General Mills Selects Mindshare as New Media Agency for U.S.

General Mills has picked WPP's Mindshare as its U.S. media agency, Ad Age has learned. In May, General Mills said it was reviewing its buying and planning business. Publicis Groupe's Zenith won the business in 2001. Mindshare will take over Oct. 1, said Jackie Woodward, VP-global media and connections platforms. Ms. Woodward said Mindshare's David Adelman in Chicago will be taking the lead on the business, with work handled both in Chicago and New York. "Mindshare really demonstrated its ability to activate on a consumer-first approach more than any other," Ms. Woodward said. "Their consumer engagement insights and ideas were very impressive, not just in paid media, but in owned, earned and shared media as well." General Mills, whose brands include Cheerios, Progresso and Yoplait, was the nation's 47th biggest advertiser in 2014, according to the Ad Age Datacenter. The maker of Cheerios spent $866.4 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2014, down from $893.4 million in 2013, according to Kantar Media. The media agency switch is the latest change in the food maker's marketing unit. Last year, Ann Simonds took over as chief marketing officer, replacing longtime CMO Mark Addicks. Ms. Woodward joined the company from MillerCoors in 2014.

General Mills Selects Mindshare as New Media Agency for U.S.

Featured Stories