Wal-Mart pushes for increased ad contributions from marketers

Bentonville, Ark. Wal-Mart’s cost-supplement initiative is apparently gathering steam. According to a Monday article in Advertising Age, Wal-Mart is pushing marketers to divert money proportionate to their share of sales to Walmart marketing programs.

The implied threat for marketers that don’t go along with demands for more marketing funds, according to Ad Age, is an increased risk of delisting.

Wal-Mart is looking for a share not just of trade-promotion funds but also consumer-ad dollars. The vehicles Wal-Mart wants funded include co-branded TV and other media ads, in-store TV and banner ads on Walmart.com.

The sums involved are staggering. Ad Age provided a Procter & Gamble Co. example, in which P&G would divert about $1 billion in U.S. media dollars into Wal-Mart’s media budget or marketing and merchandising vehicles.

As of yet, there is no evidence that any major marketers the size of P&G have met Wal-Mart’s demands.