How Big Brands Use Social Media
Minneapolis at General Mills | August 13, 2009
Mark Addicks
General Mills
“General Mills Goes Social”

General Mills
Goes Social

Our Brands…
Are found in virtually every household in America…
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Save Lids to Save Lives

Connecting with Moms Online
Yoplait Kids has definitely become a
personal favorite in my "bag of tricks"
to please my kids!! Yoplait is offering
a FREE sample coupon at their
website so you can also get a chance
to sample it for yourself!
Here's a great freebie
for you! Get a coupon
for a free 6 pack of
Yoplait Kids
Yogurt…Yoplait is a
favorite around here
and I love getting
something free that
we'll actually USE!
The drinkable yogurt was the
favorite! It’s a healthy snack
filled with calcium. Right now
you can visit the Yoplait Kids
website and receive a coupon
for a free package of Yoplait
yogurt. Yes, it’s absolutely FREE.
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Online Game

Early Consumer Trial

Betty Crocker Social Networks
MySpace Page
Facebook Pages
Café
Mom
Groups

Betty Crocker Cookies “Sweet School Firsts”

Fiber One Bars Launch:
Consumer Conversation was Critical
Online Conversations (# of messages)
Unit Sales
During launch, the number of consumer-generated messages
(as measured by Nielsen Buzzmetrics) closely mirrored unit
sales of Fiber One Bars. Something is going on here…
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Two Consumer Networks
• 1,800+ bloggers (primarily women) • More than 150k influential consumers
have agreed to receive news and who have agreed to receive new
information; engage in concept tests, product news, behind the scenes
etc. looks at General Mills and special
offers.
• Opportunity to “Join the Conversation”
with influential consumers online. • Members interested in new products
generally and most in food specifically.
• It’s about the bloggers – their opinions,
their interests and what is relevant • Influential consumers tend to talk
to them. with others about their new
discoveries.
Direct relationships with consumers.
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163 Blog Posts: 7,822 Comments
Start of
outreach

An Island Review
Date: September 26, 2008
http://islandlife808.com/giveaways/giveaway
-pillsbury-savorings-flaky-pastry-bites//
Kailani of Mommy Goggles said the
following:
“…when I had the opportunity to
sample Pillsbury Savorings Flaky
Pastry Bites, I jumped at the chance. I
mean, who doesn’t love Pillsbury?.”

Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories
“What's been wonderful about
the books is the quality of the
“I loved that there was a
stories - they've really been
book that appealed to my 2
enjoyable, and introduced us to
year old, as well as a book
new favorites like Olivia.”
that reached my 4 ½ year
-Cathy Kohm, Chief Family Officer
old. I also loved the fact that
two of the books included
were also written in
Spanish, so my children can
experience a different
“If we ran out of Cheerios, the children language. Each book was
would revolt! I don't mind, because I fun, creative, and
believe Cheerios are a great, healthy entertaining.”
breakfast or snack. I also love that - IN Good ‘Cents,’ Beth
Cheerios encourages reading through Montgomery
the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories
program. ”
-Northern Cheapskate,
Christina Brown
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Welcome Page

Progresso Broth

Online and Offline
Progresso Broth

www.PinkTogether.com

Pink Together

Box Tops for Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3QPVfKERCU

Box Tops for Education

The Racing Gal

Totino’s Roll Into the X Games
http://www.youtube.com/rollintothexgames

Highly Loyal Brand Advocates
Wellness-Oriented, Socially Conscious, Active, Savvy, Influential

Coping with Disbelief

Key Learnings
• Gravitational pull to niche
• Consumers are willing to be inspired and included
• Provide meaningful, and relevant, brand experiences for
consumers.
• Provide content in a format and in a location that they find
useful and familiar
• Align organization with efforts
• Integrate social media efforts with traditional PR and Digital
plans for synergistic support
• Test, learn, optimize
• To have remarkable results, the brand experience must be
remarkable
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Best Practices
• Listen & learn, then participate
• Be prepared to commit for the long term
• Be authentic, overtly transparent
• Provide value
• Be respectful of your audience

Questions?

General Mills
Goes Social

How Big Brands Use Social Media
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