People who have been negatively affected by 2008 hurricanes, like Hurivane Ike, may not even have a house to go home to anymore. Lowes has acknowledged this unforunate reality for victims of such natural disasters, and wants to make a difference.
Throughout the country, Lowes stores are now official donation sites for the American Red Cross 2008 Relief efforts. In order to help the American Red Cross provide food and shelter to families who have been affected by hurricanes, Lowes is matching each customer's donations up to $250,000!!
This is a powerful announcement for Lowes, especially during a time when many people's lives have been altered by hurricanes. It is important for this company to make this action known across the country, especially from a Public Relations perspective. When looking on the Lowes website, I found a link that took me to a page about this new annoncement. It included links to how-to videos that provided services preparing people future disasters, such as, building a hurricane shelter, creating a weather checklist etc...
The question is, are people aware of Lowes efforts? Are they using efficient Public Relations techniques to publicize this announcement?
Personally, I had no idea that Lowes was aiding the American Red Cross' hurrican relief efforts, until I looked on their website.
But what about people who don't visit the Lowes website on a regular basis?
(eh hem...Like they should...)
Not everyone is a crazy Lowes fan like me!! =)
When I searched online about Lowes' announcement, a few hits did show up online, such as, Marketwatch.com, redcross.com, msn.com, prnewswire.com, pressconnects.com, and yahoo.com. This shows that Lowes was successful at getting their story out there and publicizing.
When I saw that msn.com had an article on this announcement, I thought that this was wise PR, because so many people visit msn.com, and so many people have an email accound with msn.com. This means that the story will have a good chance at having a lot of exposure to the public.
It is clear that good Public Relations techniques are being utilized for this company, however there are a few things that I would have done differently. I would have suggested making it more known to the public by creating pamphlets including information about Lowes efforts upon each Lowes purchase when you visit a store. Perhaps suggest sending information cards in the mail to customers, telling them that they can help out families in need by simply visiting Lowes.
If you would like to join Lowe’s hurricane relief efforts, you may visit any Lowe’s store to make a donation, call 1-800-REDCROSS or visit www.redcross.org.
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