"Breakfast of Champions^®"—these three words are associated with one of the most recognized and trusted brands in ready-to-eat cereal. Is it possible to leverage this classic brand equity to develop a ground-breaking extension geared primarily toward men? General Mills recently introduced Wheaties FUEL to the market with a vision to do just that.

Join Ben Johnson, Associate Marketing Manager for the Wheaties Brand, as he breaks down how General Mills developed this new product using a unique co-creation process, leveraged specific input from championship athletes such as Peyton Manning, Albert Pujols and Kevin Garnett, and listened to what real men prefer. Learn how they took a brand promise of a credible modern day Breakfast of Champions^®, by Champions and for Champions to market with an online pre-launch campaign—not a strategy typically seen in the food industry—that gained consumer feedback and created a buzz for Wheaties FUEL^™ before launching the product in retail venues.  

Topics to be covered include:

• How General Mills took a classic brand and bolstered it into a ground-breaking product extension
• The approach the Wheaties FUEL™ team used to leverage real athletes and consumers to co-create this new brand extension
• How using social media and other strategies in an innovative pre-launch campaign was valuable in building awareness for the brand

Take-Aways include how to:

• Reinvigorate a classic brand
• Market to men
• Leverage social media to engage with consumers
• Innovatively launch a product

Ben Johnson

Since joining General Mills, the world’s sixth largest food company, Ben Johnson has gained experience in strategic marketing, brand strategy and product development working on the Wheaties, Oatmeal Crisp and Fiber One brands. Mr. Johnson graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and served as an active-duty naval officer for the first five years of his professional life. He served aboard the guided missile destroyer SHOUP in a number of leadership assignments, making three deployments throughout the Pacific, including extensive time in Southeast Asia.  Mr. Johnson earned his MBA from The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where he was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship.

Date and Agenda
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
7:30 am – 8:15 am: Registration and Breakfast
8:15 am – 8:45 am: Presentation
8:45 am – 9:30 am: Panel Discussion and Q&A with key cross-functional team members.

Panelists

• Ben Johnson, Wheaties Brand Marketing
• Allison Waters, Big G Promotions Marketing
• Andrew Padon, Big G Adult Business Unit Consumer Insights
• Jean Wright, Boom Island Design
• John Grudnowski, FRWD Co
• Kevin Fitzgerald, Popular Front

Cost
MN AMA Members – $25
MN AMA Student Members – $10
Non-members – $50
Students – $15

Registration

Thank you to our sponsors:

Location
General Mills Corporate Inc.
Number One General Mills Boulevard
Minneapolis, MN 55426-1347

Parking
Visitors will be directed to park in the North Parking Lot. Signage will be placed on both General Mills Blvd. and Betty Crocker Drive directing participants to the designated area. Visitors will enter the building via the employee entrance and check-in at the guard's desk. Click here to download General Mills Parking Map.