General Mills | Old El Paso Mex It Simple
General Mills inspired everyday dinner decisions by intercepting customers early in their journey to turn Mexican night into a default choice. |
average weekly sales
new-to-brand customers
online growth
Background and Objective
Old El Paso needed to reverse customer decline and recruit light and lapsed buyers across Woolworths.
While 1 in 4 Australians cook Mexican at home, insights revealed 1 in 10 customers were light Old El Paso buyers. With meal planning often centering around protein selected early in the shopping journey, reaching customers before the Mexican aisle was critical to driving conversion.
The campaign aimed to influence dinner choices before customers defaulted to familiar meals or reached the International aisle with objectives to expand brand penetration, intercept customers early in their shopping routine and drive trial.
Solutions
By pairing high-impact inspirational media with targeted out-of-aisle placements, this omnichannel strategy effortlessly guided customers from initial meal inspiration straight to basket conversion.
Inspired Meal Planning
Inspired dinner decisions by sponsoring the Fresh Magazine front cover, putting Mexican night top-of-mind before customers even started their shopping trip.
Cross-Category Targeting
Converted online intent by targeting relevant search queries, creating a seamless path to purchase when customers were actively seeking quick meal ideas.
Complimentary POS Placements
Intercepted shoppers well before the Mexican aisle by deploying strategic out-of-aisle point-of-sale displays directly within complementary fresh produce and meat departments.
The Mex-It Simple campaign was a highly collaborative partnership between General Mills, Cartology and Woolworths. By connecting targeted media, including strategic placements within the fresh meat category, with relevant promotional offers, we created a consistent shopper experience from media through to purchase. This cross-functional alignment helped bring the campaign to life in store and drive shopper conversion.
The Results
Awarded Best Omnichannel Campaign (<$250k) and Best use of Customer Insight at Cartology’s 2026 Campaign of the Year Awards, General Mills’ activation proved how strategic positioning and first-party insights drive exceptional brand growth:
Massive Sales Uplift: Delivered a +35% lift in average weekly sales throughout the campaign period compared to pre-campaign baselines.
Powerful Customer Acquisition Engine: Recruited 52,000+ new-to-brand customers, successfully reversing penetration decline.
Exceptional Channel Velocity: Generated +39% in-store growth alongside a +49% surge in online sales versus the previous year.
