Walmart and Procter & Gamble Collaborate to Provide Family-Friendly TV Programming

Joint effort is a key anchor to Walmart's Family Moments campaign


BENTONVILLE, Ark., Feb. 11  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced the official launch of its Family Moments campaign, a marketing, in-store and digital initiative designed to provide more entertainment options for the entire family. This is in direct response to research which reveals that parents across America are seeking more family-oriented entertainment for the whole family to enjoy together. A focal point of Family Moments is a project with Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) to produce family-friendly TV programming, beginning with "Secrets of The Mountain," a TV movie which will debut on NBC on April 16, 2010.

A critical research effort that supports Family Moments was conducted by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Alliance for Family Entertainment in spring of 2009. P&G is co-founder, and Walmart is co-chair with P&G, of the Alliance for Family Entertainment. The research was designed to better understand what consumers are seeking in family-friendly TV as well as the impact of programming on the efficacy of advertising. The most important finding was the clear desire for more options when it comes to quality entertainment for the family. In fact, only 23% of respondents reported being satisfied with the amount of family-oriented programming currently available. And in another study conducted jointly between Walmart and P&G, 85% of respondents said they would go out of their way to "find and watch quality family-friendly programming."  From an advertising perspective, both studies reinforced the importance of family-friendly ads appearing in the context of family-friendly TV content and the degree to which consumer perceptions of a company are shaped by the TV shows, events or activities that it sponsors.

"At Walmart, we are committed to delivering more quality family entertainment options to parents across the country. It's something we know our shoppers want, it's important to the growth of our business, and it's one more way we are delivering on our brand promise to help families save money and live better," said Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer for Walmart.

"Secrets of The Mountain," a two-hour movie, is a drama/adventure and focuses on Dana James, a public defender and single mother who takes her family to visit a mountain cabin they inherited from their eccentric uncle, only to find themselves embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. For over five decades, P&G Productions has produced nearly 50 movies of the week, 35 years of "People's Choice Awards," 20 soap operas and a number of beauty pageants and variety shows.

"We are pleased to be working with Walmart on their Family Moments initiative to positively impact the number of choices families have for television entertainment," said Marc Pritchard, global marketing and brand building officer for P&G. "As a company of family brands, we know that context matters, and we're proud to advertise our brands in this broadly appealing content."

In addition to TV programming, the Walmart Family Moments campaign covers other areas important to parents, including memorable family activities such as family game night. In September of 2009, Walmart launched a new "Family Moments Destination" across all stores with ideas and products to help design a complete family night experience. Additional Family Moments initiatives will be announced in the months to follow.

About Walmart

Every week, millions of customers visit Walmart stores, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam's Club locations across America or log on to its online store at http://www.walmart.com/. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Walmart is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $378 million to local communities in the United States. More information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com/.

About P&G

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com/ for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands. 

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DATASOURCE: Walmart



CONTACT:  Tara Raddohl of Walmart, 1-800-331-0085, or Jeannie Tharrington

of Procter & Gamble, [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.walmart.com/

http://www.walmartstores.com/

http://www.pg.com/ 

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