Case Study: The Home Depot
Serving as our first nationally recognized and spanning client, Home Depot as a brand synonymous with masculinity and physical labor, wished for advertising material in a new direction that encouraged younger women, new homeowners, and BIPOC to consider Home Depot as the place for their home improvement needs. Home Depot also wished to popularize how much they integrate into and assist the local communities they place themselves in through acts such as providing jobs, remaining overall sustainable, materials to local nonprofits, and financial donations to those same non profits.within the targeted communities.
Our Work
Over the course of the semester, the cohort conducted field research and met with the client. Through these meetings and interviewing shoppers alongside considering their own young adult experiences, the cohort produced multiple resources for The Home Depot such as infographics, live action footage, animations, a resource toolkit, and a website all to assist The Home Depot in the production of further advertising materials.
Deliverable 1: “Making your house a forever home”
This animation serves to show audiences the possibilities Home Depot can provide to BIPOC general consumers and homeowners. The narrative is told through the eyes of fictional Kimora who is a black thirty year old new homeowner. Through her, the viewer can learn more about how by shopping with Home Depot, growing financial insecurities can be staved off through their prices.
The animation also discusses the importance of The Home Depot Homeowner’s Hub and how the provided resources further helped Kimora save and allow her children future financial freedom.
Deliverable 2: New Frontiers of Sustainability Competition
The New Frontiers of Sustainability Competition was a competition in which graduate and undergraduate students across the country were challenged with creating cutting-edge, sustainable designs for tiny homes. The created website showcases the importance of this competition in the first text box describing The Home Depot’s wish to continue to support “the integration of sustainability and innovation in architecture” through their awarded financial scholarships.
Deliverable 3 - Home Depot is Everywhere
This skit serves as a reminder of the lengths The Home Depot will go to amicably assimilate into communities across the United States. The team responsible created a comprehensive storyboard for the project and expanded upon it in the final released video. Throughout the skit, the narrator goes through their small community, where in the end it is revealed that each aspect they walked through was assisted by the local Home Depot.
The Toolkit for Impact is a resource that showcases the positive consequences of Home Depot’s presence in a given community, through the lens of an elementary school, otherwise unable to open without The Home Depot’s assistance. The tool kit also provides a plethora of other Home Depot related sources further aiding in the community centric image The Home Depot hopes for. These related sources include multiple infographics further specifying objectives, insights, and utilized social media templates this campaign captures alongside highlighting specific shoppers and their personal lives. The website also includes an opinion article further illustrating the togetherness Home Depot wishes to feel with each of its communities.
Conclusion
The Cohort is pleased to report that resources such as the New Frontiers of Sustainability website were received positively with only minimal notes. Other presented ideas have found themselves influential to those within Home Depot and see relevance when attempting to further construct their brand image as Sustainable, community driven, and diverse. Through our working relationship, SOC3 gained critical work experience, which required adaptability, creativity, and collaboration. This growth and process is the backbone of SOC3’s mission which we hope to give back to our future clients.
Testimonials
I’m inspired by the next generation of PR leaders at American University’s student-run integrated communications agency, SOC3. - I had the pleasure of working with them this semester as they developed innovative campaigns, toolkits, digital content, and more that will bring to life some of hashtag#HomeDepot’s most impactful stories.
Sarah McDonald: Director, Public Affairs at The Home Depot
Getting to see the next generation of PR pros in action this week left me invigorated for the future! I may have been virtual but that didn’t stop me from taking in the great work of the student-run agency (SOC3)from American University. The future of PR and Comms is bright with students like this entering the field!
Stephanie Meyering: Sr. Manager, Brand Communications at The Home Depot
