Audience in a dark movie theater facing a blue screen reading "BLACK& UNLIMITED"
Submitted by InfluentialAgency IPI Score 56/100

Walmart Black Founded Brands Big Screen Creator Campaign

Influencer Marketing

Influential ran a creator-led campaign for Walmart celebrating Black-founded brands, carrying creator content from Instagram and TikTok onto theater screens, and reports 76% ad recall.

76%Ad Recall
48%Top-Of-Mind Awareness
24%Brand Opinion
14%Future Consideration

Case in 60 seconds

Walmart set out to drive traffic and reach for the Black-founded brands available at Walmart, and Influential judged that content confined to social platforms would not deliver the deeper, longer-lasting impact it wanted.

The campaign turns on cultural pride rather than product claims, because Influential frames authentic creator storytelling about Black-founded brands as the source of connection, which a shared theater audience receives differently from a scrolling feed.

Influential treated creator content as material for any screen rather than as social-only posts, so the same storytelling that ran on Instagram and TikTok could reach theaters nationwide through NCM before movie trailers.

Creators produced Instagram and TikTok content celebrating Black-founded brands at Walmart, and Influential used Creator360 with NCM to air a spot starring Boyz II Men in theaters nationwide before official movie trailers.

Influential reports survey results of 76 % ad recall and a + 48 % lift in top-of-mind awareness, with Walmart reaching the #1 position in top-of-mind awareness among competitors.

Strategy Breakdown

Audiences across demographics on social and on the big screen, reached through creator channels on Instagram and TikTok and through theater audiences nationwide.
Walmart acts as the place where Black-founded brands are available rather than as the hero of the story, so the campaign positions the retailer as the route by which those founders reach shoppers.
A theater audience waiting for trailers gives a spot fuller attention than a feed does, so Influential placed creator content where it was more likely to be recalled, which fits the 76 % ad recall the agency reports.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Instagram
  • TikTok

Partners

  • Influential (lead agency)
  • NCM (National CineMedia) (media)
  • PubW
  • Contender Labs

Creator role

  • @itsmariahjae — creator
  • @dopefrais — creator
  • @mariahxashley — creator
  • @iamasadugger — creator
  • @mskaimichelle — creator
  • @bigheadjustice — creator
  • @mr.moxam — creator
  • @thecreatives4eva — creator
  • @obiojones — creator
  • @_gqtone — creator
  • @chyannadestinee — creator
  • @keeundra — creator
  • @khii.arii — creator
  • @foggieraw — creator
  • @alondra.leneisha — creator
  • Boyz II Men

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Ad Recall76%
Top-Of-Mind Awareness+ 48%
Brand Opinion+ 24%
Future Consideration+ 14%

Why Influential's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Placing creator content in the theater pre-show extends its life beyond the feed, because the audience meets it on a large screen in a seated setting rather than scrolling past it.

  2. 2

    Pairing creator content with a well-known music group gives a theater spot a familiar anchor, because audiences across demographics recognise the act while the creators supply the everyday storytelling.

Related Case studies