The Statue of Liberty. The Hollywood sign. Walmart?
The nation’s largest retailer has entranced World Cup tourists. Videos by first-time Walmart visitors from abroad have racked up millions of views and thousands of comments on social media.
Now Walmart wants to capitalize on that unbridled enthusiasm for instant mac and cheese and milk sold by the gallon with two VIP tours for tourists to “explore the oversized products, iconic snack aisles and uniquely American finds” at its big box stores.
One tour will take place in New Jersey ahead of the World Cup final and another in Miami after the quarterfinal game between Norway and England for the first 20 people in line for a World Cup parking lot experience it is hosting in partnership with Laliga, Spain’s soccer league.
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The guided tours will include “custom Walmart passports, aisle stamps, swag, tour guides and curated product samplings.”
Walmart confirmed guests would not receive their very own industrial drums of ranch dressing as a souvenir.
America’s corporate brands are a global powerhouse, fueled by customers who shop like their lives depend on it. US TikTok users learned this year that Walmart is now part of America’s global image.
Irish tourist Mick Madeiros, for example, marveled on TikTok that Walmart sells Fruity Pebbles cereal in great big weighty bags, comparing it to the same ones dog kibble comes in. Another TikTok user, Englishman Harry Gunns, declared the vivid kaleidoscope that is the chips aisle to be “absolute insanity in all the best ways.”
In another video, Australians used Walmart as a pregame destination, chanting, “We are going to Walmart,” in perhaps a glaring sign America lacks third spaces.
And Lamine Yamal, the 18-year-old Spanish soccer prodigy, shocked fans when he was spotted pushing a Walmart cart out of a store in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
World Cup sponsorship is tightly controlled and under strict FIFA guidelines.
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That has led some odd changes in existing venues. MetLife Stadium, typically home to American football’s New York Jets and Giants, is now simply rebranded “New York/New Jersey Stadium” because the insurance giant is not an official FIFA sponsor.
But other American companies are still trying to find viral marketing opportunities, even without paying FIFA.
The corporate sponsor behind Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, was forced to cover up its logo for the duration of the World Cup. The venue has also been temporarily renamed to San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
The cover over the logo was cut precisely in the outline of the Levi’s logo – leaving no doubt what the tarp was hiding. The concealed logo sparked a global marketing campaign by the company, which began covering up its signage in the same way at stores in World Cup-crazed countries like France, Brazil and Mexico.
These types of moves for iconic American companies can highlight the power of the brand, Alexander Chernev, a marketing professor at Northwestern University, told CNN.
If customers “can still recognize the logo, that actually gives you more awareness than if you haven’t done anything to begin with,” he said.
While Walmart isn’t an official sponsor of the World Cup, either, taking advantage of the social media chatter helps the company glom onto the tournament without paying FIFA for the privilege – especially when attention spans are divided.
“The impact of advertising online is becoming less and less impactful because of media clutter,” Chernev said. “So, more and more companies are looking for different ways to engage with customers.”
Even if you can’t make the in-person tour, Walmart is still showing off its stores to foreign visitors on social media. One store associate named Ann was featured on the corporate Walmart account showing off items tourists can’t miss during their first trip.
She showed off colossal jars of peanut butter, ranch and jalapenos. “You can make a bunch of sandwiches with that!” she said.
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