WAL-MART'S PR CAMPAIGN TO APPEAR LESS SUCKY

From the Houston Chronicle:

Wal-Mart is responding to negative reports over such issues as employment practices, attempts by civic groups to keep the retailer out of their communities and a reputation for driving out small businesses.

Richard Costello, president of marketing consulting firm MagicEcho and former brand guru at General Electric, said Wal-Mart's image campaign is a smart idea.

"They're learning from the John Kerry experience," he said. "A challenge unanswered is going to kill you. They've been getting enormous negative publicity. This can do nothing but help them."

He added that he is surprised the company didn't act sooner.

Wal-Mart is wise to focus on employment issues when defending itself, because it is something that consumers can relate to, he said.

Such a campaign carries the downside that the media will rehash all the criticism, but Costello said, "They have the marketing muscle to drown out the noise."

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Longtime Real Art readers know that I'm very much of the opinion that Wal-Mart sucks. (A quick Google search of my site provided this incomplete list of Real Art references to the sucky mega-chain store.) My rantings and ravings, however, are as but a few tiny drops when compared to the massive storm of criticism directed at the evil retailer. While the power of professional PR is quite formidable and intimidating, this story can only be read as a sign that Wal-Mart is nervous, meaning the anti-Wal-Mart campaign is having an impact. That's good news, relatively speaking.

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