- Elaine Wong

NEW YORK Office Depot is using part of the $100 million it spends annually on Sunday circulars to launch an online show touting weekly deals.

Dubbed Smart Specials with Matt and Matt, the show will supplement Office Depot's print product. Consumers can watch the show on TheSurvivaloftheSmartest.com and Hulu. The retailer will also send out e-mail links to its rewards members. WPP's Young & Rubicam in New York produced the Matt and Matt show.

One promo for Smart Specials shows the hosts trying to convince consumers that not joining Office Depot's Worklife Rewards loyalty card program is like “burning money.” Another shows Matt and Matt trying to get a chainsaw to work to reinforce the point of “slashing prices.”

The first episode, "Reward Awards," is running this week. Office Depot will roll out other episodes every couple of weeks. The retailer hopes that unlike circulars, the digital product will drive consumers to shop online and share product tips with others.

The effort, via Young & Rubicam, New York, is part of Office Depot's “Small Business Self-Bailout” program, which aims to help small business owners navigate slowing sales in tough times.

Office Depot spent $34 million on measured media last year and $9 million through April of this year, excluding online, per Nielsen.


Nielsen Business Media