General Mills: inspiring joy in the kitchen

General Mills’ “food is fun” site — tablespoon — is a community for food lovers. It’s purpose is to fuel the creativity and passion for food…because as they say “food isn’t just a necessity—it expresses who you are”.

The General Mills values express a desire to “Nourish Lives” and “Grow and Inspire”. I think “tablespoon” fits right in with those values.
The Tablespoon site itself offers value with no direct General Mills branding. The only link with General Mills is via two fairly subtle ads (I thought there was no link at all until I disabled AdBlock). One of the ads features a mascot bee character and links to a Tumblr site, where you’re prompted to join in a social conversation about your “Honey Nut Experiences” on Twitter. The other ad—right at the bottom of the page—is a direct link to a brand page. The main call to action—to subscribe to a newsletter—is also at the bottom of the page, but you’re also prompted to become a member and receive “exclusive” value.

Here’s the thing…if the site that’s providing valuable content features a link to a branded site…does that still qualify as adhering to our definition of Content Strategy? In this case, it is clear the objective of the site is to offer content of value to an audience passionate about food. A couple of links out that give marketing folks something to track is a minor consideration.