• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 10, 2014

In a bid to help boost retail sales, General Mills will increase its focus on Shopper Marketing services and the Minneapolis-based food company confirmed it has selected a team of WPP agencies to lead the effort.

The WPP shops that General Mills has hired include Geometry Global, Rockfish, Kantar Retail, Bravo and Barrows. According to the client, the agencies will provide ecommerce, multicultural, display and shopper insights and advertising support for General Mills brands from a creative and digital hub in Minneapolis and regional offices in key retail markets.

Previously the company had relied on several undisclosed independent shops for its shopper marketing efforts.

 “This increased focus on shopper marketing will assist us in building truly differentiated shopper plans geared to accelerate growth for our brands and our retail partners,” said Brian Kittelson, director of shopper marketing at General Mills. “We’re very excited about working with our team of WPP agencies, as they allow us to more effectively create and capture brand building opportunities at retail.”

Word of the company’s decision to be more aggressive on the shopper marketing front comes shortly after the release of its Fiscal Year 2015 first quarter  results last month when the company reported a 2% decline in net sales to $4.27 billion. It said at the time that it hoped to improve results going forward with new “consumer-directed marketing plans.”

The move also comes a month after the company said that its long-time CMO Mark Addicks would retire in 2015. Addicks is being replaced by Ann Simonds, who will lead a newly configured marketing organization that adds Consumer Insights and the marketing capabilities within what General Mills calls GCom, its marketing communications division.

Simonds, also a senior vice president at General Mills, will report to Jeff Harmening, executive vice president and chief operating officer, U.S. Retail, in her new role. Simonds is currently president of the company’s Baking Products division. 

Currently, General Mills’ creative advertising duties are handled primarily by the Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi and Interpublic Group’s McCann. How and if that lineup will be revised under incoming CMO Simonds remains to be seen.

General Mills operates  in more than 100 countries around the world. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, and others. Fiscal 2014 sales were $17.9 billion, up 1% from the previous year.