After a Corporate DEI Rollback, Lowe's Is Focusing on 'Togetherness'

Lowe’s has committed to physically improving 10 million square feet of community spaces across the U.S. over the next year. It’s a move its chief marketing officer (CMO), Jennifer Wilson, hopes can position the brand as a “unifier.”

Through “10 Million Square Feet of Impact,” the home improvement company and its 300,000 employees will rebuild everything from neighborhood parks to community gardens and food pantries. The pledge builds on the retailer’s Lowe’s Hometowns initiative, a five-year, $100 million program that invests in 100 large-scale community projects and 1,700 staff-selected initiatives annually.

“This sort of give back is special,” said Wilson, saying the 100-year-old retailer wanted to find a way to measure and “put a wrapper” around its brand purpose: to solve customers’ problems and fulfill dreams for their homes.

“That’s how [this platform] was born. It was the notion that, foot by foot and inch by inch, we could rebuild America and look to be a unifier in a time when togetherness is a really important thing in our country right now.”

It will be backed by a 360-degree campaign, “We’re Here To Help,” which spans social, TV, streaming, radio, and NFL games. The work shows Lowe’s employees getting their hands dirty and helping with disaster relief efforts, renovations, and more.

A content hub will update on Lowe’s milestones, showcasing the square footage transformed through its work.

DEI Rollbacks

Lowe’s focus on unifying a divided U.S. comes less than a year after the business joined others such as Target and Ford in rolling back its corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments.

Having previously been hailed as a champion in the space, in August 2024, Lowe’s collapsed its diverse employee resource groups into one. It also removed itself from the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) annual LGBTQ+ employee inclusion survey.

The U-turns prompted praise from conservative activists and criticism from LGBTQ+ individuals and allies.

Wilson said diversity and inclusion were “inherently integrated” into Lowe’s renewed sense of purpose, through its roots in community rebuilds. However, she stressed that the “We’re Here to Help” campaign or corresponding pledge were not created based on customer feedback to Lowe’s DEI updates.

“That’s not really linked to the impetus for this. We’re always listening to our customers, but it hasn’t been integrated into the ‘why’ behind this campaign,” she said.

“Diversity and inclusion are a critical belief systems for Lowe’s, and our belief system is that we want to be here for all and serve all. And we believe home is the unifier for that,” she added.

Lowe’s reviewed its DEI initiatives after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in college admissions, and conservative backlash against businesses that championed DEI mounted.

Since then, directives from President Donald Trump have squashed DEI initiatives in the federal government and impacted programs at businesses ranging from Amazon to Verizon.

In a statement, a Lowe’s spokesperson told ADWEEK it had “always been a leader” in supporting the communities it served, adding: “The ’10 Million Square Feet of Impact’ campaign is our latest initiative to fulfill this mission.”

The company said its commitment to DEI was embedded in its values. “We’re proud of our accomplishments and we will continue to strive to cultivate a workplace that reflects the customers and communities where we operate and where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and respected,” added the spokesperson.

Measuring up

Wilson said social listening would be a key tool in measuring the impact of “We’re Here To Help.”

The brand will track how customers feel about its community work, along with its share of voice on platforms like X and Meta. Engagement with its content hub will also be a KPI.

Millennials and Gen Z-ers are a key target audience, and the brand will be monitoring how it tracks with these demographics.

“They want brands to be giving back and supporting the causes that are important to them, and we know that local and rebuilding communities is very high on their radar,” Wilson said.

“We want to measure the impact on our brand from a consumer perspective,” she added, saying this will include insights into perception around the brand and what it stands for versus competitors.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based retailer has predicted sales of $83.5 billion and $84.5 billion for 2025, forecasting flat growth of 1%.