WALMART

ISSUE

 

In 2019, our client Walmart announced a national open call for product pitches, which attracted more than 450 small companies bidding for the chance to have their items featured in Walmart and Sam’s Club stores around the country.

 

The initiative is part of the Walmart’s commitment to buy $250 billion in U.S. products by 2023.

 

Among those hopefuls was North Philadelphia entrepreneur Ed Hipp, owner of a company making 18 different meat products, including a turkey-based Canadian bacon.

 

When Ceisler Media learned that Mr. Hipp, 74, would be selected to present his product at Walmart’s Bentonville, AR headquarters in June 2019, we recognized the opportunity to garner positive publicity for our client with an uplifting story.

 

STRATEGY

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Ceisler Media organized an event at a Walmart in North Philadelphia located nearby to Hipp Food, Inc. Working with the store manager and associates, we were able get Mr. Hipp to that store and surprise him with the news that he would be headed to Arkansas to meet with Walmart executives.

 

Our goal was to make the story less about the retail business and more about humanizing a positive narrative.  We were also able to attract local journalists to that event, and several stories followed, spreading authentic good news about our client.

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RESULT

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Mr. Hipp’s pitch was so effective – and his products so good – that Walmart is taking the next step to work with him to carry his brand. This resulted in a new round of good-news stories in local media, most notably a front-page story in the Philadelphia Inquirer’s popular Sunday “Upside” section by Ellie Silverman, the paper’s new retail reporter.

 

We were proud to be able to both spread good news about our client and establish a relationship with an incoming media member.