Oh, you like Little Debbies? So do I when I'm looking for a great deal on Tide with Bleach and Crest. So, do I. OMG!!! We should shop at Walmart together. CUL8R
Walmart misses Target... well, it misses the mark(et) with its new social networking experiment. They've tried upscale, organic, now kids, aka "hubsters", in their latest attempt to move away from NASCAR America.
From Ad Age:
"It's a quasi-social-networking site for teens designed to allow them to
'express their individuality,' yet it screens all content, tells parents their
kids have joined and forbids users to e-mail one another. Oh, and it calls users
'hubsters' -- a twist on hipsters that proves just how painfully uncool it is to
try to be cool."
Like Ford trying Flash Mobs, it looks foolish when you don't understand the here-and-now phenomena that motivates the "target" segment you desire. Even worse, it violates your core identity. Another bewildered marketing manager and a perplexed product manager scratch their heads and then ask "can we blog...wait, no we'll podcast our way to profitablitly." In the meantime, some double-speak counter agent promoting poor marketing practices just took $250K from your quarter spend.
Who's making the brand call on these campaigns??? -- maybe the same people that thought Chevy can be a "youth" market success or that a CMG campaign would work for Tahoe.
Walmart -- here are threevpieces of free advice:
1. Focus on what makes you unique, and ground that identity;
2. You can't be all things to all people; and
3. Learn some simple ways to translate your brand online from Sanctioning Agent
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