Not long ago, I posted a blog here about Wal-Mart and their brand image. (Note: When the new logo comes out in September, I believe the spelling will be Walmart. Until then, I’m sticking with the old spelling.)

There’s a great article in this week’s Fortune Magazine about the marketing efforts put forth by Stephen Quinn, who joined Wal-Mart from PepsiCo in 2005. “Marketing had been considered a support function at Wal-Mart,” he says in the article. “I had to convince people that it could have a direct impact on sales.”

According to Fortune, it looks like Mr. Quinn is making some headway. He’s applied practices common at consumer product companies like Frito-Lay, where he’d been chief marketing officer. The early signs are that he’s doing a terrific job.

We’ll keep you posted on what Wal-Mart is doing with their marketing — they’re working hard to improve their image and you have to give them credit for that. In the meantime, those interested in the power and impact of a brand can read “Coke vs. Pepsi: The Taste Test They Don’t Want You to Know About” on The 60 Second Marketer site.

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008, 11:40 am   |   Branding, Coke vs. Pepsi  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback