Zimmerman wins back Office Depot advertising account

Fort Lauderdale-based Zimmerman Advertising has reached a two-year agreement with national office supplier Office Depot to again become its advertising and media agency of record, according to an announcement Thursday from Office Depot.

Zimmerman had been Boca Raton-based Office Depot’s agency of record from 2011 to 2014, when new management at the time awarded the advertising account to New York-based agency McCann and media management firm UM, both part of Interpublic Group.

“Over the past few years, we have been focused on moving the Office Depot and OfficeMax brands forward. Now, we have our sights set on the future and identified Zimmerman’s expertise and energy as the right fit for us,” said Diane Nick, senior vice president of marketing for Office Depot.

Office Depot merged with OfficeMax in 2013.

Michael Goldberg, CEO for Zimmerman Advertising, said the agency looks forward to working with Office Depot again to “help drive growth.”

Jordan Zimmerman, founder and chairman of Zimmerman Advertising, said his team understands Office Depot’s culture and business and “looks forward to making a difference for their company.”

In addition to creative services, strategy and media responsibilities, Zimmerman will oversee the company’s social media efforts, including media buying for those channels while developing integrated, strategic marketing and advertising campaigns under the Office Depot and OfficeMax banners.

Zimmerman is an agency with a strong national profile and more than $3 billion in annual billings. Its clients include Nissan, AutoNation, Michaels, Party City, ADT, La-Z-Boy, Advance America, Dunkin’ Donuts, Five Below and Boost Mobile.

Office Depot, a retailer with $11 billion in annual sales, recently appointed a new CEO, Gerry Smith, a former Lenovo top executive, who began his job this past week.

On a conference call with analysts Wednesday, Smith said he will continue the company’s focus of driving sales in multiple retail channels, including its 1,441 stores nationwide, business contract customers, and through its website.