More Latino marketing? I thought they were doing enough as it is (I mean they did sign Danayara Torres to market their clothes), but apparently the big Dubya wants to do even MÁS. From BrandWeek:

BENTONVILLE, ARK.– As Wal-Mart seeks to broaden its appeal to consumers, one important segment it is hoping to reach is the Hispanic community, the company said Wednesday.

To that end, the retail behemoth is planning upcoming initiatives to reach Hispanics, building marketing programs around major events like Cinco de Mayo and World Cup Soccer.

“We are doing a lot of marketing research and looking at the data very closely,” said Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott at the company’s second annual media conference held this week in Bentonville, Ark.

“We are learning a great deal about Hispanic trends through our stores in Mexico and Central America,” Scott added. “We are also spending about $45 million per year in Spanish-language advertising.

A recent photography project that I wrote about on VivirLatino made me truly aware of the connection between Latino consumers and Wal-Mart — particularly the immigrant community in border towns. The project asked Latino migrant workers on the border to document their everyday lives on film using disposable cameras. How did they guarantee that the workers would follow through? They gave them with the incentive of a Wal-Mart gift card:

We wanted to give migrants an incentive to participate, but the real trick was finding a way for them to remain anonymous. We devised a scheme using gift cards from the largest retailer along the border - Walmart.

Interesting, no?

And according to an article in yesterday’s MarketWatch, Wal-Mart will be tweaking its product offerings to suit a shift towards targeting “ethnic customers”:

When we talk about a ’store of the community,’ it is particularly important when we look at the ethnic customer segments that we have,” said Pat Curran, executive vice president of store operations.

She said that of Wal-Mart’s 3,900 U.S. stores, about 1,500 serve “significant” African-American populations and 1,300 are in heavy Latino neighborhoods. Another 300 have a large concentration of Asian-Pacific-American shoppers, she said.

Those stores will carry items such as ethnic foods and health and beauty aids directed toward the specific populations. Stores in Latino neighborhoods, for example, sell eight varieties of chorizo and a number of tortilla brands, including those produced in local neighborhoods, while also carrying a variety of baby and family products.

Locally produced tortillas? That’s something that just might lure me into a Wal-Mart.

Via Brandweek and MarketWatch

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