Is it a smart strategy for Walmart to support two brands?

Last year Walmart bought jet.com.  Did you know that?

It's now apparent that they have decided to support both brands.  As the company has explained, jet.com is an urban Millennial brand and Walmart has not made any inroads with that target on their own. (Green, 2017)

While Walmart is experimenting with online ordering and customer pick-ups, jet.com is chasing wealthier shoppers and launching a private label brand called Uniquely J.  (Corkery, 2017)

It sounds interesting.  But I am reminded of a Director of Marketing at Uncle Ben's who told me that long term she couldn't afford to support multiple brands so they would all need to live under the corporate umbrella.

So what are the pros and cons of having two different brands?  If Millennials don't like your brand, should you buy one that they do like?  Can you reach out to different targets without appearing inauthentic?   

Would you use jet.com if you knew they were owned by Walmart?  Do you think the different brands appeal to different personality types?  Different business styles?

Green, D. (2017, September 29)  How Walmart turned its $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com into its greatest weapon against Amazon. businessinsider.com.  Retrieved October 17, 2017, from

http://www.businessinsider.com/jet-walmart-weapon-vs-amazon-2017-9

Corkery, M. (2017, October 6)  Shopping Without Schlepping.  The New York Times.  p B1.

Would you jump off a bridge if your friends did?

A new study from Cue Connect has identified five different segments when it comes to Millennial shoppers. They are:

1. The Social Shopper - who can't make a decision without the input of their friends.

2. The Bargain Hunter - more likely to buy if they have a discount code.

3. The Elite Shopper - likes to be pampered.

4. The Impulse Buyer - buys "suggested items."

5. The Frugal Fannie - only shops when she has too. 
(Loechner, 2016)

What do you think?  Does one of these descriptions fit you?  Or someone you know?  How should companies tailor their approach to appeal to people who fit this description?  Or one of the others?

Loechner, J. (2016, June 23)  Millennial Shoppers' Innermost (Shopping) Thoughts.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved June 23, 206, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/278462/millennial-shoppers-innermost-shopping-thoughts.html

Segmenting Gen Y- do you know this Millennial?

One of the first steps in identifying a target is to establish age range.  But there are still many different types of people within each generation.  A recent study by Boston Consulting Group has identified six distinct groups within Gen Y.  They are:

1. Hip-ennials (29%): cautious consumers, hungry for information, students and homemakers, predominately female.

2. Millennial Moms (22%): older, most affluent, online intensive, committed to working out, traveling, and pampering their children.

3. Anti-Millennials (16%): conservative, won’t spend more for green products, and are too busy worrying about themselves to care about anyone else.

4. Gadget Gurus (13%): affluent, single, wired, and mostly male.

5. Clean and Mean Millennials (10%): cause-driven, green, younger, most likely to contribute content, more likely to be male or Hispanic.

6. Old School Millennials (10%): less tech involved, read the most, older, confident, optimistic, would rather meet friends for coffee than on Facebook.

(Mahoney, 2012)

What surprises you most about these findings?  Is it how few Gen Yers are actually green?  Or the fact that any of them like to read?


Mahoney, S. (2121, April 16) Gen Y Dissected: Six Types Of Millennials.  mediapost.com  Retrieved April 19, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/172435/gen-y-dissected-six-types-of-millennials.html

Can advertising make people healthier?

6/24/10

People often rant about the evils of advertising, and how it forces people to buy things they don’t really want. I say prove it. Advertising is just a communications tool, and its power can be harnessed for good or bad purposes. I just wish it would be used more for the former.

A good place to start is by addressing the obesity crisis. But how do we do that when 76% of people say they know that what they eat affects their health, but only 36% consider their diets to be healthy? (And don’t forget the fudge factor.)

The first step, as always, is to understand the target. A recent segmentation study has identified six distinct groups based on attitudes toward wellness. They are:
The I Give Ups (24%)
The Strugglers (14%)
The Immortals (16%)
The Fitterati (16%)
The Fact Finders (15%)
The Heath Gurus (15%)
(Banikarim, 2010)

While the data has not been crossed referenced with health issues, it seems fairly likely that the first group would be the one most in need of encouragement; and given that it’s the largest, a good place to start.

Research shows that this group is overwhelmed by the amount of things they need to do to get healthy. That suggests simplifying the information they are being given, and providing it in small sound bites with easy to follow changes might work.

What do you think? Does this seem like a good direction? Or would we be better off addressing another segment – like the Fact Finders – and encouraging them to become advocates?


Banikarim, M. (2010, June 18). Weighing In On Health: Marketing Behavior Change. mediapost.com. Retrieved June 23, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=130480