For Lowe’s, 2021 marked a historic milestone - the 100th birthday of a company that has grown from a small-town hardware store to one of the largest home improvement retailers in the world. The company’s heritage puts the people in a community at the heart of everything it does. From its unwavering support in the wake of natural disasters to its commitment to helping small businesses during the pandemic, Lowe's understands the important role its stores have always played for communities in need.
Lowe’s marked its centennial by giving back in a big way with a national platform. The company’s perspective is that it is their responsibility as a large employer to invest in the communities they serve.
This is why in March 2021, Lowe’s announced a $10 million commitment to address critical community needs through a new program called 100 Hometowns. This program invited Americans nationwide to nominate their hometown projects, from youth centers to shelters to veteran service centers, wherever their local communities may be.
To get the word out, the team focused on generating broad-scale national and local awareness of its commitment through amplified storytelling of 100 impact projects across communications platforms. They took an approach that inspired and encouraged people to come together and improve their communities for the better, while creating a link to Lowe’s centennial celebration and how the company is driving change as an invested community partner.
The far-reaching challenges of the pandemic created a massive opportunity to pay closer attention to the needs of neighbors and communities. By identifying those opportunities and supporting meaningful projects, Lowe’s set out to demonstrate its commitment to make homes – and hometowns – better for all.
In order to amplify the program and drive participation, Lowe’s built its creative execution for 100 Hometowns on three major moments.
March 2021: Create a major launch moment to kick off Lowe’s centennial celebration and announce the 100 Hometowns program, while inspiring consumers to nominate a project and mobilize community members to change their hometowns for the better.
Execute an integrated communications plan spanning earned, owned, and paid channels that drives home the message of Lowe’s community commitment.
Lean into the emotional story of one highly authentic celebrity with a background and passion for charitable giving to generate excitement, extend reach, and drive submissions.
Lowe’s launched the program with country music superstar Kane Brown, who previously worked as a store associate at Lowe’s in Hixson, TN and even began practicing his vocals while working in the paint department. Brown experienced homelessness as a child and is deeply passionate about honoring his personal journey.
July 2021: Unveil 100 Hometowns projects selected from thousands of nominations and share stories of possibility.
Demonstrate the potential within each 100 Hometowns project and how Lowe’s will help make a positive impact through its investments and actions on each project.
Generate multi-channel conversations, as well as secure additional earned media, nationally and locally, that adds context and emotion.
Introduce media to the 100 Hometowns project nominators and community leaders to develop consumer interest.
Late summer and fall 2021: Culminate 100 Hometowns – and Lowe’s centennial - story by generating excitement for the projects’ milestone moments.
Prove Lowe’s authentic commitment by revisiting projects across the 100 Hometowns program and celebrating their unique renovations.
Amplify project stories through earned media outreach, social media content, and paid media partnerships.
Demonstrate the impact with dramatic before and after images and interviews with beneficiaries.
March Launch
The 100 Hometowns launch delivered 600 earned media placements, 400M+ media impressions and 100% positive media sentiment.
Lowe's owned social channels earned 1.8M impressions, 217K engagements, and 1,000 click-throughs to the program site.
In the first hours of Kane Brown's posts on Twitter and Facebook, they earned 306K impressions and 129.9K engagements.
Together, these efforts resulted in 2,200+ qualified project submissions.
July Unveil
On July 20, Lowe’s revealed projects selected for 100 Hometowns, featuring a diverse array of beneficiaries and project types.
Secured 200+ placements and 555M impressions
Since the March launch, paid + organic social earned 14.3M impressions, 1.9M engagements and a 13.72% engagement rate, 3.4 bps above the FY21 average engagement rate.
Total Campaign Results
100 Hometowns surpassed the team’s goals and kept Lowe’s in headlines and minds.
5.1B+ earned media impressions
2,600 news stories across nearly every media vertical.
599k total engagements and 3.2M impressions for posts on Lowe’s owned social channels, plus an engagement rate of 18.24%, which is 1.75x higher than the company’s FY2021 average.
Overall, more than 1.3 million people from diverse backgrounds were positively impacted.
Continuing this momentum, the company announced Lowe’s Hometowns in March 2022, a five-year, $100 million community impact program. Lowe’s largest-ever commitment of its kind, each year from 2022 through 2026, Lowe’s will complete nearly 1,800 impact projects, including 100 signature projects chosen from consumer nominations, and nearly 1,700 projects selected by Lowe’s stores across the country.
