Put up or shut up, working with General Mills

[by Todd] There's a bracing wind of common sense blowing out of Minneapolis these days and agencies better pay heed.

General Mills has thown down the gauntlet, telling its agencies that they will have control over how a campaign plays out. No more living with a media plan handed down from the client.

But, and here's the hammer, agency compensation will be governed by the results. Do I hear account teams squirming in their seats?

Stuart Elliott broke down the new agreement nicely. (Yes, I ripped on Stuart last week for not writing enough about the changing face of the industry.) He quoted Mark Addicks, chief marketing officer at General Mills, as saying the new arrangements were intended to "completely overhaul the way we work with our agencies."

The goal is "to make sure a campaign, from the get-go, is media neutral, going to the best place for that brand," Mr. Addicks said. Media neutral means that ads run where they belong most, rather than in outlets predetermined by tradition or the size of a commission.

Clearly General Mills has felt the sting of consumers tuning out its message. Campbell Mithun and Saatchi & Saatchi are being dubbed "brand navigators." That means each will coordinate the work of their network partners, while keeping an eye on the big picture. That should lead to some interesting negotiation between the various discipline agencies.

This is an important moment tor an advertising industry that is so worried about being commoditized by purchasing departments. But it sweeps away a safety net of excuses that have protected marginal work for years.

"When we beat plan, the agencies will make more money; when we make plan, the agencies will make a certain amount of money; and when we miss plan, the agencies will make less money," Doug Moore, General Mills vice president for advertising and branding, told The Times.

Something tells me creative reviews will be much tougher now that paychecks rest on each decision.