1. General Mills Cereals
Team 4:
Allie Schwartz
Cheng Ren
Ruibing Ji (Rena)

2. Agenda
Etic (Intro; About General Mills;
GM Advertising)
Emic (Interviews; Insights)
Recommendations

3. ETIC:
What General
Mills is Saying..

4. Introduction
Making food with passion for 150 years
The parent company includes more than 89
leading U.S. brands that make cereals,
baking supplies, snacks, organic foods, etc.
Top 20 companies
In the 2016 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient
Summary, which surveyed 23,000 people in
the U.S., General Mills ranked among the top
20 companies.
In fiscal 2015, the global net sales were
$17.6 billion. 20% of sales come from
Cereals.

5. Introduction
Purpose: We serve the world by making food people love.
Pursuits:
Journey:

6. Products
● General Mills owns many different products
● Breakfast is the most important meal of the day
● Cereal is appealing to everyone in the family
● Cereal can be eaten for any meal
● Nutritious

7. Targeting
● US market is the focus of the target
audience
● Kids and adults → parents specifically
● While Kix isn’t advertised as an adult
cereal, parents are the ones buying it for
their kids →
● Kids are the focus of advertising for the
sugary cereals → mascots used so that
kids can easily recognize it at the grocery
store

8. Competitors
● All the brands above offer a similar variety: sugary “kid” cereal, healthy
options and granola
● Mascots associated with cereals makes them likable and recognizable to kids
and adults

9. Positioning
● Eye-level in the grocery aisle
● Fun & bold colored boxes
● Many cereals have mascots that
people can associate with it
● “Whole Grains” “Gluten Free”
“Protein” “Vitamin D”
“Whole grain for the whole
family.”

10. Communication- Official Website and Blogs
- Leverage online resources to
build connections with
customers.
- Strengthen brand image of
natural, healthy and socially
responsible.

11. Communication- Social Networks Building Interactions
With Consumers

12. Advertising “Again” Campaign- Video Commercial
Remove artificial colors and artificial flavors
and complete it over cereal portfolios by 2017
- Use commercials to get word out driving
awareness.
- Connect with people emotionally. (Childhood joy-
when love something they want it AGAIN.

13. Communication- Package Change
7 Cereals Use New Package to inform
customers of recipe change
- Release new recipe which removes artificial
colors and artificial flavors.
- Colors extracted from non-artificial resources like
like vegetables, fruits and spice extracts.

14. Communication- Price Promotion
Leveraging Social Media Platform
Release price promotion like coupons on
social media and promote customers share
videos about how to save money.

15. Communication- Buzz Worthy Campaign
“Where is BuzzBee?”
Sharing videos on
YouTube get started.

16. EMIC:
What Consumers
are Saying..

17. Emic- How people perceive General Mills

18. What Did We Explore..
- We went to Fairway Market on 74th
to observe the product display;
- We interviewed three people who
consume cereal a lot

19. Respondent Profile
Taimur: 28, Male, Origin Theater Company
Single, lives with family
❖ Favorite product: Total Raisin Bran
❖ When: Morning or afternoon
❖ How: Only eat cereal with milk, dry for the snacks
❖ How often: Once a week, buy a new box once a month
❖ Why: Childhood, timeless, easy, nutrition
❖ Problem: Takes a long time to finish one box
❖ Try new: Won’t change brand or taste only if there is free
sample

20. Respondent Profile
Sarah: 23, Female, Early Childhood Care
Single, lives with roommate
❖ Favorite product: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
❖ When: Morning/Afternoon Snack/Evening
❖ How often: 4 x week / Usually buys double box from Costco
❖ Why: Childhood, tastes like dessert, a treat, easy
❖ Problem: Not nutritious
❖ Try new: Stuck in their ways, wouldn’t try a new flavor, even if
they knew it was healthier

21. Respondent Profile
Veronica: 24, Female, Media Company (Intern)
Single, lives with roommate
❖ Favorite product: Special K (healthy) and Fruit Loops,
Lucky Charms or Cocoa
❖ When: At night for dinner or after a small dinner
❖ How often: Every week or every 2 weeks
❖ What affect choices: Flavor, health benefits and mood
❖ Try new: If I choose a new one, it is a healthy one (%
fiber, grain, fruit, nuts included)

22. Insights
Purchasing Behavior
- Frequency
becomes lower
- Prefer to choose
based on package
color and receipt/
function
?
Eating Behavior
- Eating routing
change
- Have more choices,
eat with milk? Dry?
Fruits or other foods?
- High brand loyalty
- Willingness to try
new products or
flavors is low
Brand LoyaltyWhy Cereals
- Nutritional
- Convenient to eat
-Tasty
- Part of life, kind of a
habit, remind of
childhood

23. Recommendations

24. Business Problem (Etic + Emic)
Manager Decision:
How to differentiate it from competitors?
How to enlarge customer base?
How to increase the purchasing frequency?
How to promote new products?
Customers Care:
Why do I choose General Mills’s brands?
Why do I change the brand?
What is the ideal size of the box for me?
What does that product mean to me?
Key Strategy: Deliver growth sustainable top-tier returns to shareholders

25. Recommendations
Package
★ More friendly to single users and increase
the buying frequency:
Separate cereals into small
independent packages in one box
★ Encourage customers to try new flavors:
Downsize the package and sell in combination
of different flavors (further quantitative research)
Product Display
★ Make the messages on the package more
clear to consumers, reduce unnecessary
words to make “KEY INFORMATION”
distinctive.
★ Cereals with similar functions put together
on the shelfs and make the price or
promotion information clear for consumers’
convenience.
17oz

26. Recommendations
Target: Young Professionals just beginning the career
Purpose: Increase purchase frequency and promote word-of-mouth effect
by going viral on social networks
★ 15s Commercial
Theme: “A taste of your childhood”
Vehicle: Youtube, Netflix
★ Social Networks Campaign
Message: “Share Your Own YUMMY MIX”
Vehicle: Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Soundcloud

27. Thank you!
Any questions?