Ashley Killpack, Monica Myers, Brooke, Rodda, Allie Hopkins, Brett Richardson & Rob Johnson

Group A “Champions on the go!”

Prepared for: Sister Esplin Prepared by: Group A

February 20, 2008 Wheaties.com

Executive Summary

History When health clinician accidently spilled wheat bran onto a hot stove, he had little idea what he had created. The result of the spill was a crunchy flake cereal known as Wheaties. But, the cereal in the orange box wasn’t always known as Wheaties. When the new cereal had been perfected by the head miller at the Washburn Crosby Company (now known as ), George Cormack, it was first called Washburn’s Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flakes until an employee won a company contest and the name was changed to Wheaties. In 1933, Wheaties stepped into a place where no cereal had been before, the field. When slogan “Breakfast of Champions” was imagined by Knox Reeves, of a Minneapolis-based advertising agency, Wheaties then got its start as the Wheaties we’ve grown to love. Other names that were suggested were “Nutties” and “Gold Medal Wheat Flakes”. As time went on, Wheaties displayed some of the most famous sports athletes since the 1930’s on the front of the big orange box. Testimonials from many famous athletes have built Wheaties reputation over the years. Wheaties philosophy now is to promote physical fitness, rather than only appealing to sports fans. Today, Wheaties features “fun facts” about each athlete and encourages its consumers to be physically fit. It is still widely known and loved by millions across the .

SWOT Analysis Strengths

General Mills has been around since the 1860’s and they are now one of the top leading brands for cereals and other name brand foods. The company has been most known for creating fruit snacks, yogurt, mini dinners, ice cream, and of course cereals. They now own about 30% of the shares for the cereal market.

Wheaties has been the oldest brand for General Mills. Its “All American” theme has been placed into the homes of families due to the success it has had over the years with its slogan: “The Breakfast for Champions.” Hundreds of athletes have covered the famous orange box and many other accomplishers too. Now with the “On the Go” bar, Wheaties will provide not only a championship for General Mills but also a new innovation for those who want to eat healthy on the go.

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 1 Wheaties.com

Weaknesses

The only problem that General Mills has right now with the “On the Go” bar is com- petition. Kellogg’s is their main competitor right now. With gross sales of over 12.5 billion from just last year, Kellogg’s has outrun General Mills by a few billion. Not to mention that Kellogg’s offers a variety of healthy breakfast meals for people in a hurry. The last time that General Mills had passed Kellogg’s was around 2000-2001.

The only problem Wheaties may have with sales is the age of the brand. Many peo- ple look at Wheaties as an older and duller brand. Not many people are attracted to the orange box or even the taste of the cereal. This is hard for Wheaties because they do not want to change their slogan and their style, but they need to change something in order to attract more people.

Opportunities

As a large innovative company, General Mills has produced a high standard to be followed by other food-based related companies. General Mills has created a vari- ety of different high-quality foods, which includes its first cereal, Wheaties. Though General Mills has expanded greatly since its birth, Wheaties has remained the clas- sic cereal that America has loved since 1930. With the current health craze that is sweeping the nation and the busy lifestyle of the average American, Wheaties would like to expand into not only “on-the-go” breakfast bar but form to the busy champion in us all. Wheaties feels that the “On-the Go” breakfast bar is only a start to the new line of breakfast foods that Wheaties could create. There are many op- tions to how Wheaties can remain the All-American breakfast food but appeal to the average person who lives a busy life. Wheaties would like to better emphasize a better, healthier, champion lifestyle by focusing on the mom trying to get her kids off to school or the business man who is stuck in traffic on his way to work. Wheaties looks forward, after many years of remaining the classic Wheaties cereal, expand their cereal, meeting their customers’ needs.

