[ MUSIC ]. Like any marketer, you have to know what your customers want and need. And what they're gonna want and need. You just have more customers than virtually anybody on Earth. How do you sense what they want and need? How do you, how do you understand it? I mean, there's a couple of ways. The first way is something that I think is unique to retailers. In that, you know, we have hundreds of merchants who work in our merchandising area. And each of them tries to think of their business as their own business. And some, in some special way, they're trying to serve our customers. And so they're constantly trying things. And, so, that's why, a lot of the time, you'll hear people talk about the data that Walmart has. It's really data about sales. And, as we were trying things, we're seeing the customer likes this, they want more of that. They, really, don't like this other thing and, we should probably do away with that. And so, that's, at it's very core, I think, a core, insights driving machine, at the core of retail. Is, the ability to look at our data and, to really bring some kinda meaning to that. And, and often that data will get shared between merchants. You know, if, if people are looking for a special kinda value on one category. Perhaps they're looking for that in a different category where they haven't been thinking about that. Then the second way is maybe more traditional means and that is, you know, market research. Where we've, we've amassed an enormous amount of data. Like almost everybody we're trying to figure out how to get that data all into the same place. So that we can see how those how these data interact with each other. And that includes some of the newer areas, like social media. Where we've got you know almost 11 million Facebook fans and they're constantly giving us feedback. Because that's the very nature of that medium. And so how does that data get also incorporated into what ends up being a picture of our customer. And seems to me what the company is doing very well. And I mean, don't mean to flatter you, but you brought a new conception of marketing to the company. Mm- hm. Can you characterize the difference? And I mean, I'm, the smiley face is gone, right? Yes, yeah. You won't be seeing him any more. Right. Right? Okay. Right. How would you describe the new concept? Well, you know what I think it is? I think that the company, in the mid 2000s. Was fairly traumatized by a lot of the bad publicity that the company received. Because they showed up every single day and knew what was really happening inside of the company. What people were really trying to get done. And I think that really, all we've done in marketing is, is bring that good core of the company. Some of the things that I think Sam Walton contributed to commerce in general. That to, to bring those to the foreground and to really make sure that people understood that Walmart is a company with a purpose. And that purpose is to save people money so they can live better. And we also can impact a lot of other areas. You know, sustainability, healthy eating. We feel a very strong link to the communities that we serve. Because in so many cases we have hundreds of associates that are a part of that community. And very much like that community as well. And so I think that the difference in our marketing has been bringing that purpose out. And making sure that people can examine it. What's a, non- Walmart marketing that you admire? I think the marketing, the, the marketing that I really admire is, is marketing that goes beyond just sort of an advertising message. I think McDonald's has done an unbelievable job, over a long period of time. As we're seeing there a beverage strategy emerge. We're really seeing that it's really impacting, customer behavior or shopper behavior in terms of the frequency of trips that they, That there, seen visit their stores. And I love that because its really a marketing insight and an insight into the customer that ended up changing what the company did. If you look at Hyundai, that's another example, you know, you may not have to be a genius marketer to communicate the Hyundai guarantee. But, wherever that idea came from, what a great idea for customers. It really makes a difference in customers' lives. And so, I think one of the things I look for, at Walmart, is, how do we, how do we do marketing that makes a difference in the lives of customers? And doesn't just, sorta, build an image. [ MUSIC ]

The smiley face is gone forever, but CMO Stephen Quinn says that Wal-Mart is constantly tuning its marketing stragegy according to the data it collects on its shoppers.

Wal-Mart\'s evolving marketing strategy