SITUATION:
Wal-Mart sought to develop four shopping centers in the San Diego region which included Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. Due to negative publicity about Wal-Mart's effects on local small business and new litigation against Wal-Mart for predatory pricing, many community leaders and elected officials were opposed to the projects.
STRATEGY:
The developer hired Karen Hutchens to develop and implement a public affairs strategy to gain local approval and community support of the developments. We assessed community efforts in opposition to the developments and identified key messages which would be effective in building community support for the project.
Support was developed and resulted in petition signatures, letters of support from concerned citizens, and positive media coverage. Local community concerns were mitigated through community outreach and open dialog.
RESULT:
Each of the projects were approved by the City Council with only one dissenting vote due to the positioning of the projects and governmental and community relations work completed.
