Ad Age reports Battle Creek cereal maker Kellogg has broken the digital ROI marketing code for it’s Special K brand. With a combined ad/promo budget in the general zip code of $1.3B, that’s a lot of return.

Mark Baynes, the company’s head marketing officer, said that “For the right opportunity, the [online] space offers fresh ways to commercialize new and existing brands, target specific audiences on needs more cost effectively.” As a result, the company plans on shifting more brand advertising to online.

We note several qualifiers: budget, product, category and creative. What’s great about this in unsettling times is that a major marketer like Kellogg is helping blaze the trail for others to follow as they figure out what works and what doesn’t in communicating your message.