Grand Home Furnishings
A Centennial Celebration: How Story and Community Fueled 8% Growth for Grand Home Furnishings
When Grand Home Furnishings, a Roanoke, Virginia-based furniture chain, was approaching its 100th year, McClure Marketing team members saw this milestone as much more than a date. We saw an opportunity to weave their century of service into a narrative that would resonate for years to come.
Our challenge was to honor their remarkable history while firmly positioning them for the future. We needed to move beyond simple sale messages and create a year-long celebration that reminded their community why Grand had endured for a century: exemplary service, quality, and a deep-rooted commitment to the neighborhoods they served.
The celebration launched with a six-week campaign built on a powerful, new core idea. Together with Grand’s leadership, we unveiled a tagline that perfectly captured their heart: “Making People Happy is What We Do Best.” This wasn’t just a slogan; it became the guiding principle for everything that followed.
This was more than an advertising campaign. The most impactful part of this story was the creation of the Grand Happiness Foundation. Grand was already a good corporate citizen, supporting charities in the communities they were a part of. We envisioned taking what was already a part of the company DNA and expanding it. So, we created a charitable initiative that brought the new tagline to life, with a mission to support women, children, and educational charities across Grand’s markets. Our goal was ambitious: “100 Gestures of Happiness” in one year.
This initiative was designed to be authentic and employee-driven. In each market, Grand’s teams suggested local charities they were personally passionate about. The company then donated furniture, cash or both. But the true magic happened when employees rolled up their sleeves and became part of the charitable giving by painting, cleaning and other hands-on efforts for their chosen charities. These weren’t just donations; they were shared experiences that strengthened Grand’s internal culture and its external bonds.
To introduce this powerful story to the community, we crafted a multi-channel launch strategy. We used a tailored mix of television commercials, from :30-second stories to :05-second reminders, to build frequent, warm-hearted awareness of Grand’s 100th Anniversary and their Happiness Foundation. Radio provided a localized voice, targeting specific audiences and neighborhoods to drive the message home.
We knew authentic stories deserved to be heard. Our team worked diligently to ensure Grand’s “100 Gestures” received local attention. Media partners were empowered to highlight the charitable work in their communities, securing meaningful coverage and interviews that celebrated Grand’s employees and the causes they supported. This turned local acts of kindness into powerful, organic brand testimonials.
The results spoke to the power of a story well told. At the close of the year-long campaign, Grand’s annual sales increased by 8% over the previous year.
More importantly, the campaign solidified Grand’s presence as a vital community pillar. It connected with customers on an emotional level, transforming Grand from a furniture store into a local champion. Internally, it ignited employee pride and camaraderie, as teams bonded over the happiness they created together. For Grand Home Furnishings, their 100th year wasn’t just a look back at history, it was the beginning of a vibrant new chapter.