Marketing Objectives:
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Generate Consumer Awareness
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Generate Product Trial
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Increase Store Traffic
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Introduce a Product
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Marketing
Devices:
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Direct Mail
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Direct Response
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Internet Overlay
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Retail Display
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Marketing Strategies:
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Advertising in Paid Media
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Direct Marketing/Direct Response
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Wireless/Mobile/Internet Overlays
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Background:
Staples Inc., the world's largest office-supply retail chain ($18.2 billion in sales in 2007), has more than 1,962 stores worldwide, including units in the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and India.
The company operates catalog and delivery businesses and serves customers in Argentina and Brazil, China, France, Denmark, Austria and Italy. Staples sells supplies, office machines, promotional products, furniture, technology and business services. It also does business on the Internet via Staples.com.
The office-supply superstore (slogan" "That Was Easy") was about to introduce a desktop shredder for the disposal of unopened junk mail, unwanted credit cards and discarded CDs and confidential documents.
This campaign had three objectives: Reinforce Staples' brand position as purveyor of innovative, easy-to-use products; build awareness and drive sales of MailMate; and drive traffic to the Staples website and a special MailMate/"The Office" landing page.
A compact unit adaptable to home or office, the MailMate's sleek design combined the look of a high-end appliance with the power of a 20-sheet shredder. For instant impact against a large swathe of its target audience, the company wanted a low-cost way to feature its product on coast-to-coast TV.
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How It Worked:
NBC's hit comedy sitcom "The Office" presented an ideal platform for the launch. With the cooperation of the show's producers, the MailMate was written into the script.
Result: an episode in which a key character tried to save his job by using the MailMate to show his capability as a "master shredder" for the company -- a fitting showcase for product attributes..
David Goetzel, media and marketing writer for Media Daily News, described the placement this way:
'Kevin, a low-key but mischievous accountant at Dunder-Mifflin, somewhat morosely notes how little responsibility he has, but adds, "They do let me shred the company documents, and that's really all I need."
'He then begins using the MailMate -- Staples claims it offers "ferocious shredding power for identity-theft protection" -- while directly addressing the audience. ("The Office" is done in faux documentary fashion in which the characters speak to the camera as if being interviewed.)
'Barely able to restrain himself, Kevin (played by Brian Baumgartner) says: "This thing is so awesome! It will shred anything!"
'The scene is funny and fits in with the plot. After demonstrating the machine's capabilities, in keeping with the twisted humor of "The Office," Kevin pops a handful of lettuce into the MailMate -- and in a moment pulls a ready-to-eat salad out of the lower bin, whereupon a coworker who enters and sees him putting dressing on it asks, "Where'd you get the alad?"
"Staples," he says.
Adding to multiple brand mentions and logo shots on air were a number of ancillary activities, including:
- In-store signage showing Kevin with the MailMate;
- A Staples.com micro-site with information and a video showing the unit in action and its association with "The Office:"
- Email blasts to target audiences
- A nationwide newspaper insert
- Direct-response TV comercials
- Banner ads on selected websites
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Why It Worked:
Big audience, big idea, appropriate setting, seamless integration, flawless execution.
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What It Did:
Objective #1: Reinforce Staples' positioning as the purveyor of innovative and easy-to-use products.
The way in which MailMate was integrated with the script -- a key character demonstrated its uniqueness and ease of use -- Staples achieved its primary goal. According to Brand Tracker, the nation's largest office-supply retailer scored high on the following attributes among those viewing the episode:
- "Staples is a company I trust"
- "Staples is an industry leader"
- "Staples makes me feel wanted as a customer"
75 percent of customers said they not only "enjoyed watching the episode" but thought it helped "make the company different" (41%) and increased the likelihood they'd shop there (42%).
Objective #2: Build awareness and drive sales of Mail Mate via on-air activation with the product.
Ten percent of CSAT respondents cited the integration as the way they learned about the new shredder.
Objective #3: Increase traffic to the Staples website (www.Staples.com) and "The Office" landing page.
Engagement was strong as visitors to the website and "The Office" landing page spent an average of 69.3 seconds at both. Above-average click rates were tallied from the five customer emails promoting the integration. And consumers used the "Send to a Friend" option 284 times, lending a viral factor to the equation.
Additionally:
-The integration was one of the top-ranked product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX.
-Its value in terms of on-screen exposure was an estimated $386,000.
-The program generated more than five million pre- and post-show media impressions amid a media buzz about the integration. One article called it "the holy grail of product placement."
A significant amount of blogging followed the integration. Technorati, a search engine dedicated to tracking weblogs, reported that 21,317 blog links mentioned Staples and the "The Office" MailMate episode.
In a posting on his "Brandtique" blog, David Goetzel wrote:
"A marketer looking to use product integration to help it tear up the competition might take a page from Staples. The office-supply giant's insertion of its potent MailMate shredder into a recent episode of NBC comedy "The Office" was about as good as it gets in branded entertainment.
"Not only did Staples insert what it bills as "The Junk Mail Destroyer" into the show in such a way that a consumer would hardly know it was a paid plug. It engineered what could be the Holy Grail of product placement: A demonstration of how cool (for lack of a better word) the MailMate is. And making something as generic as an office shredder seem appealing is no small feat."
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The Global Marketer's Score:  |
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The Global Marketer's Score Key |
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United States
