An environmental group hoped to upstage Home Depot CEO Frank Blake at the company's annual meeting Thursday, and for a moment it succeeded.
A member inside the meeting unfurled a banner and repeatedly chanted, "Dam Home Depot. Protect the rivers of Chile," before being thrown out by security officers. He was sent by International Rivers, which opposes a dam in Chile and thinks Home Depot can help stop it. The group had promised "highly visible action" to call attention to the issue.
But Atlanta-based Home Depot had a highly visible response. Within hours the company posted a video on YouTube telling its side of the story.
On it, Ron Jarvis, vice president of environmental innovation, explains Home Depot's stance: Companies with an interest in the dam project have a distant relationship with Home Depot wood suppliers in the region. But Home Depot, he said, does not buy any wood directly from the proposed dam's site.
The video shows that social media can work for corporations as well as activists, said Ken Bernhardt, a Georgia State University marketing professor. "Putting a response on YouTube is a very smart thing for Home Depot to do," said Bernhardt. "When people bring it to their attention, they can refer people to YouTube. And they've controlled the message to a greater degree than they can with traditional media."
• To check out the video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8I6i2JOhuA
• To watch a video from International Rivers, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/internationalrivers
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