As promised...here is my home office away from home. This is the world famous Home Office sign with the new brand tag line just newly added with the amount of money we have saved families this year to date ($123,973,370,370).
The Home Office is actually quite a large complex of buildings with elaborate mazes (and that is NOT an exaggeration) of cubicles. This is the building that I work in. It's called the "Old ISD building" because it used to host all the large super computers and servers. Consequently there are virtually NO windows, which will be fantastic if a tornado ever drops by, but not ideal for keeping tabs on the time of day (we've often joked it's like being inside a casino).
This is my actual nameplate and mini-bulletin board. (Looking at this picture makes me realize I need to add decorate it with more than just the free LEI Jeans/ Taylor Swift lanyard I got at the concert this week (more about this later).
And finally...my home from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm every day this summer. Yep. It's just a standard cubicle.
I also wanted to show off the official "Wal-Mart Brand Book" we received on day 2. It is fantastic! Recently Wal-Mart has been devoting substantial time and resources to creating a distinct brand in the mind of the consumer. All signs show these efforts are paying off!
And this book is where it all begins. Pantone colors, fonts, writing styles, preferred tones, targeted segments, and much more are all inside this little treasure (unfortunately I have to give it back when I leave). All of these very minor details add up to consistency of images, voice, ideas and messages which pay off in the consumer thinking about you the way you hope they do.
One of the opportunities I'm most enjoying this summer is to watch this brand being constructed from the ground up. It's an exciting time to be part of Wal-Mart marketing. They've crafted a brand strategy, studied their customer segments and decided the right ones to focus on. In addition, the talented people who have to come to Wal-Mart to work here is incredible. Many of the top marketing people in CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) and retail have jumped here because of the unique circumstances. It's like working in a marketing start-up with the resources of the largest company in the world. Pretty dang cool. I'm really lucky to be here.
