Movista President Stan Zylowski can appreciate the notoriety that comes with making regular appearance on Saturday Morning Meeting, a Northwest Arkansas television show aimed at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its suppliers.
It isn't unusual for people to mention to Zylowski that they saw him talking technology innovations or touching on other retail-related topics highlighted on the show. Supplier education company 8th and Walton debuted the show on Northwest Arkansas' NBC affiliate a year ago.
Between the TV exposure, online viewership and a podcast version of the show, the company estimates that it reaches around 20,000 people a week. That means Zylowski and others who appear get recognized outside their offices more than they might ordinarily.
"That's nice, but what's really important is people see us on the program and then go to our website or call us and engage with us," Zylowski sad. "That's the point of doing the program. You're reaching people you want to reach. Television is a very compelling medium and then you have the fact that this lives forever on the Internet."
Northwest Arkansas companies that deal regularly with Wal-Mart and its suppliers, like the tech-focused Movista, have found the television program to be a crucial part of their outreach. It's a way to raise awareness among potential clients and provides an avenue to keep tabs on competitors and developing trends within the retail and consumer packaged goods industries.
More than 1,400 supplier teams have offices in Northwest Arkansas to serve Wal-Mart, according to data from Cameron Smith & Associates, a company that specializes in supplier recruiting. Additional companies exist in the region to provide services to those suppliers and, with that kind of audience available, Smith calls the TV show "a brilliant idea."
Saturday Morning Meeting, named for Wal-Mart's traditional employee meetings of the same name, launched about 18 months ago primarily as a way to generate interest in 8th and Walton's supplier and vendor education programs. After about six months of filming the show in the company's offices and airing episodes online, an opportunity arose to air the show on KNWA.
Adding a TV broadcast meant more potential viewers and 8th and Walton began working to revamp the content and moved filming from its Bentonville offices to Springdale's Ozark Film & Video Production. Marie Clapper joined 8th and Walton as editorial director about that same time, and in June associate producer Samantha White was added to help coordinate the shows. Andy Schuch, a supplier sales consultant and former Kraft vendor, serves as the show's primary anchor and joined Saturday Morning Meeting in July.
KNWA airs the show on Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. and again on Sundays at 5 a.m. Episodes also are uploaded online.
Content development has been a key piece of making the show increasingly relevant for the intended audience. A segment focused on women in retail -- Retail Her -- launched three months ago. The Retail Edge features Startup Junkie's Jeff Amerine talking about retail from a technology perspective and The Heart of Business in Northwest Arkansas highlights philanthropic activities in the vendor community.
Each 30-minute episode takes up to five hours of studio time and another six to eight hours of editing time. Clapper and White oversee a show staff that includes as many as five hosts, editor, assistant editor and multiple camera operators.
White traveled to New York City last week for the National Retail Federation's annual convention. It was Saturday Morning Meeting's first foray outside of the studio and a test run for possible future content. Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corps helped sponsor the trip to the retail convention and 8th and Walton is able to command between $125 and $6,000 per month from advertisers, Clapper said.
Saturday Morning Meeting's guest list has included current and former Wal-Mart executives, experts in the consumer packaged goods and supplier industries, and University of Arkansas professors, among others.
"It's like a dinner party. You want to have multiple guests for making sure you have the best conversation," Clapper said. "Suppliers want to get smarter as much as we want them to get smarter. We see this as free knowledge for them."
In addition to the show, the company is producing e-books aimed at suppliers and has plans for increasing its social media presence. Clapper said the company's e-newsletter focused at key Wal-Mart and retail-related stories reaches about 50,000 people. All of the media-related activities are aimed at education for suppliers and the general public.
Retail veteran and Field Agent co-founder Henry Ho was recently in the studio filming a segment on topics discussed during National Retail Federation convention. Ho is a regular guest on the show. He also is a regular viewer and said it's an invaluable tool for staying on top of what is happening in retail, especially the Northwest Arkansas vendor community.
"Everybody should always be a student of their business," Ho said. "It's such a big universe, this Wal-Mart supplier universe. It's so big and so competitive. Knowing what is going on in your industry is so critically important to being relevant. A lot of things that Wal-Mart does you read and you get the facts, but I would tell you a little bit of analysis and insight adds richness to your understanding."
SundayMonday Business on 01/18/2015