Multi-Cultural Marketing Office Max Solo Presentation OfficeMax, an - PDF document

Multi-Cultural Marketing Office Max Solo Presentation OfficeMax, an office supply retailer based in Naperville, Illinois must find new paths to grow to stay competitive in the office supply market. The ever-growing middle class, vast number of students and untapped potential of the rural market, all make India an important place for OfficeMax to find a presence. single-brand retail is capped at 51%. India does allow 100% foreign ownership in cash-and-carry, but not multi-brand retail in order to protect small mom-and-pop stores. The marketing objective is to create and build awareness and sales for the OfficeMax brand among urban Indian consumers with at least some secondary education by generating foot traffic and sales from the Web site.

OfficeMax will enter the market with a serial series of short TV ads to generate interest and word of mouth. Every other week for 10 weeks, OfficeMax will release a new commercial and post the old one youtube India. It’s a boy meets girl, boy can’t have gi rl, and surprise! Their marriage has been arranged and neither one knew. The last commercial will be a bollywood dance and at the end, Bollywood star Aamir Khan and TV star Kanchi Kaul will join the dance and say in English & in Hindi, “OfficeMax: helping you succeed at work or school.” In the top and second tier cities, OfficeMax will host a series of “Helping You Succeed” networking events with influential business people as keynote speakers. Guests will be invited with the goal of creating word of mouth and reinforcing the “OfficeMax helping you succeed at work” message. In the US, it’d be a wine and cheese thing. In India, instead there will be a small snack buffet with samosas, chutney and other tidbits. Until recently, public consumption of alcohol in India was considered taboo, although with younger people it is on the rise. With that in mind, beverages available at the networking events will offer Johnny Walker (considered prestigious), and tea. To reach the college segment of the target audience, OfficeMax will sponsor an on- campus “Helping You Succeed” lecture series over three years featuring three popular and interesting people celebrating people who can talk inspirationally about success.

The OfficeMax’s U.S. “Elf Yourself” Christmas -themed viral marketing campaign will not work in India. Instead, OfficeMax will create a similar viral campaign for Hindus and Sikhs celebrating Holi, a spring festival which is, in part, celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other. Indian consumers would have the opportunity to put their faces on animated bodies that pump colored water and powder at the screen (a stand-in for the recipient), which would eventually be so color-saturated, the receiver would no longer be able to see the animated characters. Then the words will pop up, “Colours of Joy to you – Happy Holi!”