Threats

Wheaties set the bar for many cereals, being one of the first cereals to be as suc- cessful as it was. Today, Wheaties has many opponents. General Mills largest cereal/breakfast food opponent is Kellogg’s. Kellogg’s and Wheaties, together,

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 2 Wheaties.com

share 33% of the breakfast food regime. The major threat that Kellogg’s opposes on us is their advancement of “on-the-go” breakfast food that began with Pop- Tarts. From then on, they have expanded “on-the-go breakfast food.” Another threat could possibly be Kashi, the organic, health food bar. They appeal to the health- conscious mothers in our demographic who enjoy a healthy “to-go” break- fast. Our advantage over many of these companies is the reputation that Wheaties has earned since its birth. The “Breakfast of Champions” is now to go. The original classic cereal that America loves is keeping its same great taste and classic flakes and creating an easier and faster way to eat Wheaties.

Our Target Demographic Who?

Age 18-49 Women 18-49 Education: Graduated college Education: Post graduate Occupation: Professional and related occupations HHI: $75+ Marital Status: Now married Child age: <17 Home Value: $200-499,000 Race: White

Where? Media Habits

Network

FitTV Style VH-1

Magazines

Child Cosmopolitan

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 3 Wheaties.com

First for Women Good Housekeeping Parents’ magazine People

Online Cbs.com Disney.com WebMD.com CBSsportsline.com

Our Champion Plan

Situation Analysis Wheaties has created a new Breakfast Bar and wants to promote their product to active adults with a busy lifestyle.

Objectives Help others live a healthier lifestyle and make having breakfast everyday a reality. Make Wheaties Breakfast Bar “for Champions on the go” a household name taking a 3% increase in market share.

Strategies Magazine, Billboard and Transit advertising Marathon sponsorships Free T-shirt giveaways to every marathon runner Free breakfast bars in Wheaties cereal boxes

Tactics Target people who are on-the-go by placing all advertisements in prime locations and publications, mainly targeting women. The vehicles will include, magazines, outdoor, transit and bus skins.

Co-sponsor three marathons: Boston, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles. Give away 3,000 t-shirts to all participants Free Breakfast Bar at each race and included in Wheaties cereal

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 4 Wheaties.com

Chosen Media The three magazine vehicles that we have chosen are as follows,

Cosmopolitan

To increase sales we say that it is very important to focus on those who are both very busy and very concerned about health and image. Also as we are including a younger demographic we think that the Cosmopolitan magazine would be a great choice. With an average readership being 16,969,000 including 12,440,000 female readers with children who have a median income of $55,401 living in A/B counties, we see that this is a perfect publication that will hit our demographic very well. Also Cosmopolitan is the most read magazine for women both employed (10,210,000) and attending college on any U.S. campus reaching approx. 2,406,000 readers.

Good Housekeeping

We understand that the female market is very important to the Wheaties brand and that our primary focus should be on mothers who want healthy alternative snacks for themselves and their families. The Good Housekeeping magazine seems to be a natural choice when considering magazines, as the female readership is 22,565,000. With 13,418,000 being employed and 14,366,000 being married we think that they include a heavy portion of our target demographic. The readership in our target demographic is 11,589,000.

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 5 Wheaties.com

People Magazine

Again with this publication we target women from the ages of 18-44. The people magazine attracts 28,960,000 readers within our target demographic. They have 6 special metro editions that could be a good possibility however we would suggest targeting these top state markets. California (466,566), Florida (222,357), N.Y. (385,949) and Texas (220,423). Others to consider would be, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Our rationale behind Wheaties billboard locations

Its no mistake that we have chosen some of the largest cities in America. Thats because our target demographic are closely associated with inner city areas. They go to work here, they drop the kids of to school here, they catch the metro here and more often than not they shop till they drop here. Inner city life breeds a busy lifestyle and Wheaties breakfast bar is the answer to their quick nutritious snack needs. The location of each billboard will be set near office buildings, city parks (where people like to exercise) or on prominent routes to and from work and school.

The following page shows the locations that we have chosen including the distribution amount of billboards in each city.

