Are Consumers Ready for Next-Generation Wal-Mart?http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2010/09/21/Beginning-Of-The-End-Of-Wal-Mart-Old-Brand.aspx
Posted by Abe Sauer on September 21, 2010 03:00 PM
Remember a few years ago when Wal-Mart was synonymous with not only a lack of coolness but with downright evil? When documentaries like Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price were all the rage in self-righteous consumer circles? Well, things are changing.
Wal-Mart's brand is buzzing on social media and social responsibility, two areas in which the retailer once seemed hopeless. As competitor brands suffer, could Wal-Mart's brand finally be groovin'?
In a move straight from the Target playbook, the brand's Wal-Mart Soundcheck Risers series is finally coming into its own and receiving blog attention. Highlighting youthful and hip music acts, including hip-hop group N.E.R.D, the original Web series features exclusive performances (by the likes of Shakira, above), artist interviews and music downloads.
In a bid to attract health-conscious consumers and progressives, Wal-Mart has made major pushes in the organic food market. And while the retailer has taken some criticism about its organic offerings, it's been a huge benefit to the brand.
Fortune magazine's recent cover profile on Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke highlighted his plan to make "the biggest company on earth" into the "next-generation Wal-Mart."
As part of driving global innovation, the mega-retailer has been looking for smaller locations in urban centers, a move that will combat its derided super-center image. Wal-Mart has announced that 20 to 30 of those super-centers in California and Arizona will be upgraded with solar technology. In San Antonio, it's now stocking an all-natural alternative (skoopz) to sugar as it looks to add more green and healthy products to its shelves.
Of course, some of Wal-Mart's brand gain has been from a comparison perspective. For blue-staters and the self-described socially conscious, Wal-Mart competitor Target's reputation has taken some hard licks lately, as the once spotless brand suffers boycotts over political donations. The weekly BrandIndex Report notes that Target's consumer perception "plummeted" in August. (Wal-Mart isn't included in Interbrand's Best Global Brands as it operates under different names, such as Asda in the UK — where it's crowdsourcing the 3,500 private-label products it's selling under the new "Chosen by You" quality mark — in different regions.)
Indeed, the Wal-Mart brand still, and will for some time, be associated with its former reputation. But the brand's detractors have become fewer in number and less influential in voice. When Wal-Mart's most prominent media foe is the below-the-belt childishness of "The People of Wal-Mart," the brand is in good shape.
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