Winner: Golin/Harris International
Campaign: Lowe's Great Safety Adventure
Budget: $280,000
Accidental injuries are the leading cause of death among children under 14. And more than 4.5 million children are hurt each year in their homes. For three years now, Lowe's
has been working to reverse that statistic with its Great Safety Adventure (GSA), a mobile exhibit that travels to schools, public venues and Lowe's stores. The exhibit includes a
life-sized "house" with living room, kitchen, backyard, bathroom and bedroom - and all the inherent dangers that exist in these places. GSA staffers teach kids and their
caregivers how to avoid these injuries.
In 2001, the campaign was heading into its third year, challenging Golin/Harris to make the cause newsworthy in the markets it visited. "We were going back to some of the same
markets," says Elana Tapper, SAE with the PR firm. "The media are all the same, and people think they know all about home safety." In years past, the team pitched the event
itself, but they weren't sure that would garner the same coverage results.
So in 2001, the team promoted the Internet as an effective resource for kids. Golin/Harris launched CodeRedRover.org, an interactive kids Web site (which remains up) that
includes a virtual tour of the GSA exhibit.
To build attendance at Lowe's store events on the weekends, the team created a contest for elementary school kids allowing them to become honorary "crew members" at the GSA for
a day. Winning classrooms' pictures were featured on the Web site.
Impressive results include an increase in store event visits in 2001 from 221 events in January and February to an average 386 in November and December. More than two thirds of
those GSA store visits resulted in an increase in total sales dollar volume and higher demand for safety-related products.
There also were 33 million media impressions in 2001. But most impressive of all is that GSA has recorded its second life-save. A six-year-old visited GSA at her elementary
school and came home to discuss a fire safety plan with her parents. The next night, the house caught fire, and she and her family escaped and met at her designated meeting spot.
"Those results are what keep us excited about this program" which is ongoing, Tapper says. (Tapper: [email protected])