|
MediaBuyerPlanner: Following the departure of Julie Roehm, svp-marketing communications, and Sean Womack, vp-communications architecture, Wal-Mart is likely to be besieged with questions about the direction the retailer is headed.
Perhaps the most pressing question is whether the current management team will move forward with Roehm's decision earlier this fall to replace agencies GSD&M and Bernstein-Rein with DraftFCB and Carat. DraftFCB's win was marked by controversy, as Roehm was seen socializing with DraftFCB CEO Howard Draft prior to giving the agency the account, writes Brandweek.
Another question facing the retailer is just how committed the company is shifting its low-brow image to a more fashionable one. Wal-Mart had hired Roehm as "a change agent," according to Roehm herself, and one of her accomplishments was an overhaul of the retailer's marketing message. The company has taken a new approach that encourages cross sales - Roehm was a key decision maker in recasting the company's "Always Low Prices" message to "Beyond the Basics" - but in recent weeks has gone back to a discount message.
Related stories:
|
