When it comes to marketing strategies, Wal-Mart sticks to its knitting. From the start, Wal-Mart's advertising focus was all about Every Day Low Pricing, and it remains true today. "What we were obsessed with was keeping our prices below everybody else's," said Sam Walton in "Made in America." "Our dedication to that idea was total."
On this, the retailer has never wavered: Offer customers the products they want at the lowest possible prices. While many of the methods Wal-Mart uses to achieve this goal have become more sophisticated, its advertising strategy remains very much the same. And like most other aspects of Wal-Mart's operations, it continues to be influenced by Walton himself.
"Sam really respected our customers," said Paul Higham, senior vp of marketing. "Everything he did provided us a great example of customer respect and service. Today we make every effort to have our advertising continue to reflect Sam's message of inclusion and respect.
"Our advertising simply reflects what happens in our stores," he said. "Truth is, our culture of trying to take care of our customers and one another powerfully influences the outcome of our ads."
The thrust of Wal-Mart's TV commercials has been consistent over the years. The ads project homey images and use real associates and customers (not actors) to relate all the reasons why it's nice to shop at Wal-Mart. The 10-year-old tactic has duel benefits.
"We continue to get an incredible number of favorable comments from our customers," said Higham.
The marketing department also gets calls and letters from associates wanting to be in the ads. The signature smiley face is practically a punctuation mark in Wal-Mart's low-price, down-home message.
The company did depart slightly from its standard TV ...