Kmart Corp.: Martha Stewart Everyday campaign

William D. Baue

In 1997 Kmart Corporation wooed Martha Stewart back. She had taken the position of Kmart lifestyles consultant and Home Division spokesperson in 1987 but had, according to Stewart, been alienated through "unimaginative" retailing and "no quality control." As Stewart ascended to the status of lifestyle maven for American culture at large in the early 1990s, she worked her way out of her contract with Kmart, which was descending to the verge of bankruptcy.

Kmart Corp.: Martha Stewart Everyday campaign

William D. Baue

OVERVIEW

In 1997 Kmart Corporation wooed Martha Stewart back. She had taken the position of Kmart lifestyles consultant and Home Division spokesperson in 1987 but had, according to Stewart, been alienated through "unimaginative" retailing and "no quality control." As Stewart ascended to the status of lifestyle maven for American culture at large in the early 1990s, she worked her way out of her contract with Kmart, which was descending to the verge of bankruptcy. In 1995, however, Floyd Hall took over the helm of Kmart and orchestrated a turnaround. Even before...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands