EVELYN CADENA

     Even after the merge with Office Depot, OfficeMax has been struggling to stay alive in the industry. Some problems that we are facing include the changes in shopping trends. For college students who are in the digital world, shopping at office supply stores is inconvenient. We aim to raise up the dying brand with a new creative strategy. The following is our creative strategy statement and it is to persuade college students that OfficeMax will grant success in life, academics, and workplace because it will equip them with knowledge.

 

     We are looking primarily at urban male and female college students from to 18-24, who are comfortable with technology, and are willing to learn skills that will help them succeed in life. For that reason, they would be a low to middle income, since they are most likely living off loans or part-time income. The most important fact about this audience is that they are evolving, to become successful in the workplace.

 

     The current outlook on OfficeMax is that is irrelevant. Not only is it overlooking the online shopping trend by firmly relying on their stores, but also gearing their sales towards businesses rather than college students. College students tend to push off trips to walk to an OfficeMax store and rather buy supplies online. However, we want them to think of the company as convenient, affordable, resourceful, and ultimately compassionate. We want to show the college students that we care about them, their hard work, and their success. That is why we want to be viewed as that to remain relevant and compassionate towards our target audience.

 

     Office Max has many competitors in the office supplies category. However, our top direct competitor is Staples, and our indirect competitor is Amazon. Staples is clipping along as the #1 office supply superstore operator in the U.S. In addition to its retail outlets, Staples sells office products via the Internet and through its catalog and direct sales operations. Our indirect competitor is Amazon which it has caused disruption in the digital marketplace, especially since, Amazon Business started. It has generated more than $1 billion in sales in just one year. The service features convenient options for their customers. A competitive advantage for Amazon in this category is free shipping. Having a lower free shipping threshold in a category such as office supplies could be particularly appealing.

 

     A unique selling point that we want to push forward with OfficeMax is that we care about the college students and want to help their success. We should communicate that idea through advertising it on sponsored college campuses’ bookstores, sponsored ads on applications, social media, and search engines. We want to develop a friendly tone of voice that sounds like we are their parents or mentors offering help or aid.

 

     OfficeMax’s success will have a raise in their sales, not immediately because we are trying to build long-term relationships with our customers, but a steady increase. We should also expect an increase in the traffic to the website since we will provide online access codes with products. We will see an increase in the college student demographics in our customers because of the geared advertising and student discount. We will also see an increase in likes and views on social media outlets.