1. Strategic communication advice 2013 – 2015
1. Short analysis of the corporate communication
Summary of the analysis of the corporate reputation and analysis of the external
communication media of the company
Short summary of Part A - focus on social responsibility: Kelly
(1 does not describe very well
7 describes very well) ->
Your rating 1-7
1.
Emotional Appeal: You simply like, admire, or trust the company.
4
2.
Products and Services: You think the company sells products or services
that are high quality, innovative, reliable, or a good value for the money.
Financial Performance: You’ve been happy with the company’s
profitability, believe it has strong future prospects, and isn’t too risky to
invest in.
Vision and Leadership: You feel the company has a clear vision for the
future and strong leadership.
Workplace Environment: You believe the company is well-managed, has
topnotch employees, and would be great to work for.
Social Responsibility: You think the company is a good citizen—it
supports good causes, doesn’t damage the environment, and does right
by local communities.
6
3.
4.
5.
6.
External
communication
media
Visibility Transparency Authenticity Distinctiveness
7
5
3
2
Consistency
Website
7
5
6
5
7
Corporate blog
0
0
0
0
0
Annual Report
Advertisements
/ commercial
targeted at
customers
Communication
targeted at
shareholders
Reporting
about
multinational
using Lexis
Nexis
Reporting in
social media
about the
company
6
6
7
4
7
4
4
6
5
4
5
6
7
4
7
0
0
7
0
0
6
5
6
4
6

2. From the table above it is clear that in the case of Analysis external communication media of
the company, Walmart best falls in the categories: Website, Annual report and targeted
communication at the shareholders. The presence of website in this group is quite obvious
considering the fact that nowadays having a decent website is absolutely indispensable
element of the business. High marks for Annual report and targeted communication at the
shareholders also should not surprise anyone because of the strict rules and guidelines
regarding the presence of the company on the stock exchange. Walmart does not have a
corporate blog, so in this category could not be granted any points. Reporting about
multinational using Lexis Nexis was absolutely the lowest rated due to lack of access to that
category. Decent result was achieved for Reporting in social media about the company.
Average score for Advertisements / commercial targeted at customers seems to be a
confirmation of the weaknesses and problems faced by Walmart.
Identify, prioritize, and profile reputation of company among stakeholders
Stakeholders
Customers
Suppliers
Shareholders
Employees
Public authorities
Government
Prioritize 1 – 7 (7 is most important, 1 least important)
7
4
5
6
2
1
Identify issues of importance amongst key stakeholders
Stakeholders
Customers
Suppliers
Shareholders
Employees
Public
authorities
Government
Issues of importance
Price of products, product quality, social responsibility
Payment, terms and conditions
Profit, dividends, sustainable development
Salary and good job opportunities, benefits, diverse workforce
Conduct business responsibly
Follow law, work legally
For Wal-Mart it is important to satisfy the needs of all stakeholders and to communicate well
with them. To reach the different types of stakeholders the company has to use target
oriented communication and has to keep in mind that company’s reputation is getting more
and more important. Wal-Mart is not even on list of the 100 most reputable companies in
2013.1 If there’s no change from the side of Wal-Mart it can be difficult for the company to
stay successful. Reputation is a strong trend and pressure from public and calls for
sustainable companies. It is important for Wal-Mart to adapt to this trend and spread this
message to general audience.
2. Target Audiences
Wal-Mart is directing its communication to all stakeholders but customers are in our opinion
most important for the company. That’s why we explain in the following this target group in
detail and reasons why Wal-Mart should improve its communication to them.
Customers are not part of the company but yet they are the most important stakeholders for
Walmart. Costumers have a keen interest in what the company does and may influence their
1
2013 - Global RepTrak™ 100 The World’s Most Reputable Companies

