4/27/2010
Walmart Takes Newspaper Advertising Social
Walmart Sells an Experience, Not Products (So Should We All)
Notes on the Walmart “Family Movie Night” Campaign … A recent insert ad from Walmart caught my eye the other day. It succeeds on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin. With the aid of my really lame photography, I’ll try to explain why the ad is so effective. Here’s the first thing you see above the fold -
The first thing you see ... where's the merchandise?
The Walmart logo and several faces – large and dramatic – immediately catch your eye. On the left is some unobtrusive, unsalesy copy – Family movie night is back. This got my attention right away. Every other insert ad in the Sunday paper is stuffed silly with sale merchandise. Just because it’s different, this ad stands out. But the faces are interesting. I notice some additional text to the left – “Secrets of the Mountain.” Did Walmart buy a 6-page insert ad to sell a DVD? Now I’m really curious. I open up the page and see what’s below the fold -
High price ad real estate ... still no merchandise
Now I see the ad is promoting a new NBC family movie, with three dramatic action shots at the bottom of the page and a brief plot synopsis just above. There’s also a link to a page on the Walmart website where you can see more about Secrets of the Mountain. If you go to that page, you can see movie trailers and buy the DVD. Pretty long and subtle conversion path, though – how many people are going to catch the Web address? What’s going on? I open the ad up, and the inside left page hits all the right buttons -
It's all about the family experience
The page title, which you can’t see here, says, Get ready for family entertainment at its best. And then I see an enormous picture of a family enjoying a movie together. They’ve got pizza, popcorn, some soft drinks … and even the dog is captivated by Secrets of the Mountain. To the right of the photo are four testimonials – What Moms are saying about Secrets of the Mountain. The four women are bloggers – their websites appear under their names. The testimonials are persuasive. Lori Falcon, ACowboysWife.com, says – “You fall in love with the characters immediately, so you just want it to go on and on.” Her blog post on the film doesn’t disclose whether she was paid for the endorsement, but who cares? It’s effective, and so are the other three.
At the bottom of the page, finally we see some product. There’s a photo of Orville Redenbacker’s popcorn, Hawaiian Punch, Pepsi, and a Walmart private label frozen pizza with a Secrets of the Mountain/NBC ad printed in the corner. No prices, no starburst callouts screaming BUY NOW!
The whole ad is about the experience of watching a family movie. Walmart isn’t selling products, it’s selling family movie night. You’re so taken in with the movie, the family, the enthusiastic moms, you just want to dash over to the nearest Walmart and stuff your cart full of everything you might need for a movie.
By selling an experience, Walmart is selling more products and selling them more deeply than a traditional ad formula could ever do.
Then, after being completely mesmerized by the first two pages of the ad, my eyes drift to the right, and I see this -
Everything falls into place ...
AHA!
What do you know? A traditional ad selling LCD HDTVs and a Blu-ray. AHA, as Ralph Kramden would say, Walmart is trying to sell flat screen TVs!
Yes, that’s what I think this whole ad is aimed at – selling TVs. And you know what? That’s A-OK with me, because now I’m in the mood to want one. Instead of hitting me over the head with deal, deal, deal, Walmart puts me in the mood to entertain its offer. Walmart is going out of its way, and at considerable expense, to engage me as a person rather than treat me as a number.
Social Media Marketing Invades Print, Thank Goodness
Over and over, you hear social media evangelists like me talk about how engaging customers on blogs deepens relationships and creates new selling opportunities. This Walmart ad beautifully illustrates why this is so. American consumers are worn out and tapped out. It takes more than a low price to ring the cash register – you have to give people a serious reason to buy. That takes work, and Walmart’s doing it. Instead of mindlessly pushing product, it crafted a life experience, bundling up products that relate to that experience.
And a powerful experience it is. Just to keep up with the Joneses, I’d be mighty reluctant to fork out $700 for a flat screen TV and Hawaiian Punch. But for years of enriching family experiences with my children? That’s a value proposition I can buy into.
And even if I don’t buy, I like the way Walmart treated me. I’ll be stopping in one day or another.
9 Responses to Walmart Takes Newspaper Advertising Social
Brad, When I saw the family movie, I was curious. Our Wegman’s stores have experience for people at the core. They have a family movie every Friday evening and families can bring children and eat in the large cafeteria while watching. I love Wegman’s and all the experiences they provide for people. They have been consistently people oriented and to me that is what is important.
