Wal-Mart Unveils New Ad Agency Portfolio

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wal-Mart today announced the roster of advertising agencies it has selected to implement its marketing campaigns going forward. The company has retained the following agencies:

* GlobalHue, based in Southfield, Michigan, will provide African- American creative; * Los Angeles-based IW Group will provide marketing programs focused on the Asian Pacific American consumer; * Houston's Lopez Negrete will lead Hispanic creative; * The Martin Agency, headquartered in Richmond, Va. and part of the Interpublic Group, has been appointed Wal-Mart's lead general market creative agency; and * Media planning and buying will be carried out by New York-based MediaVest, a full service media and communications unit of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. Wal-Mart's Chief Marketing Officer John Fleming led the review.

"We've assembled a top-tier group of marketing partners that have deep retail experience, recognized creativity and an understanding of our customers. They are a 'best in class' team that will bring our brand to life - telling the story of who we are and what we stand for: saving people money so they can live better," said Fleming, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Wal-Mart.

"Wal-Mart appreciates the efforts of the exceptional companies that participated in the review. We congratulate and welcome our new and returning agency partners and look forward to working together to continue building and developing our brand," he said.

GlobalHue, the nation's largest minority-owned, full-service multicultural communications agency, provides market expertise to clients who want to reach African-American, Hispanic and Asian American urban and youth consumers. The agency has offices in Detroit (Southfield), New York and Los Angeles. Its 180 employees handle advertising, events and promotions, and public relations for several clients including Verizon Wireless, Bermuda Department of Tourism, U.S. Navy, American Airlines, Gambrinus, and the Internal Revenue Service.

IW Group (formerly known as Imada Wong Communications Group) is a national advertising, marketing and public relations firm specializing in the U.S. Asian markets. The agency is based in Los Angeles and also has offices in New York and San Francisco. IW Group has 51 employees and has capabilities in more than a dozen Asian languages and dialects. The firms principles are Bill Imada, chairman and CEO, and Nita Song, president and COO. IW Group was founded in 1990. IW Group represents companies such as American Airlines, Nissan North America, GlaxoSmithKline, Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual, and McDonald's USA.

Lopez Negrete is an independent, Hispanic owned and operated agency specializing in Hispanic marketing. Since 1985, Lopez Negrete has offered a full range of advertising, marketing and public relations services to industry leaders such as Wal-Mart Stores, Tyson Foods, Bank of America, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, ConAgra Foods, Visa USA, Azteca Milling, L.P., Microsoft Corporation, Reliant Energy and others. Lopez Negrete is the second largest independent Hispanic-owned agency.

The Martin Agency is a fully integrated, national advertising agency with offices in Richmond, VA and New York. Servicing a wide range of consumer and B2B clients since 1965, the agency has grown to be one of the leading creative agencies in America representing clients including UPS, GEICO, BF Goodrich, Hanes and Discover Card. The agency has been ranked consistently as one of the 10 best creative agencies in America.

MediaVest is a full service media and communications unit of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), a subsidiary of Paris-based Publicis Groupe. Heralded as one of the first companies to consistently deliver innovation and industry- first initiatives and products, MediaVest's longstanding client partnerships include some of the world's leading marketers including Coca-Cola Company, Kraft, Masterfoods and P&G.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Every week, more than 137 million customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $245 million to local United States communities. To learn more, visit http://www.walmartfacts.com/ , http://www.walmart.com/ , or http://www.walmartfoundation.org/ .