Office Max “Elfs” Themselves into a Media Frenzy

By Amanda Ferrante, Assistant Editor

In attempts to put itself “on the radar as a holiday gift-giving destination,” Office Max invested barely six figures, spending about the same as three 30-second TV spots.

The office superstore made huge waves this time last year, and is bringing back the alternative marketing effort this holiday season, inviting visitors to “Start the Elfamorphosis (and shop for great Christmas and Holiday gifts). The impact was, and is anticipated to once again be, elfin’ crazy. The cheerful campaign ended up banking $2.5 million in media exposure in just five weeks last holiday season. No bah-humbugs here- this was a hit.

OfficeMax's ElfYourself.com allows visitors to upload up to four photos and record a synchronized message through a special toll-free phone number. The faces are then attached to an animated elf body, the voice is processed to sound elf-like, and the result is dancing and talking elves that can be forwarded to family or friends, or posted to personal web sites or blogs.

The Elfin’ Impact in Just Five Weeks

• More than 800 years has been spent on the site
• More than 65 million visitors have created more than 41 milion elves since the site launched in mid-November
• On average, 34 elves are being created per second
• More traffic than Careerbuilder’s successful Monk-e-mail in its first 8 months (9 million)

"We expected ElfYourself.com to do well because of last year's popularity, but the results we're seeing are fantastic," said Ryan Vero, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for OfficeMax. "People like the option of creating up to four elf characters and the number of site visitors and number of elves created reflect this. It's great to see how people are using ElfYourself.com and ScroogeYourself.com to spread holiday cheer electronically, especially during a shopping season that can be hectic and stressful. The idea is to get people to smile and I believe we're doing this."

“The client wanted to create content that just happened to be advertising,” said Anne Bologna, Partner & President at Toy, the New York-based ad agency behind the website, whose clients include Amazon, Disney, and the Oxygen Network. One of the most successful viral campaigns in history was created by Toy and its partner EVB, a digital content agency.

This year, Elfin’ yourself isn’t the only way to have fun on the net. Office Max introduced 20 other unique sites, including Reindeer Arm Wrestling, My Holiday Sweater, and North Pole Dancing, where you can create a dance sequence for Santa, and watch him “Bust a Move.” If you’re not so keen on the holiday scene, Scrooge Yourself and do a dance in the snow.

The simultaneous launch of 20 unique web sites ranks among the most launched at one time by an office supply retailer. "This playful Web content allows us to reach customers in exciting and unexpected ways," adds Vero, "while positioning OfficeMax as a fun destination to find holiday Gifts That Work!"

Related Links:
Office Max: www.officemax.com
Toy Ad Agency: www.toyny.com
EVB: www.evb.com