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BrainTrust Query: Will Wal-Mart's Appointment of an 'In-Store Agency of Record' Spark a New Trend?

Written by RetailWire Staff

By Laura Davis-Taylor, Founder and Principal, Retail Media Consulting
(www.retailmediaconsulting.com)

Last week, Wal-Mart stores appointed agency Saatchi & Saatchi X agency of record for their shopper, in-store and associate communications. In positioning the news, Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart's Sr. Vice President of Marketing Communications, said, "Wal-Mart continues to evolve its experience with shoppers and associates. How we connect and communicate with them is of great importance to us."

The agency will direct all in-store media used to reach shoppers, including the programming on its in-store TV network.

This news is a potential catalyst to both the retail and advertising industries, as it is the first formal agency of record (AOR) appointment of its kind with a major U.S. retailer. Clearly, Retail Media is a term -- and service offering -- quickly gaining credibility.

However, questions arise as to how an "in-store agency of record" interfaces successfully with the established stakeholders in charge of traditional merchandising, POP and burgeoning digital signage networks. What is considered Retail Media versus traditional merchandising real estate? Further, how is it separated from the store design teams' responsibilities?

It will also be important to see if Saatchi X will have success leading the effort as a singular resource. After all, they will be driving an enormous shift in store communications strategy, processes, and execution.

Discussion Questions: Can an outsourced agency successfully manage the dizzying array of constituents that will be involved in making this happen? Or, would Wal-Mart have been better off appointing an internal lead to work with the In-Store Agency and slowly transition the corporate camps?

Having started my career in the advertising industry, it was always shocking to me that the Agency had so little to do with the brand strategy of the retail store environment. It made no sense, as they were making the most vocal consumer promises yet had little involvement ensuring that those promises were kept. From the retailer's perspective, this had to do with the fact that the Agency simply didn't understand merchandising, customer experience design and the operational realities of activating programs in-store.

I feel that this news is positive, as Saatchi X has proven that they "get retail" from the consumer lens and have spent the past 8 years proving it to Wal-Mart. A strong brand underneath the Publicis holding company, this could be a powerful move that launches a much needed Agency services trend.

However, having nested within the walls of various retail corporate headquarters, I question if legacy mid-level management will easily pass the baton to one Agency team to lead every single Retail Media effort. An "In-Store Agency" will need to effectively build bridges with Merchandising, Marketing, Employee Communications, Interactive, IT, Store Planning and Operations teams -- no easy feat. If successful, however, the outcome could bring real meaning to building customer-centric brand strategies.

Be it an agency or an appointed team lead, the concept of building a central control point for all store communications just makes sense. Like other change management, it's simply going to take some trial, error and strong leadership to get it right.

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