Go for a style check...

IIPM, ADMISSIONS FOR NEW DELHI & GURGAON BRANCHES

...with Wal-Mart and Facebook!

Harvard dropout Bill Gates couldn’t exactly enjoy this feeling to the fullest, and all his wealth cannot make up for it. We are talking about college life, where everything is so beautiful, where you have the maximum liberty with minimum responsibilities. And understandably, this is a market companies literally lust after. Wal-Mart is taking an innovative step to cater to this segment and has partnered with social networking site Facebook to help tap it.

‘Unleash your style’ happens to be the mantra for this season. Wal-Mart & Facebook will provide an opportunity to the college-goers to extend their personal style preferences to their rooms as well. The purpose of this campaign is to get the users of Facebook to join the Wal-Mart Group, which is christened, “Roommate Style Match”. The Group has managed to rope in 786 members in a matter of just 12 days. The members of this community would be able to take a quiz to determine their decorating style, which would be different for male & female surfers.

Lee Scott, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. President & Chief Executive Officer accepted in their Q2 results that, “Although some people will report that Wal-Mart has had record sales and earnings, our underlying operating performance this quarter is not what we expect of ourselves, and not what our shareholders expect of us.” Clearly, Wal-Mart is looking at newer avenues to generate new revenue streams. Tying up with Facebook to open up a community like this would provide Wal-Mart an access to newer audiences and their motto is to push their products in-sync with the style statements that the collegiates taking the quiz express.

Though this move is innovative, we wonder how many students would be having such deep pockets to afford a ‘Stylish’ room makeover. Moreover, mounting inflation would leave little for such profilgacies. Wal-Mart said it expects to keep the “Roommate Style Match” Facebook group active until October 31. How many it ropes in by then is of course a matter of speculation, but as a branding exercise, Wal-Mart would definitely be able to engage much better with Generation Y.

B&E research: Surbhi Chawla

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

For More IIPM Info, Visit Below....
IIPM International Student Exchange Programme
IIPM, GURGAON
ARINDAM CHAUDHURI’S 4 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE IIPM...
IIPM Economy Review
IIPM :- Cicero's Challenge is going global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (I...
After CDMA, will nokia miss the 3G bus ?
Time for Awards at IIPM
STUDENTS AGAINST CORRUPTION & KICKBACKS : SACK
Heavy dut(t)y stress Sanjay Dutt Bollywood Actor
The Business of B-School Rankings & The Big Farce
36TH Full Time Programme In Planning & Entrepreneu...