Wal-Mart Stores is sponsoring ABC’s summer reality show The Scholar and has earmarked nearly $7 million for local scholarships nationally.
The Scholar follows 10 high school seniors as they compete for a full university scholarship at the school of their choice (up to $240,000). The Broad Foundation funds the top prize; Wal-Mart funds secondary scholarships for show contestants. Wal-Mart also buys ad time and provides merchandise, including dorm room gear, for the show. (Wal-Mart has a microsite on ABC.com, with a virtual tour of a dorm room outfitted with Wal-Mart merchandise.) The six-week series began June 6. Bernstein-Rein Advertising, Kansas City, Mo, handles the tie-in for Wal-Mart.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart has earmarked $6.9 million for scholarships to be given this summer through its Sam Walton Community Scholarships program. The funds are distributed as $1,000 to $25,000 scholarships in communities with one of 3,700 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores.
Bentonville, AR-based Wal-Mart has a history of giving local scholarships; the retailer has awarded more than $100 million to students and schools nationally.
“The Scholar is a natural fit with our own values and philosophy, and is why we made the decision to work with ABC as a major sponsor,” said Wal-Mart & Sam’s Club Foundation Executive Director Betsy Reithemeyer in a statement.
Separately, Wal-Mart execs said last week at the chain’s annual meeting that Wal-Mart will broaden its appeal to higher-income consumers in an effort to spur sales. To do that, Wal-Mart plans to upgrade its selection of household goods and apparel, and enable its merchandise buyers to work more closely with product development staffers. Same-store sales rose 2.5% in May; Wal-Mart had expected a sales increase of 2% to 4%. System wide sales rose 9.3% to $23.4 billion for the four weeks ended May 27, 2005.
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