{"id":100,"date":"2007-06-06T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2007-06-06T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.AchieveMax.com\/blog\/2007\/06\/06\/sears-kmart\/"},"modified":"2013-07-02T11:05:18","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:05:18","slug":"sears-kmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/achievemax.com\/blog\/2007\/06\/06\/sears-kmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Sears-Kmart: Comeback or Deja Vu?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sears Holding Corporation, the parent of both Sears and Kmart stores, is apparently coming to life after what they admit has been two years of “lying in the weeds.” Over the past year, there have been whispers that Sears Holding Corp. was a potential bidder for everything from Home Depot Inc. to Anheuser-Busch Co. \u2014 although nothing yet has materialized.<\/p>\n

However, they have rolled out their first major marketing campaign involving the Kmart side of the business. Maybe you’ve already seen their new mascot \u2014 a talking light bulb called “Mr. Bluelight<\/a>.” Remember their old “blue light specials”? I wonder if it’s wise to move backward in order to move forward? Time will soon tell.<\/p>\n

Sears, on the other hand, will promote their brand in commercials and ads under their new tag line: “Sears: Where it begins.” Sounds like a real barn-burner, doesn’t it? Makes you want to jump up out of your\u00a0La-Z-Boy, throw the family into your car and burn rubber to get to your nearest Sears outlet, doesn’t it?<\/p>\n

We all know that ad companies charge a fortune to come up with these ideas of “talking light bulbs” and catchy slogans such as the one mentioned above. Don’t you think a very cautious and critical public expects much more than they’re about to receive from two major organizations who were at one time the #1 and #2 retailers in the country?<\/p>\n

I’m somewhat shocked that they haven’t moved sooner than this. However, after hearing their strategy, I wonder if they shouldn’t wait even longer. Maybe they should have considered a national campaign built around a competition urging smart shoppers from coast to coast to create a slogan that best describes the new mission of this potential retail giant. The grand prize: One million dollars. Sound ridiculous? Maybe not.<\/p>\n