It is a new and non-pushy way of advertising that I enjoy better. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
.-= Robyn McMaster’s last blog ..Plants Enhance Workplace Well Being =-.
Robyn, This whole family movie night phenomenon is new to me, but it’s really such a common sensical way to advertise and promote. Consciously or unconsciously (you would know which!), your comment displays a genuine, deep appreciation of Wegman’s. That sort of attitude doesn’t come from saving 15 cents on a head of lettuce.
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Walmart Takes Newspaper Advertising Social =-.
That’s quite an ad campaign, Brad! It’s a perfect example of selling the sizzle instead of the steak, which is really at the root of successful sales. Selling an experience instead of a product is using the right psychological tools to reel in the prospect. The interesting thing about this technique is that, by selling an experience, Wal-mart is able to “suggest” several products without seeming pushy or “salesy” in the least. What a skillfully conceived campaign!
I agree that the social media marketing aspect is important, too, and they’re definitely capitalizing on that here. I also think that perhaps another psychological motivator they’re using is the fact that the fast pace of modern life has fractured families to such an extent that everyone is going his or her way all the time and family members barely spend any time together anymore. They seem to be subtly playing upon the wish of many that their families could spend more time together.
Lots going on here, to be sure! Thanks for sharing this intriguing ad campaign!
Jeanne, You are exactly right, and have pinpointed just what is so strong about this campaign. Cultivating a sense of family is a core issue. It’s real. It’s something real families grapple with every day – not some manufactured need dreamed up by an ad agency. As a society, we probably don’t need a 7,000th flavor of energy drink, but we do need to spend time together as a family. Sure, you can do that without Hawaiian Punch and a movie, but if those things help the cause – why not?
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..Walmart Takes Newspaper Advertising Social =-.
They definitely have their finger on the pulse of the modern family’s concerns. And the family-friendly image doesn’t hurt their PR, either, since it isn’t an image they’ve always enjoyed.
Brad,
A bold and courageous move from WalMart.
Many advertisers, I would have thought, would be reluctant to adopt this form of advertising, given difficulties associated with holding consumer attention and an associated desire to move quickly to the call to action. But from your description, this was executed with a sense of the Midas touch, portraying an emotional and positive experience as you say and also really getting into the mindset of the target audience.
Last year, a friend of mine received free tickets to a movie & pizza night organised by a local real-estate agency, which was put on for anyone living in the local area with any previous involvement with the firm. I reckon this probably did a great deal more to raise the profile of the agency in question and to solidify relationships with existing clientele than what would have been achieved through standard advertising, particularly given the goodwill associated with the evening as well as the opportunity which clients had to interact with staff in a more relaxed setting.
.-= Andrew’s last blog ..Toyota Part 2: Behind the poor response =-.
Hi Andrew, Thanks for sharing your story. Among other things, it proves that you don’t have to be a mega-monster corporation to successfully apply the human touch to advertising. There’s something to be said for getting to the point, for that quick call to action – I imagine there’s room enough in the free market for many tactics. A lot depends on the mood of the customer. If I know what I want, the direct sale has more appeal. For instance, if I’m craving Hawaiian Punch and I just want to find the best deal, the Walmart ad might frustrate me. In that case I’d prefer to scour the insert ads for a great price. In general, though, the human approach makes a stronger and more long lasting impact.
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..5 Great, Paid Keyword Research Tools =-.
Brad, this article clear points out the correct ways of advertising to help grab users attention. As Andrew stated, most advertisers are trying to grab the readers attention via big and bold, sale signs and price drops. This advert does the opposite as readers have seen that all before. We have created a tolerance to it all and started to ignore rather than absorb it in. That’s why this Walmart add works, as they are not trying to over sell the movie. However, we still do see that that Walmart logo is still quite large and that does grab the users attention. They are still promoting the company without us realising it. We see a new kind of advertising because the product itself isn’t over advertised but the company itself is till keeping to the same overall structure. They want us to remember their name.
Hi Mandeep, Thank you for your comment – it’s important that you noted Walmart prominently displays its logo. I can see how some companies might get so caught up in the creative dimension of the ad they forget it is, in fact, an ad. You see this all the time with television ads for the Super Bowl. The ads are amazing, but you often forget what company sponsored the ad. One of my favorite quotes is from the advertising genius David Ogilvy. He said, “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”
.-= Brad Shorr’s last blog ..5 Great, Paid Keyword Research Tools =-.