1. Lisa M. Gerdeman
Effective Professional Communication
MBA 595.N1
March 6, 2013
Dr. Kershaw
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2. Table of Contents
 Mission & Values 3
 Brand 4
 Identity 6
 Reputation 8
 Image 12
 Corporate Social Responsibility 14
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3. Mission & Values
 Walmart’s mission is “helping people around the world
save money and live better -- anytime and anywhere --
in retail stores, online and through their mobile
devices”.
 Walmart believes this mission, along with innovative
thinking and leadership through service, has made
them successful.
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4. Brand
 “Save money. Live better.”
 Walmart’s brand strategy is built around these words.
 Their strategy of charging low prices every day is
aimed at helping people save money, stretch their
paychecks, and provide a better life for their families.
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5. Brand
 Millward Brown BrandZ™ Top 100 is BrandZ Rank 2012
76
based on 150,000 annual interviews on
key brand metrics including: 17 18
 brand consideration
Walmart Target Amazon Costco
 image
 usage & strength
 brand personality or character
 trust & recommendation
 price & desire
 corporate reputation
 Walmart ranks #17 on the top 100 list
 Amazon ranks closely behind at #18
 Target ranks #76
 Costco did not make the top 100
Source: http://www.millwardbrown.com/brandz/2012/Documents/2012_BrandZ_Top100_Chart.pdf 5

6. Identity
Walmart wants the public to see that they are committed to not only providing
low costs, but also to financial success, to their communities, and to corporate
social responsibility.
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Source: http://www.walmart.com

7. Identity
Three key stories are currently highlighted on www.Walmart.com:
1. Affordable, healthier foods
 The First Lady Michelle Obama visited several Walmart
stores to celebrate Walmart’s progress on making food
healthier and more affordable for families nationwide.
2. Q4 2012 earnings
 Walmart announces Q4 earnings per share of $1.67, full
year earnings per share of $5.02, full year dividends of
$1.88 (up 18%). Walmart U.S. gains market share and
adds $4.7 billion in comp sales for the year.
3. Sustainability
 Walmart works with suppliers and buyers to make their
products more sustainable and supply chain more
ethical.
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8. Reputation
Positive Media Coverage
 Low prices
 Price matching
 Reduced lay-away fees
 Seasonal hires -during the Christmas season
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9. Reputation Rankings
These low price strategies have been successful for Walmart in terms of profits.
 In 2011, Walmart ranked 2nd on the Fortune 100: Ranking
2007
Walmart Trend: Ranking
2008 2009 2010 2011
Fortune Top 500 list –dropping from 56
1 1 1
38
the #1 spot in 2009 & 2010. 24
2 2
2
 Both revenues and profits
Walmart Target Amazon Costco
continuously increased during the
period 2007 through 2010 at Fortune 100: Revenues Walmart Trend:
$446,950 ($ in millions) Revenues
Walmart. ($ in millions)
$421,849 $446,950
$378,799 $405,607 $408,214
 In 2011 profits declined $69,865 $88,915
$48,077
 Walmart’s revenues and profit are
Walmart Target Amazon Costco 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
much higher than their competitors.
 With that, they rank well above each Fortune 100: Profits Walmart Trend: Profits
($ in millions)
on the Fortune 500 list. $15,699 ($ in millions)
$16,389 $15,699
$12,731 $13,400 $14,335
$2,929 $1,462
$631
Walmart Target Amazon Costco 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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Source: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/?iid=H_F_QL

