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Office Depot wants to redefine the office supply business

January 9, 2015Written by George Anderson

Office supplies are not cool. Gear, on the other hand, is — and new commercials produced as part of the first branding campaign for the merged Office Depot/OfficeMax are emphasizing the term to drive awareness and sales.

Tom Murphy, chief creative officer at McCann New York, the office supply chain's agency, told MediaPost's Agency Daily that the chain chose "gear" because the "office supplies" didn't adequately capture the important role these products play in the success of the individuals and businesses.

The 15- and 30-second "Gearcentric" spots are focused on small business owners and consumers, asking if they are the type of people who understand that "the right office gear" helps achieve "great things."

The spots, featuring both the Office Depot and OfficeMax brand names, are part of a consolidation effort at the chains. According to Ad Age, the company's online business has been merged under the Office Depot website. The two retail banners continue to operate separately on social media, although they do frequently share the same posts.

The campaign, launched on Jan. 2, is the biggest branding effort by the company since the merger of Office Depot and Office Max in 2013. It includes placement on national cable, spot TV and network radio. The campaign is also being played up on Twitter (#GearLove), YouTube and other social channels and web destinations such as Yahoo.

In November, Office Depot's CEO described the first year following the merger with Office Max as "a huge success" and said the company had raised its outlook for the full year. Reports have speculated that a possible merger of Office Depot and its larger rival Staples may be in the offing. A Wall Street Journal piece in December said activist investor Jeff Smith, CEO and co-founder of Starboard Value, could push for merger. Starboard has stakes in both companies.

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