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 6 Wheaties.com

Advertising Cities

City Population Family Income House Value Other Chicago 2,833,321 $49,113 $277,900 10 billboards New York 8,214,426 $58,526 $496,400 12 billboards Seattle 582,454 $82,867 $447,800 8 billboards Los Angeles 3,849,378 $48,741 $614,300 marathon 12 billboards Boston 590,763 $52,817 $432,800 marathon 12 billboards Phoenix 1,512,986 $54,438 $244,200 8 billboards Indianapolis 785,597 $49,924 $122,800 marathon 12 billboards Dallas 1,232,940 $41,281 $129,400 8 billboards Miami 404,048 $31,195 $315,900 10 billboards Philadelphia 1,448,394 $43,049 $115,500 8 billboards

Want more impressions? We think you deserve them Transit Media Due to the demographic and nature of the product we feel that transit advertising will be very effective and produce some great R.O.I. Our reasoning for this is due to the proximity of the target demographic. After looking at the research results we can conclude that active adults from 18-44, who buy convenient foods are mostly living in metropolitan areas. Due to the fact that in these types of areas millions of people use public transport as a primary means of getting to work we know that transit advertising will be very effective.

Mobile/Bus Advertising Our number one method of effective advertising for the Wheaties bar campaign is bus advertising. This would require several buses to be skinned completely in a Wheaties graphic. This will not only create impressions of those who use public transport as a method of travel but also those who drive to work. The bus routes that we would choose would mostly be from downtown and to the suburbs.

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 7 Wheaties.com

Public Relations Campaign Time Chart November 12 Meet with representatives from the Los Angles, Boston and Indianapolis Mini marathon councils November 30 Finalize details of each race December 5 Send logo and promotion information to each marathon committee to be placed on marathon material December 22 Send Press Release to USA Today, New York Times, INDY STAR, Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times about 'Breakfast Bars for Champions on the go' December 23 Press Release will run in Newspapers January 1 Debut Wheaties Breakfast Bar for Champions on the go January 7 Send Press Release to USA Today, New York Times, INDY STAR, Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times announcing sponsorship of Boston, Los Angeles and Indianapolis Marathons January 8 Press Release will run in Newspapers February 10 Place 3,000 t-shirt order with CustomInc.com February 24 T-shirts delivered to offices in Boston, Indianapolis and Los Angeles March 1 Hand out t-shirts to the first 1,000 participants to register for the Los Angeles Marathon (Los Angeles, CA) as well as free sample of WBB April 20 Hand out t-shirts to the first 1,000 participants to register for the Boston Marathon (Boston, MA) as well as free sample of WBB May 2 Hand out t-shirts to the first 1,000 participants to register for the Indy 500 Mini Marathon (Indianapolis, IN) as well as free sample of WBB

Budget

T-Shirts: 3,000 Navy double sided shirts at $15,930.00 Breakfast Bars: 80,000 Wheaties Breakfast Bars at $19,200 Water: 50,000 Water Bottles at $4,870 Table Rentals: 9 Tables at $600 Personal Working the Events: 4 staffers at $2,000 Travel Expenses: $2,000 Food for Personal: $400 Sponsorships: Los Angeles - $25,000 Boston - $45,000 Indianapolis – $ 35,000

Total: $150,000

Wheaties “Champions on the go!” 8

NEWS RELEASE

December 22, 2008 Contact Information: EMBARGOED UNTIL [DECEMBER 23] Brooke Rodda Cell: (317) 418-7332 E-mail: [email protected]

WHEATIES FOR CHAMPIONS ON THE GO General Mills popular cereal will debut the first breakfast bar of its kind January 1, 2009.

MINNEAPOLIS , Minn – General Mills has announced they will debut “Wheaties

Breakfast Bar for Champions on the Go” January 1, 2009.

