BASECREATIVE
Brand creation and strategies for Walmart Asia Realty
Client
Walmart Asia Realty
Project Type
Brand Creation and Management
Marketing Communications
Website
Industry
Property
Retail
Background
Since 1962, Walmart - one of the pioneers of American retail and a Fortune 10 company - has served millions of customers and families. Its subsidiary, Walmart Asia Realty, asked Base Creative to create a comprehensive research, strategy, naming, branding and implementation programme to create its brand in China.
Challenge
In the past decade, changing demographics, such as an aging population and increased urbanization, have driven more people to live in smaller spaces, creating a greater need for public spaces in which to socialize and congregate. In view of the challenges and trends in China, Walmart set out to redefine what a mall can be.
In view of the challenges and trends in China, Walmart set out to redefine what a mall can be.
Business Strategy
Well-known in many countries as the world’s largest retailer, Walmart is already a major player in the China market – now the world’s second largest retail market – with more than 400 stores, mostly in 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tier cities.
Branding Insights
Unlike many malls in China which focus on high-end or large space shopping, The Mall is designed as a community center intended to serve the daily needs of local families – not just for shopping, but for dining and a range of services as well as a space for meeting, entertainment, education, kids’ fun and just “hanging out”.
Throughout a series of extensive qualitative and quantitative consultations across tier 2, 3 and 4 cities, as well as a benchmark of family-oriented malls across the globe, Base Creative set out to question the idea of malls in contemporary China.
We conducted executive workshops to look for indicators of business needs and challenges, and held first-hand interviews with consumers who provided key insights about the cultural roots of shopper behaviour.
Based on the insights, Base Creative initiated a top-down brand-building programme – from strategic planning and identity formation down to hoarding design and marketing collaterals.
During Base Creative’s design consultations, we focused on the largest customer group – the family – and more than that, a happy family. With this information in hand, we created an archetypal personality that would inform the focal point of communications – from online banners to print advertisements to the architectural façade.
The brand needs to resonate across all areas and generations of China. As a result, Base Creative created an overarching identity system that would speak volumes about a Chinese family. With the “child” bag at the centre, the logo represents almost every family in China – where the child is the heart of the family. The use of the colour green also symbolizes Walmart’s continual efforts to achieve environmental sustainability.
Inspired by the rising need for public social spaces, consumers are looking for experiences that go well beyond traditional shopping. This has led Base Creative to rethink some of the visual elements that can help to shape Walmart as the centre of the local community.
Envisioning Walmart as a provider of family quality time, Base Creative worked closely with Walmart’s management team to translate the vision of the brand into a welcoming retail atmosphere with the right level of comfort – clean, colourful, eye-catching and not intimidatingly grandiose. This includes a spacious parking area with ample signposts, an efficient floor plan supported by easy navigation and well-planned signage, and scattered seating areas where tired shoppers can rest their feet.
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