The Home Depot Canada has unveiled a new platform that aims to represent the satisfaction DIYers get from ticking off all the tasks on their to-do lists.
In the “Do to Done” kickoff spot, a woman tackles her ready-for-Spring backyard chores, from building planters to installing a new barbecue. As she moves through her tasks with tools, materials and video tutorials from the retailer, each DIY item ticks over from “do” to “done” using the logo’s orange box as a checklist.
The message is a reinforcement of the brand’s tagline “How Doers Get More Done,” first introduced in 2019, says Lauren Michell, senior director of marketing and advertising at The Home Depot Canada.
Michell tells strategy the creative, handled by FCB Canada, is inspired by the notion that many Canadians have home reno to-do lists that can be daunting, but The Home Depot has what they need in order to finish them.
“We thought the ‘do to done’ device was a really interesting visualization of projects using orange boxes,” Michell says. “We all know when we tick off a box on a long to-do list, there’s a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.”
She adds that demand from both the pro and DIY side of its business has remained steady. A greater focus on people improving their homes during pandemic lockdowns has remained – in some cases, the result of those daunting to-do lists still needing to get done – but there has also been a lot of new home ownership, growth in multi-generational homes and families deciding to reinvest in making their home right for them for the long term.
Spring is The Home Depot’s busiest time of year, and many people can relate to an April thaw revealing work to do be done, as seen in the hero spot. But according to Michell, The Home Depot wanted a big brand idea that had legs and extended past this season, which the retailer could continue to build upon and to grow from an equity standpoint.
“Our work over the past few years with FCB has been focused on shifting our mass campaign from product to brand, taking people from a functional to more of an emotional place,” she says. “Products are still front and centre, but it’s more about purposefully weaving them into our project stories and showcasing how The Home Depot can empower and enable Canadians to complete them from an interconnected experience.”
The integrated campaign in both official languages is running until May 23, and includes TV, OLV, social, print and in-store, and an internal employee video. TV media was managed by UM and all digital media was planned and executed through The Home Depot Canada’s internal digital team, a process shift that’s been three years in the making.
According to Michell, The Home Depot really wanted an integrated approach that supported an interconnected experience between in-store, mobile and delivery, as well as YouTube and social media inspiration, aiming at a millennial audience that is exploring and learning.
“We didn’t significantly increase our media spend this year, but we did find new ways to connect the platform through owned channels as well as other campaigns which would make it feel more robust,” Michell adds.
