• Forbes CMO Network, Tuesday, February 2, 2010 10:45 AM

In addition to significantly reducing the sugar content in its mass-market cereals such as Lucky Charms, General Mills hopes to appeal to the niches with highly targeted advertising, particularly online, and with offerings such as gluten-free products, svp and CMO Mark Addicks tells Melanie Wells in a Q&A.

Wells mentions that GM seems to be targeting men more than it had been with products such as Wheaties Fuel and wonders if this is part of a larger strategy. "You're going to see much more focused targeting and not just men and women but you'll see "millennials" (consumers aged 18 to 29) and adolescent girls because the digital space will start to allow you to go deep with people," Addicks responds.

Addicks says that social media allows GM "to talk directly to consumers and to give them customized and more relevant information about what the brand can do for them." As an example, he cites one hypothetical consumer who eats Cheerios to lose weight and another who eats the cereal because her blood pressure is too high. Each will be interested in receiving different studies and brand information, enabling the marketer to build a highly relevant relationship.

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