Paper Mate Counters Pen Envy

Oak Brook, Ill. — One hundred percent of respondents in Newell Rubbermaid's recent survey of 1,000 American office workers admitted to having stolen a pen at some point in their lives. Leveraging these findings, Newell's Paper Mate brand kicked off a tongue-in-cheek "World's Most Stolen Pen" campaign in January to support the first global product launch in its 63-year history.Paper Mate's new InkJoy line is designed to provide "a premium writing experience at an accessible price," says Sally Grimes, global vice president of marketing for Paper Mate. "We devised the 'World's Most Stolen Pen' campaign as a fun way to generate buzz."The light-hearted campaign appeared across digital and social media from January through March and on cable TV in January and early February. While targeting women aged 25-54 that have children, "more generally, it targets people who care about what they write with," Grimes says. The TV spot, which portrayed a woman tempted to steal a colleague's InkJoy pen, ran in 15- and 30-second formats on Bravo, HGTV, Oxygen, TLC and TNT.In mid-February, Paper Mate launched the social media component. The multipronged approach included posters warning potential pen thieves of "Office Crime Watch" that could be downloaded from Facebook; a microsite on Papermate.com; and "product tour" content on the website of such retailers as OfficeMax and Staples. Additionally, Chicago-based Zocalo Group, the PR agency for this campaign, distributed InkJoy pens to bloggers, influencers and Amazon Vine reviewers. Energy BBDO, Chicago, was responsible for the creative and digital portions of the campaign.Through the Facebook app, Paper Mate let users who "Liked" the brand create a "Wanted" poster featuring a photo of a friend or colleague alleged to be a "pen thief" that could then be shared. Those who created posters received a $1.50 coupon and were entered for a chance to win $2,500. An instant-win component awarded 100 InkJoy pens each day.The in-store elements, including kiosks that allow consumers to try out InkJoy pens, will be in market for the entire year. "Some of our customers are establishing a new category in their pen aisles as a result of InkJoy called 'Advanced Ink Systems,'" Grimes says. "It joins the other established pen groupings of roller, ballpoint, gel and specialty." Grimes declined to name specific retailer partners but says the Advanced Ink Systems will peak with a second wave of promotional activity during the back-to-school season.The real consumer insight behind the InkJoy product line is not the survey of office workers that highlighted pen theft, Grimes says. Rather, InkJoy's "premium/[low] price" combination is "just what consumers around the world told us they need. What that represents is especially important in emerging markets, where the rise of the middle class is dramatically transforming the way consumers shop."Newell Rubbermaid is counting on this shift, spending on InkJoy in a way it has not spent on the Paper Mate brand in the past. Says Grimes: "Current support for the InkJoy line of pens is driven by the opportunity to deliver a global game-changer in the pen category."While not able to share specific results, Grimes says that from launch through mid-March, "we have seen an important lift in Paper Mate pen sales overall, with InkJoy as a key contributor."

Paper Mate Counters Pen Envy

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