The Path to Pro Program is an extension of The Home Depot’s commitment to supporting decent work and economic growth in the trade industry. At a time when the U.S. is facing a critical shortage of skilled tradespeople, the Path to Pro offers scholarships, training, and networking opportunities for both employers and laborers. This brief asked us to drive general awareness to this employment gap and inspire young men and women of all backgrounds to join the trades.

Make pro tradespeople seem just as cool, and just as impressive, as pro athletes.

The NFL and college postseasons engage both young, aspiring/future pros and the public in general and make for an ideal backdrop and inspiration. We optimized NFL and college media placements and designed a campaign that drew a simple but dramatic parallel between the trades and athletics.

We ran TV and social content during postseason NFL and college games. We dropped into football discussions with a Reddit takeover, appeared in YouTube pre-rolls, and created a series of TikToks styled as athlete hype videos to highlight specific pros and trades. Just like football, every element of our work was gritty and authentic, from real-life college and pro players running real drills to real-life tradespeople on real-life job sites.

The results were immediate: 5,000 people visited the Path to Pro website on day 1, and over 1 million people viewed it during the course of the campaign – that’s a 908% increase in traffic. Job applications hit a record high and registrations increased by 384% – another record high.