Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

Wal-Mart on Wednesday (Sept. 3) launched what it dubbed the Walmart Smart Network—a series of next-generation digital-ad systems—to 2,700 stores. The funky aspect of this rollout is that all 27,000 screens will be centrally controlled via an Internet Protocol Television connection.

In theory, this will allow content to be adjusted based on a virtually endless list of criteria and could be tweaked on a per-store, per-screen and time-of-day basis, said officials with Wal-Mart, who seem to be unsure when they’re Wal-Mart and when they’re Walmart. (Both were used.) “Every screen and every message has a purpose and we will be analyzing point of sale data on an ongoing basis,” said Stephen Quinn, chief marketing officer, Walmart Stores, U.S..