Walmart wants to remind consumers that they are more than just a physical store. You can buy things online with them too. In an interview with Yahoo Finance from the 2023 Cannes Lions International festival, Walmart Chief Marketing Officer William White says the retail giant, from a broad marketing perspective, is doing a bit of a "reframe...to help people think about us digitally first."
Video Transcript
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BRIAN SOZZI: Joining us now is Walmart Chief Marketing Officer William White. William, good to see you in person here. Thanks for joining us. Lots of key trends being talked about this event from-- anywhere from the state of the advertising industry going into the back half of the year. Economy is a little slow, artificial intelligence. What have been some of your top takeaways?
WILLIAM WHITE: Well, I think personalization is something that's been increasingly important for marketers for quite some time and, I think, is continuing to ramp up. The expectation from a customer that things are bespoke for them is continuing to rise. And AI certainly helps fuel some of that. And I think that's something that we'll continue to see for some time and certainly part of the conversations that we're having this week.
BRIAN SOZZI: There's been some I'll call it chatter that Walmart in the second half of this year will really ramp up its rollbacks or its price cuts. And that's to me-- having covered Walmart for a while, that's what it does best. That is when it is out there grabbing market share. How do you plan to market an event like that or a series of events like that?
WILLIAM WHITE: Well, low price is something that's been consistent with our brand for-- you know, since the beginning. And I don't think about it in terms of-- you know, cyclical times. I think about it as that's the thing that we need to-- that's something that we stand on.
We do a great job of running a low-cost business so that we can pass those savings on to our customers. We'll continue to do that. And I think from a marketing standpoint, we want to be loud and proud about that. But we also want to be, as I said, loud and proud about the broad basket, about the experience. And I think the things that we're doing to make shopping both easier and more inspirational for our customers is just as important.
BRAD SMITH: What's been interesting to hear from some of the chief marketing officers is how they're generating demand during a downturn in some of the more discretionary aisles that a Walmart even has. As powerful a brand as you are, what does it take to get consumers back into some of those other aisles?
WILLIAM WHITE: You know, I think it is about-- one, it starts with having a great assortment. Period. And I think creating an environment where people can see that and be inspired by it.
We're very focused on shortening that distance between inspiration and purchase, and so particularly in the digital and social space. How we not just inspire someone but make it so seamless in that moment to drive to transaction has been capability that we've been building for the last couple of years and something that we're focused on for the balance of this year and for the future.
BRIAN SOZZI: There's been a lot of attention on marketing campaigns gone awry. I think about your competitor target, even though I would argue that wasn't a marketing campaign. That was more of a merchandising issue. Bud Light, of course, too. Where do you stand on this? Do you see Walmart taking stands like these companies? And then, you know, how do you capitalize on their shortfalls?
WILLIAM WHITE: 90% of Americans shop at Walmart. 90% of America lives within 10 miles of a Walmart. We have over 200 million people coming to our site each week. For us, we are focused on that breadth of our customer base standing for and being meaningful and relevant to all of our customers. And that's what we're focused on, quite honestly-- how we serve them-- and show up in ways that are meaningful and authentic to them. That-- that's really where we put our focus.
BRIAN SOZZI: Are you still putting a lot of marketing dollars to work on social media? The messages, the content on these platforms continues to be polarizing, to pull it-- put it mildly.
WILLIAM WHITE: We're not looking to go in any extremes. We're looking to, as I said, to be relevant to our customers and show up in the places and spaces where they're spending their time in a way that inspires them to shop with us and to feel emotionally connected to our brand. And that's the thing-- that's where we put our focus.
BRAD SMITH: It's been amazing to see how much focus has also been placed on the digital side for Walmart and really ramping up that investment.
WILLIAM WHITE: Absolutely.
BRAD SMITH: In terms of that touch point for consumers, what can consumers look forward to next? And how does that--
WILLIAM WHITE: Yeah.
BRAD SMITH: --start from the marketing efforts that the company puts forward--
WILLIAM WHITE: You know--
BRAD SMITH: --and all the way through--
WILLIAM WHITE: Yeah, so we spend, obviously, within marketing across all aspects of the business. We spent a lot of time with our customers and listening to them and understanding them. And I find it so interesting. If you talk to any customer, usually, the first thing they mention is their store.
And that's incredible. That's an amazing asset for us. We're in 4,700 communities across the country. But we are trying to think of them. We're trying to have them think of us beyond their store and think about, you know, we're right there in that pocket.
And so many of the efforts that we're driving from a marketing standpoint are that first app to tap. And there's a little-- from a broad marketing perspective, there's a little bit of a reframe, if you will, to help people think about us digitally first. I would just point to campaign we have in market right now, Welcome to Your Walmart, where all of the digital semiotics, if you will, are digital based and are focused on, you know, the look of our app, how things show up and look in the app.
And so that's just part of a reframe, if you will, to, I think, connote the digital environment for folks. But we're also really cognizant about how do we drive transactions in the moment digitally and through social commerce. And so for us, social commerce has been a capability that we've been building.
We've launched a new platform called Walmart Creator pretty recently, which is a creator platform that is a one-stop shop, if you will, for the creators out there to find access to product to be able to post across all social platforms with one click, giving them the digital tools to understand the analytics of how they're performing as they're monetizing shoppable products.
And so I think how we bring creators on board, how we leverage the Walmart brand in the moment for our customers such that they can have a very seamless experience within the feeds that they're-- where they're spending their time to drive a transaction is critical for us. And I'm proud of the work that we've done in that space. And we'll continue to ramp that in a big way.
BRIAN SOZZI: All right, we'll leave it there. William White, chief marketing officer at Walmart. Enjoy the sunny weather and beach.
WILLIAM WHITE: Thanks so much, guys.
BRAD SMITH: We'll talk to you soon.
WILLIAM WHITE: Awesome.
- And thanks to Brad and Brian and Ken there with Walmart CMO William White.
