Office Depot BTS campaign appeals to tech-savvy teachers

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot is directing its back-to-school marketing efforts at teachers by offering them an online tool to help them plan and prepare for the academic year.



The retailer is launching a School Supplies Checklist — an online platform that teachers can use to store and share checklists of required school supplies. With this digital planning tool, teachers can opt to use a starter list with recommended supplies by grade level or customize their own checklists to share with parents, allowing them to conveniently browse and purchase their children’s school essentials directly from the website or by printing the list for fast, in-store shopping — a move which aims to boost traffic to its e-commerce site and potentially to its brick-and-mortar stores for those parents who browse online but shop at stores.



The retailer is also offering incentives for teachers and parents to use the online platform. Every School Supplies Checklist links to its corresponding school code so shoppers who use a teacher’s list can help their schools get 5% back for free supplies though Office Depot’s 5% Back to Schools Program.



“Office Depot recognizes that teachers are the backbone of our educational system, and we want to ensure that they have the resources they need,” said Bob Moore, EVP and chief marketing and merchandising officer for Office Depot. “The Office Depot School Supplies Checklist online platform makes it effortless for parents and students to find what they need for the upcoming school year, while also giving back to the schools in their communities.”



Every Office Depot will also host the company's annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfast in late July. The event courts teachers by offering them complimentary breakfast and extra savings on school supplies to kick off eight days of teacher shopping advantages.



The retailer is also positioning itself as a bridge to help teachers make a transition from traditional classrooms to digitally enabled ones. To that end, Office Depot has partnered with industry-leading suppliers and service providers to offer educators more than 1,600 common core products that provide helpful strategies and instructional materials for Common Core State Standards and digitally enabled classrooms.