Does the New ‘Hard Button’ Staples B2B Ad Campaign Show Promise?

Staples has leveraged the power of its Easy Button marketing iconography (and related sound effect) for more than 20 years, as Marketing Dive senior reporter Peter Adams noted – and now it’s moving forward with a B2B-oriented ad campaign designed to create contrast.

The central thematic focus of the new campaign? A counterpart to the famous red Easy Button in the form of a black Hard Button.

“Juxtaposed to the iconic red button that solves problems with a simple push is a black Hard Button alter ego that leads to unfortunate mishaps in a new campaign. A pair of ads debuting this week show managers faced with conundrums, like running out of restroom supplies or embarrassing printing errors on a store sign (i.e. ‘Golf Sharts’ instead of ‘Shirts’), that humorously contrast Hard outcomes with the simplicity of working with Staples,” Adams wrote.

“The spots will run on major streaming services, including YouTube, Hulu and Netflix, while shorter versions of the creative will appear on social platforms like LinkedIn and Meta. The larger media plan is wide-ranging, Staples CMO Bob Sherwin explained, encompassing out-of-home billboards in busy travel hubs, digital signage and elevator well placements in high-traffic corporate buildings, mid-funnel display and social advertising and ‘Hard vs. Easy’ collateral for Staples’ sales teams,” he added.

The primary thrust of the campaign is to move the narrative needle somewhat away from the established customer-facing understanding of Staples – think printers, print services, toner and ink, stationery, and tech products – toward a more comprehensive suite of offerings which include business solutions.

Staples outlined three core pillars of its Easy experience in a Sept. 15 press release, including:

• Expert guidance: Promoting itself as a best-in-class leader in terms of expertise when it comes to efficiency, project management, and the resolution of challenges in the workplace, staff were put front-and-center in terms of the business’s edge.

• Workplace solutions: Staples positioned its brand as offering a wide array of business-first products and services to keep workflows energized and frictionless -- “from facilities and breakroom to furniture, custom print, workplace essentials and specialized industry needs.”

• World-class reliability: Here, Staples was keen to point out that it had well-established relationships, tested infrastructure, and a strong supply chain to back up businesses requiring these presences at scale.

“Hard is what happens when unnecessary complexity becomes routine,” said Sherwin, also noting that while Staples may be better known as a shopper-facing retailer, its B2B solutions have been – at least up until now – something of a secret.

“It is too many vendors, disconnected processes and workarounds people have simply learned to accept. This brand platform challenges businesses to stop accepting the status quo. If there is a simpler, more reliable way to get the work done, that is the choice we want people to see. Work is Hard enough. Staples is here to make it Easy.”

Questions for further discussion:

• Do you believe the Hard Button as a concept has the ability to create greater contrast between difficult and frictionless business experiences, as Staples suggests?

• More broadly, do you believe Staples will be successful in revamping its current image to gain traction with B2B audiences and clients who may otherwise not be aware of the product and service solutions it offers? Why or why not? What obstacles are most evident?

• What do you think of the Hard vs. Easy campaign thrust as a whole? What more would you personally advise?