The Home Depot:
Shaq Yard
Since 2024, Octagon has brought Shaq-sized DIY energy to the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Four through The Home Depot’s Tool Shaq, an interactive workshop experience built around basketball culture. But as America’s eyes turned to the backyard ahead of the World Cup, our team was tasked with growing The Tool Shaq beyond the workshop and bringing the fan experience outside.
The Home Depot Shaq Yard blended the energy of spring basketball with Shaq’s ultimate backyard set up through a few key touchpoints:
“Let ‘Em Cook”
We gave fans a chance to step up to the heart of the backyard, the grill, and cook up custom branded merch with the help of the big guy himself. Fans could pick from various Shaq Yard designs to create their own Home Depot drip with heat presses designed to look like grills.
“Head-to-Head Hoops”
This basketball free throw challenge had fans go head-to-head to help us grow the Shaq Yard garden. After Shaq kicked off the competition, fans started shooting– with each made shot filling an accompanying screen with blooming flowers. Whoever grew the most flowers by the buzzer won a THD “buckets” hat and a congratulatory message from Shaq.
“The Tool Shaq”
An arts and crafts area designed around an open shed where young fans and adults alike built and decorated their very own mini basketball game craft with the help of Shaq via an interactive screen.
“How to Seed a Bracket”
We continued to grow the world’s first living bracket to include the round of 32. Made with 12,000 team-colored live roses from The Home Depot, the bracket added some outdoor flair through a patio set up to create a fresh photo opportunity for fans entering the space. The bracket was updated overnight as teams progressed throughout the men’s and women’s tournaments.
“Crash the Boards”
We incorporated surprises and interactive fixtures to keep fans engaged whether they were waiting in line or just wandering through the space. This drop-to-win mini game allowed fans to take a shot with Shaq for a chance to score a Home Depot Gift Card or an event exclusive yard gnome of The Home Depot’s mascot, “Phil the Bucket.”
Through Shaq Yard, we built on the success of the past activations while evolving the experience so that fans felt like they were stepping into a March Madness oasis. In total, our expanded footprint allowed us to host 75,500 fans over 15 days at the Men’s and Women’s Final Four, create 2.29M on-site brand impressions, and distribute over 17,000 premium items along the way. In a world filled with flashy, high-tech activations, we built something that fans could touch, grow, and help build with us – with a little help from the Big Man.
