The Staples Guy is coming to Canada, just in time to help busy moms find everything they need for back-to-school.
First launched in the U.S. this past winter, the Staples Guy — meant to represent Staples‘ helpful and experienced sales associates — will permeate most elements of the company’s upcoming annual back-to-school campaign, set to launch Aug. 3 in English Canada.
The same creative will be running in Quebec, with French-speaking personality, Guy de Bureau en Gros, taking on the Staples Guy role. The effort launches July 27 in Quebec to coincide with an earlier start to the school year.
The campaign, which is aimed at moms, was developed by the retailer’s creative agency of record DentsuBos. Elements include radio, digital, social, pre-roll and a blogger influencer program, along with one 15-second brand TV spot and a series of 15-second product-centric commercials.
The brand spot will depict Staples Guy assisting a frazzled mom who enters the store armed with a long back-to-school list. “Guy,” as the brand often refers to him, helps her quickly find everything she needs, saving her both money and time.
Staples Guy will be portrayed by the same actor used in the U.S. spots, which have been receiving “really great feedback” since launching south of the border in February, said Sandy Salmon, director of advertising at Staples Canada.
“Our customer service is what sets us apart, and he really does encompass that whole customer feel that we have with our brand,” said Salmon. “We’ve done some preliminary testing, just to see if the creative would work here in Canada, and from what we see, he seems to really resonate. Obviously when we do the post-analysis we’ll see if that comes true.”
While past back-to-school campaigns has focused on price, namely the brand’s “100% Price Match Guarantee” and it’s wide selection of products, this year marks the first time Staples has put convenience at the forefront. Internal research conducted by the brand showed that moms cared most about two things: low prices and saving time.
“Pricing alone isn’t going to differentiate us in the marketplace. Yes, you’ve got the guaranteed low prices, but the reason you want to shop at Staples is we’ve got everything you need,” Salmon said. “You come in with your list, and you’re not going to have to go to 16 other places to complete that list. We’ve got everything you need so mom has more time in her mom world to do what she needs to do.”
Even though the brand has been adapting to an increasingly digital landscape (in addition to its website, it launched a mobile app several years ago and is currently working on a new one) Salmon said the excitement of actually going to a Staples store, particularly for back-to-school, will likely never be replaced by ecommerce.
“It’s still really important for them [moms] to go to the store and actually shop with their kids,” said Salmon. “Some moms said that they give their kids a list and a budget, and it’s kind of a learning experience. So even though online is really increasing, a lot of the moms we spoke to still said they really like that element of going into the store. It’s one of the highlights of their whole vacation time.”
The effort runs until Sept. 13. Aegis handled the media buy.
