CREATIVE INNOVATION

Built-in Pins

We wanted to give first time homeowners the confidence to move beyond just inspiration pin boards and turn their “befores” into their very own “afters.” So we created Built-in Pins, a series of Pin-worthy rooms literally built from scratch, inside a Pin. For the first time, people could see every step of their inspiration brought to life, and with the first shoppable 360-degree experience in Pinterest, people could shop the products directly within the platform. And we created more than 1,500 pieces of content with full-funnel media strategies to drive conversion.

SOCIAL CONTENT

Platform-first Expertise

From TikTok to Meta, and everything in between, our team has deep expertise in creating content that’s purpose-built for each platform, and rooted in audience data and insights. We understand that channel and platform nuance matters when creating breakthrough content that will drive impact. However, our model is also built to scale, understanding that brands have a need to create relevant, engaging content across multiple audience journeys and channels. That’s why strategy, creative, and production are integrated from the start, so that we can maximize content output across creative considerations including sound, graphics, length, ratios, etc. - to allow brands to make the most of their assets. 

AUDIENCE CREATIVE AT SCALE

Remodelers

With more and more people renovating their homes during the pandemic, The Home Depot wanted to showcase their ability to support and encourage all kinds of homeowners across their full remodeling journey. But every remodeler is as unique as the remodel itself. We developed the creative platform, “You’ve Never Been More Ready” and then scaled the idea across 6 different consumer journeys with personalized content tailored to each channel and type of remodeler, whether they leaned DIYer, Do-it-for-me, or somewhere in between. With a 5 day production, the result was over 270 pieces of content, including 17 Videos, with personalized messaging across our unique remodeler personas, touching on each phase of the remodeler journey. 

MAILCHIMP x TRADE SCHOOL

Embed Services

Mailchimp has an incredible in-house agency, but content demands were outpacing internal capacity. In order to help them scale, Trade School built a custom team - spanning strategy, creative, technical copywriting, production, and PM - that integrated directly into Mailchimp’s creative team to help tell their story and promote their extensive suite of tools for small businesses.

Our work together spanned email, social content, website landing pages, long-form articles, and production of live events, including the Mailchimp E-commerce Masterclass Series. Across all lines of business, we collectively developed streamlined workflow processes, and plugged directly into Mailchimp’s tools and systems (including Workfront, Figma, Slack, and a shared secure Google server), to enable seamless collaboration across teams.

EPISODIC STORYTELLING

Respect the Hustle

In order to help FedEx scale their approach to video content for their core small business audience, we developed a repeatable framework that would guide content creation - “Respect the Hustle.” This YouTube docuseries highlights small business owners that embody different aspects of “hustle” and that rely on FedEx to grow their business. The concept purposefully requires only a lean production crew, and can be scaled across an endless number of SMB stories.

PARTNERING WITH CREATORS

Influencer Practice

Trade School has an Influencer Marketing team of 18 people, who managed more than 330 influencer partnerships this year. We create custom and scalable programs—ranging from Influencer-led UGC campaigns to fully scripted, agency-produced episodic series.

For example, we were tasked to help The Home Depot reach a younger audience, we created an episodic YouTube series that tapped into the insight that young homeowners are prone to more mistakes as they navigate home projects for the first time. We worked with influencer talent Mike Montgomery to create a show that would teach DIYers how to fix their most common mistakes with approachable, entertaining content. The show was so successful, it’s currently going into concepting for the third season.

PARTNERING WITH CREATORS

VRBO Home Makeover

Our Vrbo Home Makeover activation tapped three design-focused influencers to transform a vacation rental home, located in the picturesque Berkshire mountains, into an ultimate vacation retreat using decor exclusively available at The Home Depot.

More than 14 media outlets had a behind-the-scenes tour of the updated property and access to interview each influencer. Media coverage of the Vrbo home makeover was prominently featured in House Beautiful and People, among others, and included shoppable links for each area of the home to drive ecommerce sales.

DRIVING SCALE & PERSONALIZATION

Dynamic Creative Studio

One of Trade School’s unique offerings is our Dynamic capability which helps clients scale digital and social content creation efficiently, and accelerate speed to market. We’ve built a specialized team and custom workflow to achieve this high volume production, and leverage MarTech tools, automation, design systems, and adaptable templates to enable scale and personalization.