Home Depot begins first campaign for Chinese Canada

Home Depot has launched its first multicultural marketing campaign to help its Cantonese-speaking consumers prepare for the Chinese New Year.

The effort, running only in Richmond, B.C., includes print, TV, in-store signage and radio as well as in-store events like do-it-yourself workshops.

The retail giant is also offering free traditional Cantonese favours like personalized Fei Chun banners that offer messages of good luck and Lai See money envelopes.

Home Depot launched the campaign in Richmond because of its large Cantonese-speaking community, said Peg Hunter, vice-president of marketing and communications for The Home Depot Canada.

“We saw there were limited home improvement resources available in Cantonese and wanted to bring this knowledge to the community,” she said.

Hunter said connecting with consumers in a meaningful way and providing them with the tools and know-how to complete their home improvement is a must for its business.

“By reaching out to a group of consumers that we haven’t directly communicated with before, and doing so in their native language, we hope to build strong relationships with the local Cantonese-speaking community while giving them the confidence to invest in their most important asset–their homes,” she said. “As a result of the campaign, we hope that the Cantonese-speaking community will have the confidence to complete their home improvement projects.”

A second multicultural campaign focusing on the South Asian population in Brampton, Ont., launched earlier this month.

This effort also includes do-it-yourself workshops, in-store signage and bag stuffers, in addition to local ads in Hindi and Punjabi.

“We will continue to look at how to bring similar multicultural campaigns to other communities across Canada,” said Hunter. 

Both efforts were developed with Publicis Diversitē.