Beyond the Basics

Oak Brook, IL -- "We're in the era of customer control," says Barry Moehring, vice president of marketing operations for Wal-Mart. Exemplified by its new Plano, Texas, store and two eco-friendly stores, the low-cost behemoth is looking to cater to shoppers with a more contemporary style. In his presentation at the In-Store Marketing Summit held in April 2006, Moehring gave a history of Wal-Mart's marketing strategies, illustrating how the leading retailer is modernizing via store design, advertising, new merchandise and customer service. "Value" in 2006 doesn't necessarily just mean "low prices," Moehring pointed out. The "new" Wal-Mart is a "brand of store" that the customer seeks. In the Plano, Texas, store, for example, in-store messaging is "clearer and easier to digest," Moehring said, with far less signage than ever before. Each department will get better flooring, better lighting, and better fixturing -- like a revolving lazy-Susan-style bicycle display in the sports department, created by Pacific Cycle, Madison, WI, and produced by Darko Inc., Twinsburg, OH -- that makes categories easier to shop and more visually interesting. The store itself has wider aisles and improved navigational signage, cueing customers to departments better, he said."We're reaching out to customers who are already in the store shopping foods and consumables, and we're attracting them to other areas of the store -- offering a more compelling experience for them to cross the aisle," he said.TV and print spots have evolved from the "real people"-centric spots of the '90s, which Moehring himself admitted were "a little hokey," but that were about price. The modern images are reflective of campaigns from Target, McDonald's and Hewlett-Packard. New spots include moms wearing MP3 players and a campaign called "Beyond the Basics," that portrays the "surprising" quality of lifestyle items found at Wal-Mart. The retailer's successful eight-page ad spread in Vogue last fall proved "that we can play in this space," said Moehring, who noted that merchandise featured in the now-weekly Vogue ads consistently performs in stores.When preparing a pitch to Wal-Mart today, marketers should think seriously about what their brand can do for Wal-Mart, whether it's an exclusive promotion or a larger-scope partnership. "Wal-Mart is evolving," Moehring said, "and the customer is our guide. ... We will always be a house of brands, and we will exert much control over the brand experience."Take, for example, Wal-Mart's partnership with DreamWorks' summer film, Over the Hedge. The first campaign of its kind in Wal-Mart's history, the pairing involved not only in-store signage and movie-themed products, but total co-branding that brought unique scripts involving the film's animated characters right into Wal-Mart commercials. A successful partnership between Wal-Mart and Nickelodeon begat a gondola of Nick products in stores. Starting in June, Wal-Mart brought heavy sponsorship of the Hispanic World Cup into its Hispanic-tagged stores.In closing, Moehring touched on Wal-Mart's buzz-generating sustainability campaign. In addition to two stores -- in McKinney, Texas, and Denver -- that currently run on wind turbines, employ special drainage, and recycle fryer oils for store heating, the retailer is making small cuts that make a big impact given Wal-Mart's global scope, like reengineering its truck fleet to increase fuel efficiency by 1.6 MPG, saving 32 million gallons of fuel. Moehring also explained that, by stocking sustainable merchandise like energy-efficient light bulbs, Wal-Mart is catering to its shoppers' desires to do their part toward a more sustainable society.

Beyond the Basics

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