Staples is using its most recognizable brand asset — the Easy Button — to nudge buyers from thinking of it as a retail chain to seeing it as a workplace solutions provider. The retailer’s new “Hard vs. Easy” campaign introduces a black “hard button” that dramatizes procurement and execution failures, then contrasts them with the simplicity of working with Staples’ enterprise services. For marketers and procurement teams, the campaign is a useful case study in repurposing heritage creative for full-funnel B2B activation.

What Staples changed — and where the creative will run

The first two commercials set up avoidable workplace hiccups — running out of restroom supplies and a printing error that leaves a sign reading “Golf Sharts” instead of “Shirts” — then position Staples as the easy alternative. The long-form spots are slated for streaming platforms including YouTube, Hulu and Netflix; shorter edits will run on LinkedIn and Meta.

The rollout pairs awareness tactics (OOH billboards in busy travel hubs, digital signage and elevator-well placements in corporate buildings) with mid-funnel display and social advertising and physical “Hard vs. Easy” collateral for Staples’ sales teams. Staples developed the hard button concept in-house with early ideation help from Bandits & Friends; Monks worked on parts of production, and the company is managing media internally.

Why Staples is leaning on the Easy Button now

Bob Sherwin, Staples’ chief marketing officer since June of last year and formerly Wayfair’s CMO, frames the work as a perception play. Staples still runs more than 900 brick-and-mortar stores, but the company wants to highlight enterprise offerings — furniture consultations, break-room and janitorial supply programs, and same-day delivery — that buyers often overlook.

Sherwin described Staples’ supply chain and same-day capabilities as a “best kept secret in business” and told Retail Dive the company works with an estimated 75% of Fortune 500 firms. “Everyone in America essentially knows Staples,” he said. “But most people, when they hear ‘Staples,’ think of stores only, and they think of office supplies and ink and toner. We don’t have an awareness problem, we have a perception problem.”

The Easy Button is not new: Staples introduced the asset more than two decades ago and has retooled it several times, including last year’s social-first “E.B.” program. “Hard vs. Easy” returns the icon closer to its original TV roots while pivoting the narrative toward workplace services and B2B decision-makers.

What marketers and procurement teams should watch

Several strategic choices in this campaign are instructive for marketers and procurement leaders:

  • Full-funnel alignment: The campaign pairs broad-reach streaming and OOH buys with targeted digital and sales enablement assets — a deliberate path from awareness to pipeline for enterprise buyers.
  • Heritage asset repurposing: Staples leverages a familiar consumer emblem to build credibility for B2B services. That reduces friction in messaging but requires careful framing to avoid reinforcing the legacy retail-only perception.
  • In-housing creative and media: By keeping core concept development and media management internal, Staples signals a preference for tighter control over measurement and message iteration.

Staples also plans to use the platform for consumer moments such as gifting and holiday purchases during Q4, indicating the brand aims to preserve consumer relevance while pushing enterprise utility.

What will determine success

The campaign’s business impact hinges on measurable shifts in enterprise engagement. Relevant metrics include engagement among procurement and facilities decision-makers, pipeline generated from sales collateral, and attributed conversions for services such as same-day delivery. Creative cut-through in streaming and OOH can start conversations, but conversion will depend on how well Staples links those signals to sales outreach, targeting and measurement.

For marketing and procurement teams watching the rollout, the key questions are whether Staples will translate broad creative cues into targeted account-based messaging for large clients, and how quickly the company can show pipeline lift tied to the new positioning. The campaign is a reminder that recognizable brand assets can be repurposed for B2B, but only if the organization also retools go-to-market systems that convert awareness into contracted services.