Wal-Mart’s New Marketing Team Good at Stealing Notes

Seems to me there might be some inefficiencies to be squeezed out of that PR review process.

The pro Wal-Mart side likes to accuse the anti side of fabrication, but to be perfectly honest, although there are some very creative people in the anti Wal-Mart Movement, no one could make this stuff up.

(If these new Geico ads with cartoon characters (Fred Flintstone, etc.) saving money on their insurance is Martin’s work, they’re slipping.)

(If these new Geico ads with cartoon characters (Fred Flintstone, etc.) saving money on their insurance is Martin’s work, they’re slipping.)

No slipping, on whoever crafted the Geico ads, Ken—Geico had a similiar ad campaign a few years ago (before the “Cavemen” campaign) recycling some vintage “Speed Racer” footage. 

Obviously, at some point, this formula must’ve worked, before (my guess is that why Fred Flintstone came along 2 years later, was licensing-related issues).

Bill

WalMart- “Slave More. Lie Better.”

“What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.”
Abraham Lincoln

SDV

So what? Let me tell you something. Kroger stole a million ideas from Giant Eagle. Gas stations at the stores, gas discounts for purchases, shopper discount cards, self-checkout, in store Starbucks, high end natural foods and produce, etc. were all ripped off from Giant Eagle.

But Kroger did do something right when they stood up to the unions during the California grocery strike. In West Virginia, Kroger shut down several stores for good when the strike ended. Hundreds of UFCW members lost their jobs.

Kroger did something right for a change!

Why doesn’t W al-Mart PR do all the talking it seems ever time some one from Wal-Mart opens there mouth they make it worse, that is why they hired them

Why is Nick still here?

Why doesn’t Wal-Mart PR do all the talking...?

You mean Edelman? I don’t think that’s such a good idea. In the space of a couple of years Richard Edelman has gone from being a cyber guru to a hypocritical hack.

The Edelman ‘War Room’ has been up and running for some time now. Anyone noticing things getting any better?

And if you’re talking in-house PR, that would be Mona Williams. Mona worked her way up from ‘spokesperson’ to head of communications (or whatever her current title is). Mona’s had her foot in her mouth a time or two.

KenV:"Mona’s had her foot in her mouth a time or two.”...is that the reason WeaselMart had no “mouthpiece"at the recent Congressional hearing on toy safety? Wonder if Miss Moaner’s health plan covered foot-in-mouth disease?

Let me suggest, that we not take our ‘eyes off the ball’ here.

Wal-Mart’s agency could have come up with a million ‘say marks’ from “Values for Life” to
“A little help from my friends, at Wal-Mart”.

All of which obfuscate the real purpose of the change.

“Always low Prices, Always”, requires Wal-Mart to reach a certain legal threshold in ‘truth in advertising laws’.

To advertise ‘always low prices’, leaves a certain amount of obligation, and some very ambiguous hoops through which a company must prance to prove its claims.

Wal-Mart is finally trying (which I applaud ) to extricate itself from that dead end strategy of ‘competition to the death’ of price cutting.

They have apparently caught on to the fact there is no good end to the ‘slash and burn’ strategy of producing an endless stream of low prices, when it means further and further margin compression, while competitors are popping up all around its feet, competitors willing to let Wal-Mart ‘suck for breath’ on thin margins, while they ( discriminatory competitors) sup the cream.

It has long been my opinion (thanks to educators such as Michael E. Porter, and Ken Ohmae) that the low cost, low price strategy is not sustainable, long term.

That at some point in the business life cycle, when all the efficiencies are squeezed tight, when all the market begins to be saturated, when all the barriers to entry begin to be abrogated, when competitors begin to segment, sub-divide, and differentiate themselves;
The low price, low cost model becomes inefficient.
Because of the demand for uninhibited growth, this model requires, it begins to ‘hit the wall’.
As ROI and margins decline, the low cost operator must continually ‘slash away’ at its cost components.
Which for Wal-Mart, has been quite publicly its labor force.

However the problem here is the fact Wal-Mart has chosen to compete in retail, which is a very labor intensive business.
Much of the ‘behind the scenes’ of retail involves the pure logistics of moving product, which is labor intensive.
From the distribution chain, to site, to shelf availability, requires vast amounts of labor.
It also requires vast amounts of labor to maintain a ‘shopping site’, a ’big box’ arena for its presentation of products.

If Wal-Mart has a hope of succeeding it will choose a strategy aimed not solely upon price but overall values. As many as it wants to invent.

If it is smart it will seek to re-invent its labor force, try and inject some hope into what is now a
‘completely depressed, corrupt, dismayed, and demoralized bunch of workers’

Cazar:You can thin the gravy only so long until everybody can see the bottom of the pan!Their labor force has had a whole lot more pan than gravy,for a long time now..

You can probably convince yourself that no business is sustainable. You maybe meant to say that growth is unsustainable. That is true for any business. As for Wal-Mart, I find your lifecycle analysis a little flawed since Wal-Mart sells tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands? Maybe millions?) of different products, all at different points in their own lifecycles and that product mix is constantly changing. Also, if what you are saying is true, any business producing or selling any staple or commodity item is pretty much dead in the water.

Wal Mart is eating its self up,did you ever see a picture of a snake doing this they start at the tail and go up. When they started the expanding they had K-Mart beat they had many vendors that would ship directly to the Store,heanch no storing or handling of the product.

When they grew they started the distribution Centers which were about the best logistics ever put into place Scott is a great trucker so I think that is were he still should be.

The system they had of replenishing does work,but Wal-Mart is to large for it to, to many people changing the orders are marking outs when they are not, they have to have control so every thing is done in Bentonville instead of letting the Store do the area for the location it is in, different areas different Stock needed Wal-Mar theories of one size fits all does not work.

A few years ago I as told by some one in way upper Management that at a meeting now they want to copy Dell and Harley Davidson way of supply Stores in the back door out on the floor and out the front door.

Yes it is a labor intense Market Place ,but sadly that is the price of this business, this new way of having 200 people for the Super Centers that were design to give Customer Service and to re- stock calls for 500,so some were along the lines some thing is taken away,yes Customer Service

Wal-Mart had to change its slogan because some,have been able to match price on some of the same items

If what you read and hear about the the treatment of Wal-Mart workers,who would be in a great mood going into work not knowing if you will get the 40 hours a week you need or if you are told you are going on night shift,yes this would create a bad working environment

wallstreet,

“Wal-Mart had to change its slogan because some,have been able to match price on some of the same items”

How can that be, if Wal-Mart CONTROLS the marketplace and others cannot compete?  Seems to me, that if this is happening, the ‘free market’ is working as it should be!!