MADRID: Food company the Pillsbury Group, part of UK food and drink
giant Diageo, has moved its Spanish PR into Madrid-based agency
IC&M.
The consultancy, which already handled product PR in Spain for Pillsbury
brand Haagen-Dazs, was appointed withou a pitch and will manage PR for
Pillsbury at group level and for brands including Green Giant
vegetables, Old El Paso and Pillsbury Toaster bread products. The
previous agency for the pounds 75,000 fee business was Comunicacion
Empresarial.
IC&M’s team reports to Pillbury’s Spanish marketing manager Luis Encinas
who is based at its Madrid HQ.
Pillsbury’s worldwide sales for 1997 were pounds 3.75 billion. It is a
Minneapolis-based subsidiary of Diageo and was acquired in 1989 by Grand
Metropolitan, the group which merged last year with Guinness to create
Diageo.
To diffuse opposition to the Guinness/Grand Metropolitan merger, Diageo
agreed to sell off several Pillsbury brands for competition reasons
earlier this year. These include Underwood potted meat, B&M beans and
Pet evaporated milk.
Outside the US, Pillsbury’s key markets include Europe, Latin America,
and the Far East. In addition to its key food brands, it is a supplier
of refrigerated dough and other products such as hamburger buns to the
baking industry.
