GlobalHue’s Coleman calls new Wal-Mart account a ‘strategic fit’ for agency

By Kortney Stringer
Detroit Free Press
(January 18, 2007) GlobalHue, the largest U.S. ad agency that targets minorities, has landed coveted ad business from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer.

After a six-month review during which Wal-Mart's marketing department suffered through a scandal, GlobalHue landed the African-American chunk of the retail giant's lucrative multicultural creative account.

Southfield, Mich.-based GlobalHue, which had billings of $470 million in 2005, wouldn't disclose how much the Wal-Mart account is worth because the scope of its work hasn't been finalized. But Allen Pugh, GlobalHue's executive vice president, said Wal-Mart could become the firm's third-largest client behind DaimlerChrysler AG and Verizon Communications.

"Wal-Mart is a strategic fit for us, and we're already mapping out ways to cross-brand and cross-promote with other clients to leverage existing relationships," said GlobalHue CEO Donald Coleman.

While some ad firms in Michigan are losing accounts because of their heavy dependence on Detroit's struggling auto sector, GlobalHue is diversifying and growing its business. The firm is largely able to do so because of its focus on multicultural marketing, which is quickly becoming a profitable niche as big-name advertisers turn their attention toward groups such as blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, women and those with alternative lifestyles.

"They're in the right place at the right time with the right goods," said Jeff Stoltman, a Wayne State University marketing professor. "Being able to translate and retranslate in a way that can reach a target audience is the game plan right now."

An eye toward multicultural marketing has been a part of GlobalHue's approach since it started in 1988 as a one-man ad shop. It's now the largest black-owned ad agency in the country, targeting minorities, the urban market and youth through its offices in Southfield, New York and Los Angeles. Its clients include the U.S. Navy and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.

GlobalHue is part of a new roster of ad firms picked by Wal-Mart after the review. It selected Richmond, Va.-based Martin Agency - a unit of the New York-based Interpublic Group - as its head creative agency for the general market.

"They are a best-in-class team that will bring our brand to life - telling the story of who we are and what we stand for: saving people money so they can live better," Wal-Mart Chief Marketing Officer John Fleming said of the agencies.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, which has an overall $580-million ad account, has struggled with an image tarnished by lawsuits over its treatment of workers. Last month, its image suffered another blow: It fired senior vice president of marketing communications Julie Roehm, the former DaimlerChrysler executive who put on a controversial Super Bowl event in which women played in lingerie. She was fired from Wal-Mart amid allegations she accepted gratuities from potential vendors.


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