[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: Brands step up as global problem-solvers

Global challenges, climate change, food security, biodiversity loss, and responsible use of technology, are too vast for governments or NGOs to address alone. Increasingly, major brands are stepping into this space, aligning business imperatives with societal needs.

From combating plant disease with AI to supporting smallholder farmers and reimagining food systems, companies are embedding sustainability into strategy not only to future-proof their operations but also to drive systemic impact.

Coca-Cola has become a founding member of the MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium, joining technology leaders such as OpenAI and SK Telecom. The consortium focuses on open-source solutions to pressing challenges, ensuring AI develops responsibly and inclusively.

Unilever’s strategy places smallholder farmers—who supply ingredients like tea, cocoa, and palm oil—at the center of its sustainability agenda. By 2026, the company aims to support 250,000 farmers with livelihood programs spanning regenerative agriculture, access to finance, and income diversification.

PepsiCo, in partnership with the National Geographic Society, is tackling one of the most urgent environmental issues: soil degradation. Through the Food for Tomorrow program, the partners are combining science, storytelling, and education to highlight regenerative agriculture as a pathway to sustainable food systems.

Campaigns of the week

Heineken has launched Rooftop Revival, a campaign developed with creative agency LePub, which transforms unused rooftops into vibrant spaces for social connection. The initiative challenges the productivity-first design of modern cities by giving people new spaces to meet and share experiences.

UNESCO has unveiled the Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects, a digital platform that reconstitutes missing cultural artifacts through 3D modelling and virtual reality. Developed in collaboration with DDB Paris and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, the museum highlights the stories and significance of cultural objects lost to theft, looting and illicit trafficking.

Nest, the UK’s largest workplace pension scheme, has partnered with animation studio Aardman to encourage people to take greater interest in their retirement savings. With one in three UK workers enrolled in Nest, the campaign highlights how pensions continue to grow in the background during everyday working life.

Agencies and accounts

Bayer Consumer Health has appointed Interpublic Group as its global agency partner for creative, production and media. The appointment consolidates responsibilities under an integrated team and covers some of Bayer’s most established self-care brands, including Aspirin, Claritin, Bepanthen and Alka-Seltzer.

Global brand for garden tools and watering solutions, Gardena, has named McCann Leeds as its global lead strategic creative agency, tasking the agency with driving the brand’s growth in both established and emerging markets.

Independent agency H/L has been appointed to handle all media planning and buying for Grocery Outlet Inc. The assignment begins in the fourth quarter and includes supporting media activity for seven store openings in 2025.

Partnerships and acquistions

Publica by IAS has announced an expanded multi-year global partnership with Samsung Ads, the advertising division of Samsung Electronics.

Serviceplan Group has formed a strategic partnership with audience insights company GWI to bring verified human data into the Sōkosumi AI marketplace.

Podscribe will integrate Nielsen’s Designated Market Area (DMA) data into its podcast and audio advertising reporting tools. The agreement allows Podscribe to use Nielsen’s proprietary data, which covers 210 media markets.

Captains of Industry

This week, Marketing Report interviewed Lodewijk Varossieau, the founder of SuperRebel.Agency about the agency's expansion plans to become one of Europe’s leading creative hubs and its focus on smart tech partnerships.

Appointments

McCann has appointed Alkisti Stolp, co-founder and chief business officer of independent agency twentyrising, as the new CEO of McCann Germany.

Nielsen has appointed Sacha Weinberg as Senior Vice President, Brand Marketing and Strategy. She will lead the company’s global brand marketing strategy, focusing on content, social and web, brand design and events.

Other major news of the week

Horizon Media Holdings and Havas have joined forces to create Horizon Global, a new joint venture designed to serve global marketers. With combined billings of 20 billion US dollars, the venture immediately ranks among the world’s largest media investors.

Five digital agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands are joining forces to launch Citizens. The new agency group has 70 employees and serves 1,000 clients.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One

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