STAPLES
BRAND CAMPAIGN I RESEARCH
QUICK BRIEF:
HELPING GIVE PURPOSE TO A DECLINE BRAND THAT LACKS IDENTITY
THE LANDSCAPE:
Although Staples was once the office supply superpower, it has slowly been a largely declining brand over the last decade.
THE CHALLENGE:
How does Staples support the post-pandemic definition of what it means to do business?
THE PROBLEM:
Business has changed. The way in which we aspire to do work is shifting.
What I did:
Research
Strategic Development
Deck Flow + Presentation
Research Types:
Secondary Research
Interviews
KEY FINDINGS:
16%
Of companies in the world are 100% remote
(Owl Labs)
62%
Of employees aged 22 to 63 say that they work remote at least 2 or 3 times a week
(Pew Research)
54%
Of employed adults surveyed would want to continue working from home post-pandemic
(Pew Research)
4.4 Million
New businesses were created in 2020, the highest number of all time
(US Census Bureau)
24%
Increase in new businesses from 2019
(US Census Bureau)
The Staples Story:
“In 1985, Staples’ founder Tom Stemberg, a former supermarket executive turned entrepreneur, was working on a business proposal over the Fourth of July weekend when his typewriter ribbon broke. Because it was the holiday weekend, local suppliers and stationery stores were closed. After driving from store to store and not finding the correct ribbon, Tom came to a realization that the world needed a supermarket for office products.”
HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES FOR OVER 30 YEARS.
THE INSIGHT:
FOR STAPLES, SMALL BUSINESS IS PERSONAL
THE OPPORTUNITY:
Leverage both the resources and respect that Staples has earned as a trusted business partner in the local community and make them the go-to place for start-up entrepreneurs.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Scrappy, startup entrepreneurs
THE STRATEGY:
Get scrappy, startup entrepreneurs to trust Staples with their dreams by showing them that Staples is just as excited about their new business as they are.
The Creative Idea:
In 2005, Staples introduced the world to the “easy button”. The iconic campaign was a huge success and almost immediately helped to put Staples on the map as a major office supply distributor. However, as the campaign eventually lost traction so too did the relevance of the store.
Over time, the way in which we aspire to conduct business changed; and “easy button” became symbol of productivity-obsessed and toxic work environment. In today’s business world, we are more willing to acknowledge and accept how difficult it is to start and run a small business.
That is why instead of saying “that was easy”, we now say “that was hard”.
Staples: THAT. WAS. HARD.
