Walmart hopes to get customers shopping before they arrive at the company’s stores or visit its website.
The retailing giant is launching its own series of programs that feature goods viewers can buy in store or online and are distributed to users of Vizio, the TV manufacturer that Walmart acquired in 2024. In “Backyard Escapes,” a special hosted by Tan France, audiences were shown goods from advertisers including ScottsMiracle-Gro; Procter & Gamble’s Spruce and Zevo, Blackstone; Keter; Aiper; Pennington; Clorox Pool&Spa/BioLab; and Perdue — all tied to a shopping event built around patios and gardens. On August 3, Vizio will make available “Join the Club,” a series hosted by actor Josh Gad that spotlights opportunities for college-bound students as they get ready for their campus sojourn.
Walmart may be known better for its own big-budget commercials than it is as a conduit for other advertisers, but the new Vizio programs spotlight its efforts to use its assets to create a media platform for others that aims to spur sales.
“You take something that is an organic story, and find brands that are being true to who they are, that fit really nicely into that story, and it just flows in a way that it creates trust with customers,” says Courtney Naudo, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart’s Vizio, during a recent interview.
