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Walmart hopes to get customers shopping before they arrive at the company’s stores or visit its website.
The retailing giant is launching its own series of programs that feature goods viewers can buy in store or online
and are distributed to users of Vizio, the TV manufacturer that Walmart acquired in 2024. In “Backyard Escapes,” a special hosted by Tan France, audiences were shown goods from advertisers including ScottsMiracle-Gro; Procter & Gamble’s Spruce and Zevo, Blackstone; Keter; Aiper; Pennington; Clorox Pool&Spa/BioLab; and Perdue — all tied to a shopping event built around patios and gardens. On August 3, Vizio will make available “Join the Club,” a series hosted by actor Josh Gad that spotlights opportunities for college-bound students as they get ready for their campus sojourn.
Walmart may be known better for its own big-budget commercials than it is as a conduit for other advertisers, but the new Vizio programs spotlight its efforts to use its assets to create a media platform for others that aims to spur sales.
“You take something that is an organic story, and find brands that are being true to who they are, that fit really nicely into that story, and it just flows in a way that it creates trust with customers,” says Courtney Naudo, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart’s Vizio, during a recent interview.
These new programs, which are highlighted on Vizio’s home screen and made available via free streaming channels, bolster the promise of the Walmart’s decision to buy Vizio. At the time of the deal’s completion, Walmart suggested it would be able to use the manufacturer’s products and systems to help advertisers “meaningfully connect with customers at scale and boost product discovery.”
These series are designed to entertain and intrigue viewers, while letting advertisers spur purchases and sales,. says Khurrum Malik, vice president of business and product marketing at Walmart Connect. “Customers are coming to Vizio to be entertained. And so what we’re trying to do is not have brands choose between building a brand through stories or driving sales,” he says. By having advertisers play a role in the flow of the program, rather than interrupting it, he says, executives believe they can create a desire for shopping without interrupting the consumer experience.
Walmart says “Backyard Escapes” Backyard Escapes helped spur a 50% increase in digital sales over the previous year, and noted that nearly half of purchases were new shoppers to the patio and garden category. The branded content experience on Vizio reached nearly 30% of American households and achieved a 67% completion rate.
Similar programming is likely to debut in months to come. “We’ll continue to see demand for this because it’s another elegant way to show up and tell a story,” says Naudo.
