The Home Depot

Retool Your School Trivia Campaign

Gamified experiential campaign designed to drive sustained HBCU student engagement through physical + digital interaction.

Project Overview

  • Client: The Home Depot

  • Program: Retool Your School

  • Role: Experiential Creative Lead

  • Scope: Campaign Strategy, Creative Direction, Merchandise System, Engagement Architecture

  • Duration: Multi-week (4–10 week format)

  • Audience: HBCU students nationwide

The Challenge

The Home Depot sought to increase student engagement and program registration for its Retool Your School initiative across HBCU campuses. The objective was to create a culturally relevant campaign that would drive consistent weekly participation — not just one-time awareness.

The campaign needed to:

  • Generate sustained student excitement

  • Encourage recurring engagement over multiple weeks

  • Integrate physical merchandise with digital registration

  • Reinforce school pride and community competition

  • Build brand affinity within the HBCU community

Strategic Insight

Gen Z audiences respond to gamification, exclusivity, and identity-driven participation. Instead of a traditional awareness campaign, we developed a structured trivia ecosystem that transformed Retool Your School into a recurring campus ritual.

The goal was to create anticipation every week — combining competition, culture, and curated rewards to drive measurable engagement.

The Solution

Physical + Digital Integration

  • Branded prize boxes featuring Home Depot products

  • Influencer welcome kits

  • QR-based registration system

  • Social-first weekly engagement rollout

Merchandise System

  • Varsity-inspired jackets

  • Custom headwear

  • Branded accessories and curated prize bundles

Each item functioned as wearable marketing — extending campaign visibility across campuses.

Campaign Framework

  • 4–10 week interactive trivia format

  • Weekly themed challenges

  • Individual Mystery Box prizes + rotating Big School Box

  • Mandatory digital registration funnel

Leadership & Execution

  • Developed overall campaign architecture

  • Defined creative direction across touchpoints

  • Built prize sourcing and merchandise strategy

  • Structured student registration flow

  • Oversaw visual consistency and production timelines

    Impact

  • Designed a scalable engagement model for sustained participation

  • Strengthened brand affinity within the HBCU community

  • Elevated Retool Your School into an interactive campus experience

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