Nat’l Ad Campaign Aims to Show ‘Real Walmart’

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched a national television and digital advertising campaign and companion website to illustrate how people across the country rely on the mega-retailer to save money on products, how the company provides career opportunities, and how it creates efficiencies and works directly with manufacturers to help deliver low prices.

“We have wanted to do this for a long time because we know that people trust Walmart even more when they understand the opportunities we provide our associates, who the customers are that shop with us and how we deliver low prices,” explained Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon. “Every month more than 60 percent of Americans shop at Walmart, and we are proud to help them save money on what they want and need to build better lives for themselves and their families.”

The campaign focuses on three key areas: helping Walmart customers succeed, helping Walmart associates succeed, and how Walmart’s efficiencies and direct-from-manufacturer approach help deliver low prices.

In the customer ad, real Walmart customers reveal how they can invest in themselves and their families with the money they save by shopping at Walmart. As the ad portrays, there isn’t a single type of Walmart shopper, but instead a widely diverse customer base.

The associate ad stars 19-year-old Nathaniel, an hourly employee from Chicago who intends to continue his career with Walmart, and eventually hopes to manage his own store. Walmart provides education assistance, skill training and the chance to succeed and build a career.

The business approach ad explains how the company delivers low prices for its customers. Walmart has one of the world’s most advanced supply networks, including a highly efficient trucking fleet. Since 2005, Walmart has boosted its fleet efficiency by 80 percent. Additionally, the company works directly with manufacturers to eliminate markups and bring affordable, high-quality merchandise and groceries to shoppers, in part by teaming with small, local famers across the country. Earlier this year, Walmart also committed to source an additional $50 billion in U.S. products over the next 10 years. Currently, items made, assembled, sourced or grown in the United States account for about two-thirds of what’s spent to buy products at Walmart U.S.

“We are able to deliver low prices to our customers by operating efficiently and working closely with suppliers to obtain the best cost for the merchandise customers want,” noted Simon. “The more we introduce people to what we do and how we do it, the more they understand the positive difference we can make for customers, associates and communities.”

Walmart operates more than 10,800 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. The company employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide.