Wal-Mart opens China PR up for pitch

It is believed that Ketchum Newscan, Hill & Knowlton and Wal-Mart's US incumbent, Edelman, were invited to pitch for the business in Beijing. "I think they are doing it to avoid problems with stakeholders overseas that will be called on by US NGOs," said one executive familiar with the situation.

Wal-Mart is considering purchasing domestic grocery and appliance chain Trust-Mart for US$1 billion, which would double the company's China presence and enable it to leapfrog rival Carrefour.

Given the company's fractious relationship with NGOs, it is expected that the China communications brief will focus on public affairs and government relations, particularly as China is one of the few countries where Wal-Mart employees can unionise — via the Government-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

Wal-Mart recently reviewed its US$570 million advertising and media assignment, handing the accounts to DraftFCB and Carat, respectively. The moves displaced US creative incumbents GSD&M and Bernstein-Rein. The company has also faced criticism from bloggers after it emerged that its US agency, Edelman, had created 'flogs' on behalf of Wal-Mart. The fake blogs included the work of two writers paid by Working Families for Wal-Mart — itself an advocacy group formed by Edelman.