To address a competitive retail landscape, APEX developed a multi-tiered communications program to generate year-long awareness of Walmart as a convenient one-stop shop destination for our primary target audience of young families for everything from food, apparel, décor and toys.

Our objective was to hit a 5 per cent increase in impressions overall from 2015 to 2016 through the following activities:

QUARTER 1

• Spring Apparel
  o An apparel lookbook was developed to showcase Walmart’s key on-trend pieces at affordable prices
• Spring/Summer Preview Event
  o Media visited the APEX office over 4 days to preview Walmart’s stylish and affordable spring and summer merchandise
• Spring Home
  o A home and patio lookbook was created to share with long lead media contacts for editorial opportunities and with short-lead to inspire inclusion in patio-related stories

QUARTER 2

• Fresh Graham Elliot Tour (feature image above)
  o Celebrity chef, Graham Elliot, lent his credibility to Walmart’s affordable, and often local, fresh food offering in time for barbecue season. Tactics included: book signings at Walmart locations, media and influencer event, recipe development
• Fresh In-Store Media Relations Events
  o Walmart Supercentres across Canada hosted pop-up barbecue events, encouraging Canadians to try fresh Canadian meats and, often local, in-season fruits and vegetables in-store

QUARTER 3

• Back to School Twice as Tasty Report
  o Walmart and APEX conducted a survey around meal prep stress and created recipes that required one-time prep for two meals.
• Fall Preview Event
  o Media visited the APEX office over 3 days to preview Walmart’s back to school essentials, campus offerings and fall home décor.
• Private Brands
  o A program was developed to take advantage of the news around Great Value’s new line of 6 international sauces as well as secure influencer coverage around the quarter’s hero product – Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

QUARTER 4

• Christmas Preview Event
  o A ‘Christmas in July’ event took place over 3 days to showcase Walmart’s featured holiday décor, gifting and entertaining products in a real home
• Walmart Top 20 Kid Approved Toys
  o To spread the word about Walmart’s Toy Testers program, a news release was distributed with the list of the Top 20 Kid Approved Toys selected by Walmart’s kid testers, to help to reinforce Walmart’s position as a toy destination

RESULT
This always on media relations program resulted in a 39 per cent increase in impressions overall from 2015, reaching 1,045,044,140 impressions in 2016 – breaking one BILLION media impressions for the first time in the team’s history!