Staples ads switch focus to delivery services
Commercials star building and office managers, seen as crucial to revival plan
NEW YORK— Staples Inc. is overhauling its marketing as part of a highstakes pivot away from what it was built on — selling low-priced office supplies at big stores.
The rebranding campaign kicks off next week with nationwide television commercials in which stores are nonexistent and products are only shown in passing. There’s no mention of discounts either.
Instead, the spots star and extol office and building managers as they fix copy machines, clean up spills and restock the break room — all with the help of Staples’ delivery business.
These are precisely the workers the company sees as crucial to its revival from years of falling sales because they make the purchasing decisions for more than a million U.S. small businesses.
“We wanted to tell a new Staples story,” said Frank Bifulco, the company’s chief marketing officer. “It’s going to convey to all audiences that Staples is much more than a retail office-supply company.”
This is all part the company’s push to expand its delivery business, which offers customers a sales representative and online ordering.
This division was already generating more revenue than the brickand-mortar stores, which have struggled as more consumers shop online.