3. decision-making. Walmart is committed to satisfy the needs of its customer stakeholders
since they create their turnover. Achieving this objective is challenging.
Wal-Mart was established to help save customer’s money. The customer’s that they targeted
are considered “value price shoppers”. These shoppers include men, women and children as
Wal-Mart is offering a wide variety of products. Customers can find toys for their children,
jewelry, kitchen items and even electrical and hardware supplies. It can be said that the
company’s targeted customers are mainly families and individuals with modest incomes.
They are typically interested in the value of the product offered, and less interested in
product branding. The customers are looking for a great deal and central location for
everything.
3. Communication goals
Wal-Mart’s communication efforts should aim to improve its social responsibility. The retailer
already uses mass Medias like television, ads, social media, websites and a lot more. The
company informs its customer about their wide variety of products and their brand image but
there’s hardly any communication that shows social responsibility. Wal-Mart is trying to
concentrate too much on revenues and is so missing the bigger picture. If Wal-Mart is going
to make the business only with higher and higher revenues as a target, with no
improvements to a better social responsibility, we are worried about Wal-Mart and its position
as a top retailer. Ecologically correct behaviour and social responsibility is significantly
important to our society. Sustainability is an issue most customers want to improve. Wal-Mart
should disclose their attitude on this subject and show how they perform in order to gain the
customer’s confidence. To fulfil this interest it’s important to operate a transparent
information policy.
Knowledge:
20% of the customers know that Wal-Mart is doing social responsibility statements in 2015
Attitude:
10% of the customers find it good that Wal-Mart has social responsibility statements and the
company tries to show more social responsibility in public
Behavior:
3% of the customers regularly read the social responsibility statements and can identify
themselves better with the company’s attitude and behavior
4. Message / archetype
Wal-Mart’s message is to take more social responsibility and communicate this to its target
group the customers. In order to achieve this goal Wal-Mart publishes social responsibility
statements so customers get aware of the changing attitude and behavior of the company.
Wal-Mart is the everyman archetype whom customers supposed to be able to identify easily.
This archetype gives people a sense of belonging, with everyday functionality, low to
moderate prices and differentiation form elitist or high-priced brands. 2 Wal-Mart’s slogan:
“Saving people money so they can live better.” support this behavior and helped Wal-Mart to
be one of the biggest retailer in the world on the basis of its everyday pricing. As Wal-Mart is
2
http://joannapenabickley.typepad.com/on/2007/06/on_the_12_arche.html

4. an everyman the idea of publishing social responsibility statements is a great way to achieve
the message. It’s a way that suits to the archetype and can be realized.
5. Communication mix
In order to achieve our goals and objectives it is necessary to choose possibly the most
effective communication mix. Due to the fact that the biggest weaknesses of Wal-Mart are
the lack of adequate transparency, low level of distinctiveness and non-use of CRM by this
company, communication mix should be built on the basis of interactive marketing and PR
and publicity. The corresponding statement of items containing the categories mentioned
above should provide a significant improvement in transparency and increase consumer
awareness about social responsibility of Wal-Mart. Due to the fact that, in our opinion,
company's knowledge about customers is as important as the knowledge of consumers
about the company, we strongly advise Wal-Mart – start using CRM in practice. In-depth
knowledge about customers can let to react quickly in case of crises of image and improve
the effectiveness of communication activities.

