Driving decreased during the pandemic. And less driving meant car owners took fewer trips to NAPA AutoCare centers to get their cars serviced. We needed to get them thinking about the brand when their cars were sitting in their garages, not ours.

When the fashion industry turned the jumpsuit into the hottest new look, NAPA decided to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. Because the only people who have earned the right to rock this look are the mechanics who work it every day at 16,000 NAPA AutoCare garages.

So, we created “Jumpsuit by NAPA,” a fashion brand designed to turn wrenches, not heads. While models were “working it” during New York Fashion Week, we dropped our jumpsuits on the public, celebrating NAPA mechanics who make hard work their signature style. Our retail site sold out in the first hour. So, we made more jumpsuits, and they sold out even faster. We introduced an entirely new audience to NAPA KNOW HOW, and used the latest fashion trend to get NAPA AutoCare trending.

During the pandemic, U.S. driving miles fell by two-thirds. And Americans working from home saved 60 million commuter hours a day. Less driving meant fewer reasons to interact with the NAPA AutoCare brand. We needed to create a reason to interact with car owners beyond the oil change and expand our audience in the process. Everyone with a car is a potential NAPA AutoCare customer. But not every car owner is familiar with the brand.

To take “Jumpsuit by NAPA” out of the garage and into the spotlight, we launched a social campaign that drove traffic to our retail site. There, you could do more than order a jumpsuit. You could also find the location of an AutoCare center near you. And, to surprise and delight, everyone who ordered a jumpsuit could add a personalized patch featuring their name. To create additional buzz, we sent “Jumpsuit by NAPA” to influencers, as well as NASCAR champion Chase Elliott, his pit crew and other professional drivers.

Social engagement rose by 50% during the two-week run. Search for NAPA AutoCare locations rose by 78%. And jumpsuit demand outpaced supply. While we were getting a new audience talking about NAPA AutoCare, something amazing happened. The actual mechanics who work at NAPA garages rallied around the idea, and took great pride in the fact that we were making their hard work fashionable.