is intended to strengthen data and analytics infrastructure and apply AI to areas including supply chain management and go-to-market execution.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta has also said the company is using technology, AI and data across supply chain, transportation, digital ordering and advertising and marketing, with a focus on improving efficiency and returns on marketing investment.
The global marketing review comes at a time when AI is changing the relationship between brands and their agency partners. A 2026 BCG survey of 300 global CMOs found that 96% said AI was driving end-to-end transformation of their marketing functions, although 42% still primarily used generative AI to assist humans with individual tasks.
For PepsiCo, the review places those changes within its wider marketing structure. The process will determine how its agency ecosystem supports a model increasingly shaped by AI-enabled consumer intelligence, content creation, media optimisation and measurement as the company moves to scale these capabilities across markets.
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