Wal-Mart has been criticized for both sucking and blowing, but it looks like they may actually have a chance to polish their tarnished reputation.
After a number of years of dismal public relations blunders (in particular, an ill-fated PR-hatched Web site) Wal-Mart has finally figured out that people desire authentic experiences.
So, they’re letting their merchandising buyers blog about the products they come across. In fact, they’re actually encouraging them to speak their minds.
That’s a refreshing change of pace from a company that has continually refused to sell just about anything that might remotely offend anyone.
Will it work? Only time will tell, but — like any decent blog — it’s already started a few contentious arguments. There are already knee-jerk doubters accusing Wal-Mart’s PR firm of rigging the blog and an article in the New York Times lending credibility to the idea.
It’s tough to dig out from this kind of mess. I think that Wal-Mart’s reliance on short-term results over long-term reputation has put them in this spot. But, it’s nice to see them try to dig out.
[Wal-Mart and The New York Times are both on Get Satisfaction.]
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