"We want to encourage everyone to start their year off right with Wheaties Breakfast

Bars by making it a little easier to eat breakfast everyday." Said spokesman Robert

Petersen.

Wheaties realized early in 2008 they weren't doing enough to promote healthy eating habits for active adults with a busy lifestyle, and began research and development on a breakfast bar. After testing over 23 different combinations Wheaties believes they have found the perfect balance between taste and protein. Wheaties Breakfast Bars will be available nationally through your local grocery store.

Wheaties began in 1921 at a Minneapolis health clinic on accident by spilling a wheat brain mixture on a hot stove, creating tasty wheat flakes. It began as ‘Washburns Gold

Medal Whole Wheat Flakes and in 1933 it was shortened to ‘Wheaties’ and introduced in its signature orange box.

-MORE- For additional information about Wheaties Breakfast Bar for Champions on the go visit www.wheaties.com/Championsonthego.com or let us know what you think by calling

1.800.ON.THE.GO.

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Event Information: Boston Marathon

Arrival Time: 7am

Stationed: Main Street, Hopkinton, MA. Pass out T-shirts to registered runners

Date, Time and Location: April 21, 2009. Elite Women Start: 9:35 a.m. Elite Men & Wave 1 Start: 10:00 a.m. Wave 2 Start: 10:30 a.m. Begin on Main Street in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Contact Information: Phone: 508-435-6905 Fax: 508-435-6590 Address: Boston Athletic Association "The Starting Line"/One Ash Street Hopkinton, MA 01748-1897

Brief History: The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon. After experiencing the spirit and majesty of the Olympic Marathon, B.A.A. member and inaugural US Olympic Team Manager John Graham was inspired to organize and conduct a marathon in the Boston area. With the assistance of Boston businessman Herbert H. Holton, various routes were considered, before a measured distance of 24.5 miles from the Irvington Oval in Boston to Metcalf's Mill in Ashland was eventually selected. On April 19, 1897, John J. McDermott of New York, emerged from a 15- member starting field and captured the first B.A.A. Marathon in 2:55:10, and, in the process, forever secured his name in sports history. In 1924, the B.A.A. moved the starting line from Ashland to Hopkinton. In 1927, the Boston Marathon course was lengthened to the full distance of 26 miles, 385 yards to conform to Olympic standards.

Course Information: The historic course starts on Main Street in the rural New England town of Hopkinton and follows Route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley to where Route 16 joins Route 135. It continues on Route 16 through Newton Lower Falls to Commonwealth Avenue, turning right at the fire station onto Commonwealth which is Route 30. It continues on Commonwealth through the Newton Hills, bearing right the reservoir onto Chestnut Hill Avenue to Cleveland Circle. The route then turns left onto Beacon Street continuing to Kenmore Square, and then follows Commonwealth Avenue in bound. The course turns right onto Hereford Street (NOTE: normal traffic flow) then left onto Boylston Street, finishing near the John Hancock Tower in Copley Square.

For More Information: http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

Event Information: Indianapolis Marathon

Arrival Time: 6 a.m.

Stationed: West Washington St., Indianapolis, IN Pass out T-shirts to registered runners

Date, Time and Location: May 2, 2009, Start time: 7:30 a.m , Begin on West Washington St, Indianapolis, Indiana

Contact Information: Phone: 317- 927-3378 Fax: 317-614-6164 Address: 500 Festival, Inc. 500 Festival Building 21 Virginia Avenue, Suite 500Indianapolis, IN 46204

