General Mills, which owns over 100 brands, spent $810 million on worldwide advertising and media in the fiscal year ending in May 2023, according to its annual regulatory filing.
General Mills has appointed Interpublic Group of Cos.’ UM as its global media agency of record following a review led by Mediasense.
UM will handle all strategy, planning, buying, analytics, performance and commerce efforts across over 36 markets, according to a statement by the agency.
GroupM’s Mindshare previously handled media in the U.S. and most of the client’s global markets following a consolidation in 2015. It is believed Mindshare did not defend the account, according to one person familiar with the situation. The agency declined to comment.
In the fiscal year ending May 2023, General Mills, the owner of 100 brands including Annie’s, Cheerios and Fiber One, spent $810 million on worldwide advertising and media, according to its annual regulatory filing. In 2022, the food giant spent $500.4 million in measured media in the U.S., according to Vivvix, including paid social data from Pathmatics.
For its fiscal first quarter of 2024, General Mills posted net sales of $4.9 billion, up almost 4% from the same period last year. The increase in sales was attributed to the easing of inflation and supply chain issues, as well as higher prices, CEO Jeff Harmening said in the earnings report.
By comparison, Kraft Heinz reported $6.7 billion in net sales according to its second-quarter earnings, a rise of 2.6%.
The review was led by UM Chief Client Officer Erin Quintana, according to UM Global CEO Andrea Suarez, who called the win a “team effort,” with contributions from every market highlighting its data, commerce, analytics, content, and performance and media strategy chops.
“UM brings differential capabilities across the critical pillars of transformation to include omnichannel strategy and planning, specialized talent, advanced data strategy and tech stack and focus on measurable outcomes,” said Jay Picconatto, VP of advanced marketing solutions at General Mills, in an emailed statement. “Beyond the capabilities, there was a strong connection between the teams and we know that can go a long way in an effective partnership.”
This is the second large account to move on from Mindshare within the last few months. The agency recently lost its U.S. media business with Kimberly-Clark following a review begun around the same time as the General Mill review. Kimberly Clark chose Publicis as its U.S. media agency in September.
For IPG, the General Mills account marks another big media win. In February, Geico appointed IPG Mediabrands lead media agency for its $1 billion account. Earlier this year, UM also picked up global media duties for plant-based company Upfield.
The General Mills account is the latest in a series of media reviews among big-spending advertisers, as BMW, Nestlé, and Uber have all concluded media reviews this year.
