Walmart response to negative documentary Walmart CSR activity

1. What public relations options did
Wal-Mart have in responding to the negative
documentary?
Presented By
Md. Sohel Rana
Business Administration Department
East West University

2. Contents:Contents:
Part – A:Part – A:
CompanyCompany
OverviewOverview
Part –B:Part –B:
Question AnswerQuestion Answer
Part –C:Part –C:
CurrentCurrent
ScenarioScenario

3. Part – A:Part – A:
CompanyCompany
OverviewOverview
Part –B:Part –B:
Question AnswerQuestion Answer
Part –C:Part –C:
CurrentCurrent
ScenarioScenario
Overview
• Wal-Mart is an American retail company
• Serving 27 countries worldwide.
• Currently Wal-Mart serving 140 million customer per week worldwide.
• 1.3 million domestic employee and astounding 2.2 million associates around
the world.

4. • Annual profit is 15.8 billion as 2014
• Annual sales is 476 billion as 2014, approximately 40 billion a week
• Is accounted about 7% of all US retail sales
• It was most admirable company in 2003-04 in USA by Fortune Magazine
• But, by 2005 it became “the less respect” it received.
• Since then Wal-Mart have been fighting successfully against their virulent
opposition with its strong arm of meaningful public relation.
Overview

5. Part – A:Part – A:
CompanyCompany
OverviewOverview
Part –B:Part –B:
Question AnswerQuestion Answer
Part –C:Part –C:
CurrentCurrent
ScenarioScenario
What public relations options did Wal-Mart have in responding
to the negative documentary?

6. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
• Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is a 2005 documentary film by
director Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films. The film presents a
negative picture of Wal-Mart's business practices through interviews with
former employees, small business owners, and footage of Wal-Mart
executives. Greenwald also uses statistics interspersed between interview
footage, to provide an objective analysis of the effects Wal-Mart has on
individuals and communities.
Directed by
Robert Greenwald
Produced by
Jim Gilliam
Distributed by
Brave New Films Disinfo.
Release dates
November 4, 2005 (USA)
Running time
99 minutes
Language
English
Budget
$1.5 million

7. Wal-Mart’s Response
• Wal-Mart responded with a New York City news conference to pointing out
the unfairness of that documentary.
• They investigate the events and produced its own video to spotlight the
factual errors of the negative documentary.
• Wal-Mart's boldest movement was to create a “war room” to monitor the
media commentary and to rebut criticism.
• They hired two specialist consultants to conduct the “war room”.
– Michael Deaver (was communication director of Precedent Ronald Regan’s)
– Leslie Dach (who advised Precedent Bill Clinton during his ruling period)

8. Part – A:Part – A:
CompanyCompany
OverviewOverview
Part –B:Part –B:
Question AnswerQuestion Answer
Part –C:Part –C:
CurrentCurrent
ScenarioScenario

9. Tough Journey
It has been long time that, Wal-Mart become a public scapegoat for a wide
range of issues, and Wal-Mart has been taking a lot of initiatives to save
their image and meaningful public relations.
Like as..
•Reached out to the community
•Increased local philanthropy
•Build out better local relationship
•Took public leadership on board social issue
•Lunched non-commercial web to rebut charges.
•Blasting out with ads.

10. Tough Journey
• Sponsoring program to the public radio, television and brought
remarkable tag line.
• Provided significant scholarship to the minority students
• But one of the most meaningful public relations initiative was to donate
$15 million to the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

11. Current Initiatives
Wal-Mart continued to winning universal praise with their old arms, the
“Gloves off” approach and lot of public relations initiatives-
Higher Wages & Care of Associates
Community Participation
Hunger & Nutrition
Sustainability
Global Women's Economic Empowerment
Publicity & Massages

12. Higher Wages & Care of Associates
• Wal-Mart paying higher wages comparatively their any competitors, as
example- each store manager earn more then $50000 and up to $170000
per month.
• Wal-Mart promoted 1 lakhs, 70 thousand worker by the end of 2014.
• As their 75% of store manager had started working as hourly associates.
• As on 27 April 2015, Wal-Mart announced that, They are planning to
rescheduling the work time so that employee have more options to choice
the work time as they want.

13. Community Participation
• In 2014, Wal-Mart Foundation donated $1.4 billion around the world for in-
kind contribution. While another $300 million was given earlier.
• In February 2015, Wal-Mart Foundation announce $16 Million donation for
retail workers of U.S. to provide training, education and career pathways.
• In March, 2015, Wal-Mart donate $40,000 to Mercy Foundation to support
its Healthy Kids Outreach Program.

14. Hunger & Nutrition:
• 6 April, 2015 Wal-Mart launches the Fight Hunger campaign. Through the
campaign, Wal-Mart aims to donate up to $3 million.
• Earlier, they donated more than 570 million pounds of food to hunger.
• The tag line was, “Making food healthier and Healthier food affordable.”

15. Sustainability:
Wal-Mart aids the farmers by $1 million to nature sustainability.
Wal-Mart sets 3 sustainability goals -
•Energy: be supplied by 100 renewable energy.
•Waste: Create zero waste.
•Products: Sell product that sustain people and the environment.

16. Global Women's Economic Empowerment
• Wal-Mart sets a goal to source $20 billion from woman owned business by
2016.
• As well as they started woman training program from April 2012.

17. Publicity & Massages:
• 26 Feb 2015, On a television interview of CEO, was wrapping up his speech
that, “Please spread the news that we’re always hiring.”
• In another program, Michell Gloeckler, Executive vice precedent, ended up
by saying, I am happy to take your question…
• Also Wal-Mart are very active in every social media to keep communicate.

18. In a nut shell..
• On 06 June 2014, Walmart chairman, Rob Walton, Shared a letter had
received from his father Sam Walton (Founder of Wal-Mart),
• “Customers are not dependent on us, we are. They bring us their wants, its
our jobs to fill those with care. So just go for it.”
“Today, I want to say, just go for it.
If you have any idea to do so, go for it.
If you need any change to do so, Just go for it.”

19. Any Question???
Mail me at
sohelranastore@gmail.com

20. Reference
• Lecture of Mr. Sami Hafiz (Group Chief
Communications Officer, Mutual Trust Bank Limited)
• www.walmart.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart
• https://www.facebook.com/walmart/