The Insights
- Walmart launched the ‘Spicy Summer’ campaign, introducing the limited-edition Spicy Books Hot Sauce set to tap into the hot and spicy trend.
- The campaign targets Gen Z consumers over 18 who enjoy spicy sauces, with a focus on connecting with the BookTok community.
- Walmart’s innovative approach includes influencer engagement, experiential gatherings, and Spicy Summer mailers to promote its spicy offerings and expand its appeal to a broader customer base.
In celebration of the hot and spicy trend this summer, Walmart launched its ‘Spicy Summer’ campaign last month. With this, Walmart introduced the limited-edition Spicy Books Hot Sauce set so customers can experience their own Spicy Summer moment.
As part of the campaign, the company is looking to connect with Gen Z consumers over the age of 18 as well as love spicy sauces.
Courtney Killingsworth, the director of brand marketing at Walmart, explained that as a customer-centric organization, they seek out places where customers spend their time in order to create authentic connections with them. The new campaign is designed to reach out to and celebrate BookTokers and their community. Walmart plans to appeal to BookTok fans with their Spicy Books Hot Sauce and then expand to a broader customer base by adding its spice to all summer essentials.
“Customers are at the center of everything we do at Walmart, so we’re constantly looking for new ways to deepen connections and foster brand affinity,” said Killingsworth. “Walmart is unmatched in its ability to evaluate customer behaviors and then create commerce offerings to them where and how they want to shop, including during moments of entertainment.” We’re [doubling down on this commitment] and turning up the heat by showing up for a growing community, ‘BookTokers.’”
Walmart’s campaign also featured paid advertisements and influencer content. This was followed by an experiential gathering in LA for the BookTok community. Attendees enjoyed spicy refreshments and light snacks by the pool while they immersed themselves in the experience, discussed their favorite Spicy Summer reads, and participated in other enjoyable surprises.
Furthermore, Walmart invited BookTok influencers to its poolside event, named Walmart’s Spicy Summer Soiree, where they discussed their favorite books and participated in the campaign launch. To share the campaign, the hot sauce line, and Spicy Summer swag, Walmart also shared Spicy Summer mailers with selected BookTok influencers.
BookTok has over 250 billion views on TikTok and over 33M posts according to Hootsuite, making it one of the fastest-growing communities. In light of a potential TikTok ban in the United States, Walmart is closely monitoring the evolving social media landscape, especially for “Spicy books,” often rated using the “Spice Scale.” The situation is being closely monitored, according to Killingsworth, and strategies will be adjusted accordingly as necessary.
The Walmart summer campaign is also a reminder of Walmart’s commitment to taking advantage of genuine opportunities to connect with its consumers, as it does with its black-owned businesses all year long.
“The Spicy Summer campaign allowed Walmart to tap into a culturally relevant moment, on trend with one of our goals: to put the brand into culture and culture into the brand,” said Killingsworth. “Spicy Summer is the latest way Walmart is innovating to meet customers where they’re spending their time, shortening the distance from inspiration to purchase.”
