• The Morning News of Northwest Arkansas, Thursday, November 15, 2007 12:02 PM

John Andrews, Wal-Mart's new marketing guru, says that simplicity and integration are the takeaway words for its suppliers going forward. Speaking before a packed room of suppliers at a Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce luncheon yesterday, Andrews pressed them to integrate their brand marketing to align with Wal-Mart's new bare-bones lifestyle message of saving money to live better.

The message of integrated marketing strategy between Wal-Mart and its suppliers isn't entirely new, but does highlight a greater effort by Wal-Mart to push its suppliers into co-marketing. "Theme integration is a must," Andrews says. "You're going to hear that again if you haven't already."

Wal-Mart intends to cut down on the individual messaging of thousands of suppliers to focus on one clean and very clear message: "What can you expect from us? Complete integration from the shelf forward." And what does Wal-Mart expect from suppliers? "Alignment with our programs," he says.

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