True Value Brand Revival Launched, with 'Parks and Recreation' Star Nick Offerman in Leading Role

By Craig Webb

Nick Offerman

Do it Best revealed Sept. 5 it plans a major campaign to revive the True Value brand that will feature actor Nick Offerman. The effort fits into a larger marketing strategy that also includes other ways of promoting Do it Best members' brands in whatever way they want to be identified with the co-op.

Production for True Value's campaign will take place this fall, with advertising and social media slated to start early in 2026, Do it Best officials told reporters in Indianapolis during the co-op's Fall Market.

Offerman is an avid woodworker with fond memories of growing up in a small Illinois town that had a True Value store. “That hotbed of knowledge and experience and acumen made our community stronger," he said in a taped internal presentation at the market's opening session. “I have not lost sight of the importance of maintaining local knowledge in the community. I want to help people engage in the radical act of making things for themselves."

Do it Best acquired True Value Corp. in November 2024 as part of a deal to bring the distributor out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy-law protection. Its planned campaign revives and refreshes a True Value brand that enjoys good recognition among older Americans but is more of a mystery to Millennials and Generation Z.

The campaign featuring the Emmy award-winning Offerman will promote the notion that "You fuel your customers' independence to make each of their projects possible," said Eric Lane, True Value's Senior Vice President of Marketing. "[T]he initial feedback shows we're already bringing those feelings of empowerment, independence, and creativity to life at every touchpoint."

While Do it Best officials didn't disclose how much the campaign would cost, one can assume that hiring a personality like Offerman to promote True Value isn't cheap. But Do it Best-branded stores are getting love, too, regardless of whether they want to go by their own name, combine it with the Do it Best brand, or rely exclusively on the Do it Best name.

"So, just as each of you has your own brand in your community, the programs and support and investments you need are going to look different," Allison Flatjord, VP of Marketing and Ecommerce, said Do it Best, said. "... Your Do it Best marketing team is an extension of your store."

One of the best examples of how Do it Best extends a member's marketing is its program to provide an ecommerce website that can be an adjunct to or act as the store's entire site. Roughly 2,000 Do it Best members use that option now, she said.

A new example unveiled Sept. 5 is a "Postcard Power Pack." With this program, members can choose to send two different pre-designed postcards each month, one promoting a general concept and the other touting a particular brand--grills, for instance. Members decide who should get the postcards and what kinds of deals might be offered. The targeting enables members to increase their ROI beyond what more general promotions do.

Similarly, Do it Best also introduced a Local Digital Booster Program. It helps members run ads on Google, Facebook, and Instagram touting products, sales, and promotions.

Design changes also are in the works. The just-rolled-out design template for True Value now includes a "Service Shed" that will serve as the place "where your expertise shines and what makes you stand out."

This is similar to the Service Center that Do it Best has been promoting in its model stores at recent shows.

One new mockup store concept unveiled at the Fall Market is a special area inside stores to cater to contractors.