Case Study

Situation:

• Walmart enjoyed record performance during the peak of the Great Recession.
• The ads focused on heroes – The Savers.
• Ads featured stocked cupboards, full grocery bags, and shoppers showing pride in meeting their families’ needs.
• Then the recovery happened.

Opportunity:

• Walmart’s traditional ads focused on savings.
• How could Walmart keep the consumers that they earned during the recession?.
• Bucking the trend, Ford aired single message :15 second spots.

Results:

• Walmart brought back the “Rollback” ads.
• Replaced the yellow smiley face with a red arrow pointing downward.
• Ace Scores show that this advertising, while appealing, is less well-received than ads with The Savers.
• Consumers must agree – while Walmart net sales for Q1 were up, comparable same store sales were slightly down.