Building Brand Architecture Assignment: Target vs Walmart
Introduction
This report will build comparative brand architectures for Target and Walmart, two strong competitors
in the discount retail space. These companies were chosen due to their relevance to everyday life in the
USA. Although the two companies sell many of the same (and/or similar) products, their marketing
approach is quite different. The objective of this report is to show how the two companies use their
different brand architectures to pursue “value seeking” customers in different ways.
Brand Architecture - Target
Brand Core/Essence - Target's slogan "Expect More.
Pay Less." attempts to position the brand as
delivering value beyond pricing (i.e. higher quality
products/.
Brand Personality - Target offers cool, fashion-
forward, one-stop shopping for yourself & home. It's
associates are friendly & helpful.
Emotional Benefits - Customers feel "on-trend" when
shopping at Target. This is achieved via activities such
as in-store Starbucks, designer collaborations and
music artist target "exclusives" on CDs.
Product Benefits - Convenient, organized,
consistent shopping experience in-store and online
Product Attributes - "Upscale" discount shopping,
typically near Suburban neighborhoods, "super" stores
with grocery offerings, snack bar in store, pharmacy,
optometrist/glasses, public bathrooms, photo services,
store/online registries
Brand Architecture - Walmart
Brand Core/Essence - Walmart's slogan "Save Move
- Live Better" is focused on delivering financial value
to price sensitive customers.
Brand Personality - Cheap, no-nonsense, utilitiarian
Emotional Benefits - Customers get what they pay for.
Products are always available (24 hr stores/online)
Product Benefits - Convenient, well-stocked store
inventory available around the global
Product Attributes - Various store types/sizes
(Regular, "Super", Neighborhood), amenities vary by
location. Redbox videos, in-store banking, car care
services, snack bar in store, optometrist/glasses,
pharmacy, & public bathrooms, online registries
Brand Comparison1
Although both brands opened their first stores in 1962, Walmart’s has grown exponentially over the last
50+ years compared to Target. Target has 1797 stores located only in the USA. An attempted expansion
into the Canadian market failed and Target was forced to close these stores in 2015. Conversely,
Walmart has more than 11,500 stores in 28 countries allowing it to have a more dominant share of
customers’ minds and wallets worldwide.
Target tends to differentiate itself by focusing on customers who want both style and value. Their
stores feature a bold red color, bright white lights, wide aisles, strong visual imagery, and innovative
partnerships – some of which have limited inventory for a limited period (ex: Philip Lim, Missoni,
Marimekko, Nate Berkus, Gwen Stefani, etc.). They also have created a unique brand ambassador with
“Bullseye” (the target dog).
Walmart differentiates itself by focusing on customers for whom price is the primary concern. Walmart
has effectively branded their “rollback” pricing to highlight sale items for customers. Walmart stores
1
Specific stats regarding Target and Walmart were found on their corporate websites and/or annual reports
https://corporate.target.com/about/history
http://stock.walmart.com/investors/financial-information/annual-reports-and-proxies/default.aspx
tend to be more functional in nature primarily offering basic items. Walmart didn’t appear to have a
mascot for some time; however, they have recently started using their smiley face icon again.
For basic items, pricing tends to be somewhat comparable with the two retailers; however, one can
assume that Target’s designer partnerships and stylish product offerings allow it to drive more revenue
at a higher margin to support the company’s goals. Walmart’s business depends more heavily on high
inventory turnover and an extremely competitive supply chain to be able to support its company goals.
Brand Value
According to Forbes’ 2016 listing of “The World’s Most Valuable Brands, ”2 Walmart was ranked #22
with a brand value of $25.4 billion. Target was ranked #81 with a brand value of $7.2 billion.
Sources
Cited in footnotes
2
http://forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/2/#tab:rank