10. Reputation
Negative Media Coverage
 Labor disputes
 Disputing: low wages, poor treatment, & unpleasant
working conditions
 Black Friday complaints
 Opening on Thanksgiving day
 Alleged bribery scam at Walmart de Mexico
 Protests against Walmart entering the New York City
market
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11. Reputation Rankings
®
Harris Reputation Quotient
 Walmart ranks #40 on the Harris 40
Poll Reputation Quotient® 22
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 Walmart’s score is rated “Fair”. 1
Walmart Target Costco Amazon
 Competitors rank better
 Amazon is rated “Excellent”
®
Harris Reputation Quotient Score
 Target is rate “Very Good” 82.62
77.95 Walmart
 Costco is rated “Very Good” 74.82
Target
66.03 Costco
 Walmart’s score dropped from 69 2011 2012 2013
Amazon
in 2012 to 66 in 2013.
Source: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/2013%20RQ%20Summary%20Report%20FINAL.pdf 11

12. Image
 Top 100 Best Companies to Work For  Most Admired Companies
 2/3rd of score  Survey of business people asked to
 The survey asks questions related to their vote for the companies, from any
attitudes about management's
credibility, job satisfaction, and industry, that they admired most.
camaraderie.  Walmart ranks #23
 1/3rd of score  This ranking is down from previous
 The Culture Audit asks detailed questions
years
about pay, benefits programs, hiring
practices, internal  Competitors Costco & Amazon are
communication, training, recognition up
programs, and diversity efforts.
 Walmart was not ranked in the top 100 on
this years’ survey.
Top 100 Best Companies to Work Top Most Admired Companies
For 2009 2010 2011 2012
0
10
Wal-Mart
8
10 9
6 11 11 Target
4
Amazon
2 20
0 23 Costco
Wal-Mart Target Amazon Costco 30
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Source: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/

13. Walmart’s Response to
Negative Media Coverage
 Planning and preparation are important in crisis communication and crisis management.
 Walmart issued statements responding to each of these crises.
 Labor disputes and Black Friday
 Walmart believe that the protests do not reflect the attitudes of all employees, but merely
a small sampling.
 Walmart believes the disputes are unwarranted. I believe they need to communicate the
reasons why and promote Walmart’s labor policies in a positive light & that they offer fair
opportunities for all.
 In my opinion, Walmart did not take ownership or sympathetically show that they hear
the voices of the employees and that they would address their concerns.
 If they haven’t already, Walmart needs to develop an effective employee communication
strategy specifically for these labor disputes.
 Bribery scam
 Walmart denied the allegations
 Walmart did not communicate much beyond their initial statement regarding the issue
 NYC protests
 Walmart’s response was good.
 Walmart clearly identified the reasons it wants to enter the market and list their
supporters –which included the mayor.
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14. Corporate Social Responsibility
 Hunger relief & healthy eating
 Walmart is fighting hunger by making food healthier, making healthier food more affordable, and by
strengthening the global food supply chain.
 Sustainability
 Walmart is believes in sustainability because it's the right thing for the environment. Walmart encourages
their employees to make positive contributions to the environment and, in turn, believes they will
encourage customers to do the same.
 Women’s economic empowerment
 Walmart is working towards initiatives that will change the lives of countless women around the world.
 Career opportunity
 Walmart provides career training and job opportunities to our nation’s veterans and military families.
Diversity is also core to Walmart’s culture.
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15. Corporate Social Responsibility
 Although Walmart focuses a lot of corporate
communication on CSR, they did not rank within the top
50 companies on the Corporate Social Responsibility Index
(CSRI).
 Amazon ranked #5
 Target ranked #29
 Costco ranked #43
Most Socially Responsible
Companies 43
29
5
Wal-Mart Target Amazon Costco
Source: http://www.bcccc.net/pdf/CSRIReport2011.pdf 15

16. Corporate Social Responsibility
 Social responsibility is vital to a company’s profits.
 75% of Americans take into consideration corporate social
responsibility before making an investment decision.
 There is also a strong correlation of good corporate
citizenship and a strong public image.
 Walmart is not perceived to be a highly socially responsible
company (according to the CSRI) …even though they seem to
be doing a lot in this realm
 I believe that Walmart needs to improve communications
regarding their CSR efforts which, in turn, should help to
improve their image and reputation.
 This is particularly important now that their reputation rank
seems to be declining.
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