5. 6. Plan the communication mix activities 2014-2016
Quarter 1
Online
Website
Video YouTube
Banner ads
Facebook
Email marketing
Offline
Brochure, ads
TV
Quarter 2
Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Create a new
button on the
website,
showing social
responsibility
statements of
the company.
Preparing
videos of WalMart, which
shows social
responsibility.
For example
Wal-Mart
supports
environmental
projects.
Make a plan
which banners
should be when.
Make sure the
themes line up
with the period
of the year and
check the
discounts.
Focus on direct
communication
with customers
Send an email
newsletter with
the best
discounts to the
subscribed
customers
Create and
publish new TV
ads containing
latest achieve in
the field of
social
responsibility
Draw attention
to this new
button on WalMart’s website.
Publish latest
social
responsibility
actions of WalMart on this
button.
Publish latest
social
responsibility
actions of WalMart on this
button.
Launch this
video on
YouTube and
draw attention
to it.
Preparing new
videos of WalMart how the
company take
care of social
problems in our
society.
Launch this
video on
YouTube and
draw attention to
it.
Make banners
with the best
discounts, and
keep the
themes of the
month in mind
Evaluate the
payoff of the
banners by
looking at sales
Make a strategic
plan for the
banners in the
future
Focus on direct
communication
with customers
Send an email
newsletter with
the best
discounts to the
subscribed
customers
Create and
publish new TV
ads containing
new ideas in the
field of social
responsibility
Focus on direct
communication
with customers
Send an email
newsletter with
the best
discounts to the
subscribed
customers
Publish
summary of
latest social
responsibility
actions of WalMart on
brochures
Focus on direct
communication
with customers
Send an email
newsletter with
the best
discounts to the
subscribed
customers
Publish
summary of
latest social
responsibility
actions of WalMart on
brochures

6. 7. Organisation of the communication
Press officer
A press officer is the main person who talks to the media. They act as an official
representative of the organisation and handle all press related issues.
What a press officer does is preparing, writing and distributing press releases. They are
handling media queries and they have almost constant contact with the media. Also, they
track media coverage relating to the company, keep an eye on industry developments and
organising press conferences.
Public relations manager
Public relations are all about managing the reputation of the company. Since Wal-Marts
reputation is not that great, with big scandals in the past, we feel like Walmart can use public
relations managers. Hopefully Wal-Mart can influence the opinion and behaviour of the
customers.
PR officers use all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage their
company’s reputation. PR officers monitor publicity and conduct research to find out the
concerns and expectations of an organisation's stakeholders. They then report and explain
the findings to its management.
Marketing communication manager
This person is responsible for brand management and community awareness of Wal-Mart
through all forms of communication. Their tasks include; developing and implementing key
marketing and public relations strategies by creating and disseminating various print and
multimedia materials, managing direct mail appeals, distributing press releases, developing
relationships with local media, placing feature articles, and supporting fund development
initiatives through such activities as special events.
Advertising manager
An advertising manager oversees the advertising activity of a company. The specific role of
the advertising manager varies depending on the business. General activities for this job
include forming and directing the business' strategy for advertising, implementing advertising
campaigns and supervising various advertising-related departments. During a specific
advertising campaign, a manager must estimate the campaign's budget and approve the
advertising material, as well as evaluate the campaign's overall performance following its
conclusion.
8. Budget
Budget in $
Website
Social media:
Facebook
Youtube
Banner ads
2014
100000
2015
100000
2016
100000
600
213000
60000
600
213000
60000
600
213000
60000

7. E-mail marketing
Brochures
TV ads
Total
2880
129900
110000
616380
2880
129900
110000
616380
2880
129900
110000
616380
This budget contains plan the communication mix activities 2014-2016. Budget was created
in order to recognize the amounts which are necessary to achieve our goals.
9. Evaluation
To evaluate if Wal-Mart improved their communication to their customers in showing them
more social responsibility we want to hold an internet survey online each year in December.
So once a year the company will evaluate their social responsibility. To achieve that as many
as possible customers are taking part in this survey we will provide a prize. It’s the time
before Christmas so the prize could be a weekend in New York for Christmas shopping. In
this way we hope to stimulate as many people as possible to review our work and efforts.
Moreover we advise Wal-Mart to hold regularly meetings with all departments who are mainly
responsible to achieve the goal, to make sure everyone is working for the same objective.
During these meetings the development of Wal-Mart’s communication to their customers
should be evaluated so it becomes clear what needs to be improved and what is being done
well. A good way to measure the improvements and changes is a structured plan, which
shows what needs to be done and whether the efforts are implemented in the right way.