The CMO of Lowe's says the company's plan to win over pros requires admitting past weakness - and it may be the key to breaking Home Depot's dominance

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The pro customer is a "huge strategic initiative" for Lowe's, according to CMO Jocelyn Wong.

• Lowe's is launching a new national television spot specifically courting home-improvement professionals.
• The pro market is one area where Lowe's has historically struggled against rival Home Depot.
• But Lowe's is using its exclusive NFL partnership to try to convince pro customers that it has changed.
• "We're taking our game to another level," Lowe's CMO Jocelyn Wong told Business Insider.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Lowe's has its eyes on the pros.

The home-improvement retailer is launching its first-ever national television spot targeted specifically at home-improvement professionals.

Professionals tend to be more brand-conscious than their do-it-yourself counterparts. That's a big reason why Home Depot has traditionally clobbered Lowe's when it comes to the pro market, as Wedbush Securities analyst Seth Basham previously told Business Insider.

Basham said that Home Depot tends to carry "better brands," retain more "knowledgeable employees," and generally provide a more convenient shopping experience for professionals.

Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison himself has been upfront about his company's struggles when it comes to the professional market, saying in the company's last earnings call that many pro customers "literally stopped shopping" at Lowe's because of low inventory levels.

But, according to Lowe's CMO Jocelyn Wong, the company has a strategy for winning these customers back.

"It was really important for us to acknowledge upfront that we have not always been pro-ready before," she told Business Insider. "Essentially, it's time to give us another chance."

Lowe's is also leveraging its partnership with the National Football League to curry favor with the pros. Wong said that the new spot's NFL-inspired storyline boils down to a simple idea: "We're upping our game."

Read more: Lowe's is cementing its newfound relationship with the NFL with enough 4x6 boards for 140 football fields

"We're taking our game to another level," Wong said.

Released in conjunction with the NFL Draft, the home-improvement retailer's latest marketing push will also involve a number of other national and Nashville-specific activations, from NFL player store visits to philanthropy in the Nashville area. Wong said that the draft - where players transform from rookies to pros - was the perfect event to convey the brand's new message.

"This idea of upping your game and taking it to the next level is something that Lowe's absolutely feels that is inside of us," she said. "We breathe it. It's very much what the NFL and the players are about, and we see a lot of great strategic parallels for our partnership with the NFL."

When it comes to the company's marketing strategy, Wong said that Lowe's is becoming more "laser-focused" on speaking to key customer segments. She added that winning over the pros is a "huge strategic initiative" for the retailer. The push will unfurl beneath the hashtag #ProReady and will also feature billboards in both Times Square and Nashville.

Wong said that Lowe's isn't just relying on marketing alone to woo pros.

"Marvin will always say, 'Marketing's job is to get the invitation out, but let's make sure we're sending out the invitation when we're ready to invite people into our home for the party,'" Wong said. "I think there's been a lot of progress made, and we're ready now. The hashtag is perfect for where we are as a company, and it's also beautifully tied into the idea of rookies becoming pro-ready with the NFL draft."