Another Austin political pro writes in to concur that Wal-Mart is message testing with their phone calls – although, from the look of things, it sounds like they couldn’t resist a little push-polling while they were at it. Most times, testers want to float both positive and negative message in such polls – says our e-mailer, “normally, you want to include 1 or 2 negatives for every 10 positives (i.e., pro-Wal-Mart in this context).” Yet all descriptions solely list the positives Wal-Mart says they’ll unpack at Northcross. Again, it sounds like a two-fer – measuring public sentiment while maybe trying to tweak it.
Secondly, several readers have written in pointing out a pro-Mart message ad which apparently debuted tonight, wherein a smiling multicultural cadre directs all to a one WalMartFacts.com. There, they’ll be regaled with AstroTurfed tales of how the retailer’s new breed of “neighborhood” stores are comprised of “earth-tones and soft themes.” C’mon, the sign is green, people!
And if that’s still not enough, Responsible Growth for Northcross has posted audio of a call on their Web site. Do I sense a remix in its future?
This article appears in January 19 • 2007.