Best In Consumer Insights: Staples

In 2002, the US based office products retailer Staples was 2nd in market share behind category leader Office Depot, and just ahead of OfficeMax. In looking for a competitive edge, the Staples marketing team did extensive consumer research with their small and big business clients.

The insight they uncovered was that low prices were secondary to a quick and efficient shopping experience for these business customers. In this article by Michael Myser from Business 2.0 magazine, Shira Goodman, VP of Marketing at Staples tells how they turned this insight into a foundational tagline for their campaign:

“‘They wanted knowledgeable and helpful associates and hassle-free shopping,’ Goodman says. The “That was easy” tagline was the simple - yet inspired - outgrowth of that realization.”

Beyond creating memorable advertising around the “That was easy” idea, Staples created the red plastic Easy Button, which spouts their tagline when pressed. To date Staples has sold over 2 million Easy Buttons, at $4.99 a piece, the proceeds of which go to charity.

Having consumer insights to help create great advertising is always a best practice. However, using these insights to create a viral marketing device like the Easy Button, that consumers will actually pay money for, is to truly drive brand engagement.