Brief History: The popularity of long-distance running in America reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. Millions of baby-boomers got their exercise jogging, and the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon were two of the most popular, one-day participant sporting events in the country. Actually, the 500 Festival’s first foray into the world of marathons was going to be a bicycle race. When Mini-Marathon planners decided that a May bicycle race might take away from the annual Little 500 at Indiana University in Bloomington, the next idea they floated was to sponsor a half- marathon. The first organizers - Dave Cassidy, Jim Morris, Frank McKinney and Bill McGowan answered Tony Hulman’s request to tie the race in the Indianapolis 500 weekend. The race was organized by American Fletcher National Bank and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for two years. AFNB and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes ran the Mini-Marathon in 1977 and 1978, bringing in Olympic champion distance runners Frank Shorter and Bill Rogers. Chris Schenkel, the ABC-TV sportscaster from Bippus, Ind., served as master of ceremonies at the first race. In 1979, the Mini-Marathon became an official 500 Festival event. The event grew rapidly in the 1980s and even more throughout the 1990s. Today, the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon is noted as the nation’s largest half-marathon with a field of 30,000 runners and walkers taking to Indianapolis streets the first Saturday in May

Course Information: The 13.1-mile Mini-Marathon course stretches from downtown Indianapolis to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and back. Participants start on Washington Street and take White River Pkwy W. Drive to Michigan Street out of downtown, to Holt Road, to 10th Street and to Main Street in Speedway. Turning on 16th Street, participants will enter IMS at Gate 2 (the Speedway’s main entrance) and complete one full 2.5-mile lap around the track. Exiting the track at Crossover 5 (behind the turn 2 suites), participants will then proceed south on Cagle Street to 16th Street, to Olin, back to 10th Street. There they return to White River Pkwy W Drive to New York Street for the Victory Mile and finish just east of Blackford Street on New York Street. For More Information: http://www.500festival.com/marathon/

Event Information: Los Angeles Marathon

Arrival Time: 7 a.m.

Stationed: Lankershim Blvd, Los Angeles, California, Pass out T-shirts to registered runners

Date, Time and Location: March 1, 2009, Start time: 8:15 a.m., Begin: Lankershim Blvd, Los Angeles, California.

Contact Information: Phone: 310- 444-5544 Fax: 310- 473-8105 Address: 11110 W. Ohio Ave, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Brief History: Founded by Dr. Bill Burke and Marie Patrick in the wake of the successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the L.A. Marathon is introduced to the public. The first L.A. Marathon attracted 10,868 participants, making it the largest inaugural marathon in history. Sylvia Mosqueda, an unregistered 19-year old local runner, ran the first 19 miles of the course ahead of eventual winner Nancy Ditz. Ric Sayre won by 28 seconds, despite having won the Long Beach Marathon only five weeks prior.

Course Information: Start at Lankershim and Cahuenga. Cahuenga becomes Highland Highland down to Hollywood, turn left. Hollywood to Vine and turn right. Vine become Rossmore. Rossmore to 6th Street and turn left. 6th Street to Harvard Blvd and turn right. Harvard Blvd down to Olympic and turn left. Olympic to Hoover, turn right. Hoover to Pico and turn right. Pico to Vermont and turn left. Vermont to Venice and turn right. Venice to Normandie and turn left. Normandie down to 39th Street and turn left.39th Street become Coliseum Dr North as it passes through Expo’ Pk. Coliseum Dr North, past the Olympic statues and bare left along South Coliseum Drive. South Coliseum Drive becomes 39th Street again.39th Street to Main, turn right. Main to MLK, turn left. MLK to Central and turn left. Central to Jefferson, turn left. Jefferson to Main and turn right. Main to Adams turn left. Adams to Figueroa and turn right. Figueroa to 11th Street and turn right. **11th Street to Main, turn left** **Main to Olympic and turn right** **Olympic to San Julian and turn left** **San Julian to 9th St turn right** 9th St becomes Olympic. Olympic out over the LA River and turn left on Boyle. Boyle to Whittier and turn left. Whittier becomes The 6th Street Bridge back across the LA River. 6th Street to Central and turn right. Central to 3rd Street and turn left. 3rd Street to Los Angeles and turn left. Los Angeles to 7th Street and turn right. 7th Street to Flower and turn right. Finish on Flower at 5th Street.

For More Information: http://www.lamarathon.com/