Is Your Brand on Track for Holiday Retail Programs?

It may feel like summer is just beginning, but, for consumer brands aiming to capture holiday momentum at major retailers like Walmart, planning for big holiday retail programs, including Halloween and Black Friday and beyond, is already in full swing. These promotional windows represent some of the highest-volume and highest-stakes selling opportunities of the year, and success begins now, months before products hit shelves.

At Bay Cities, we’re already working hand-in-hand with our brand partners and retail stakeholders to align campaign strategies, packaging, and displays with long-lead retail calendars. Because, in seasonal retail, timing is everything, and our proactive, boots-on-the-ground planning ensures brands not only meet deadlines but shine when it counts most. 

Understanding Retail Timelines: Why Planning Starts Now

Retailers operate with complex, tightly orchestrated calendars, especially for cross category, strategic coordinated “Feature Campaigns” like Halloween and Annual Event (Walmart’s internal term for Black Friday). Once a brand is selected to participate, the clock starts ticking. There are creative approvals, vendor setup, display prototyping, and shipping coordination to manage – often within just 60 to 90 days. 

But in many cases, planning begins much earlier. At Bay Cities, we often initiate rendering and CAD work as early as January for programs that activate in Q4. We help brands proactively create visual renderings months in advance to increase their chances of selection and readiness for seasonal holiday feature campaigns. 

Making Brands Look Good: Your Trusted Guide from Concept to Execution

Once selected for a feature campaign, whether it's a brand's first time participating in a Walmart seasonal retail program or whether they’re an experienced supplier, navigating retail programs can feel overwhelming. That’s where Bay Cities steps in. We serve as the executional bridge between supplier and retailer, ensuring every stakeholder stays aligned and on schedule.  

“Often, when a brand gets awarded a program, they are both excited and scared,” explained Bay Cities Account Manager Jason Robinson. “Bay Cities steps in as a reassuring, experienced partner that enables brands to execute confidently and competently. We're going to help the sell-through; we’re going to help the brand build a relationship with the merchant; we’re going to help the brand impress everyone.”   

Here’s how we support our clients every step of the way: 

• Time and Action Calendars (TACs): Custom-built roadmaps outlining every milestone, deliverable, and deadline.
• Creative & CAD Services: Display renderings and mock-ups that elevate brand visibility and drive merchant buy-in. 
• Campaign Tracking Tools: Real-time progress dashboards to monitor inbound goods, production status, and shipping schedules. 
• Direct Merchant Relationships: Our presence in Bentonville, Arkansas (Walmart’s headquarters) enables us to quickly align with Walmart's planning teams and timelines. 

Direct Merchant Relationships and Local Presence

Bay Cities has a dedicated office in Bentonville, Arkansas specifically to support Walmart. When we launched this Bentonville division of Bay Cities, our explicit goal was to become an ambassador to Walmart/for Walmart’s features campaigns.  

When asked what it takes to be successful with Walmart, Zac Freeman, Director, Walmart Team, Harvest Group, advised, “Do the little things well. That can be getting the right team together, getting the right partners together – Bay Cities is a good example of a good partner to leverage at Walmart. I cannot overstate the need to execute with excellence. You can’t do any of the cool stuff if you don't do the little stuff right.”   

We are called on to support so many of Walmart’s consolidated/multi-vendor feature campaigns because: 

• We not only work with the supplier community, buying teams, planners, and order specialists, we also coordinate closely with personnel in Walmart Logistics and Walmart Warehouse Admin to plan, design, develop, manufacture and execute these feature campaigns at Walmart.   
• We are a direct manufacturer so we control our own destiny with respect to timing as it pertains to materials and the packout and assembly of those supplier products and materials.  
• We have an entire BC360 division dedicated to the nuances associated with the vendor agreements, sequencing numbers, item setup, and shipper creation required for Multi-Vendor and Cross-Category features.  
• We have a Transportation Team dedicated to supporting and scheduling with Walmart Transportation.  
• We manage all campaigns – that is to say, we provide Time and Action Calendars outlining key milestones in support of critical dates associated with each campaign.  
• Using our “Daily Tracker” we provide regular reporting to campaign leads which outlines targeted dates for inbounds received and percentage of displays produced/shipped by program. We use color coding to indicate status based upon where we see potential risk, which provides a broader snapshot of the overall launch across each campaign. We use this tool to maintain regular communication with event leads regarding status or to escalate an action items in an organized manner.  
• Using our “Shipper Creation Tracker,” we provide a report with real time updates as to where things reside with shipper creation and order generation.  
• With our local team, we can host walk-throughs, perform ISTA testing, and/or deliver prototypes to the LOC for review. 

Logistics that Deliver – Literally

Successful execution isn't just about printing displays, it’s about getting them on shelf on time. Bay Cities’ integrated freight management division, BC Logistics, gives our partners a critical edge during peak shipping seasons: 

• Prepaid Freight Advantage: As more brands shift from Walmart-managed (collect) to supplier-managed (prepaid) freight, we offer full transparency, reduced transit windows, and precise control from warehouse to distribution center. 
• Avoiding the “Black Hole”: Our logistics teams work tirelessly to avoid “center points” and ensure product flows directly to the right DCs, mitigating delays and product loss. 
• On-Time Confidence: We maintain a near-perfect record in meeting Walmart’s MABD (Must Arrive By Date) targets. 

“Prepaid gives brands extra inbound time, better sell-through, and higher confidence,” Bay Cities Sales Executive Ken Williams shared. “And we handle everything—cost-effectively and transparently.” 

Always Adding Value

While some events like Annual Event follow a tightly controlled style guide, that doesn’t mean Bay Cities steps back. We contribute value through operational excellence, retail compliance expertise, and smart cost efficiencies. 

And for other events like Halloween or Spring resets, where more creative freedom is allowed, we unleash our full design team to build displays that "WOW” both merchants and consumers. 

“When the brand succeeds, the retailer succeeds,” said Jason. “And we’re there to make sure that happens – through guidance, structure, and decades of experience.” 

Don’t Miss the Window

Seasonal retail programs don’t wait. If your brand is eyeing placement for Fall or Q4 events, the time to act is now. Missed deadlines lead to missed shelves, and missed shelves mean missed sales. 

With Bay Cities, you gain a partner who knows the playbook, speaks the language of Walmart merchants, and will guide you from concept through to in-store success. Contact us to start planning today.