Less Painful Filing
Benjamin Franklin once quipped that nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes.
As one of America’s father founders and a savvy businessman, the electricity pioneer most likely would approve Office Depot and Staples using the April 15 filing deadline as a promotional opportunity for taxpayers to get free copies of their 2007 returns.
Office Depot on April 6-15 will allow customers to print free up to 25 pages from more than 1,200 locations. Meanwhile, Staples on April 15 will offer up to 20 free pages at 1,400 stores.
Staples that day from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. will also set up a mobile copying station outside New York’s main post office to raise awareness of the chain’s stand-alone copy and print shops.
Jenn Richard, senior manager, business services marketing for Staples, says the promotion was conceived to ask, “How can we make it easy for our customers? One of the primary ways to do that is to make it easier to make copies of their tax returns.”
The complimentary copies are part of an ongoing trend to cash in on non-regular holidays, such as the recent Feb. 29 Leap Year, to gain a competitive advantage.
“Retailers are trying to give customers that acceptable indulgence,” says Ben DiSanti, director of planning and perspectives for marketing agency TPN. “It’s a little treat.”
Even beer companies are taking advantage of Tax Day.
Molson Coors Brewing Co. is sending out street teams to 14 top markets, including New York, Houston, Atlanta and Denver, on April 15 to launch a new wide-mouth shaped can for its Coors Light and Coors Banquet brands.
As part of the stunt, the company is renaming the date “National Venting Day.” Silver Bullet Girls and street teams will hand out pamphlets to adult beer drinkers saying, “Now that your taxes are in the mail, call you friends and start venting tonight. Highest refund buys.”
“On Tax Day, many Americans are looking for a better way to vent,” says Jennifer Volanakis, a Coors Brewing Co. spokeswoman.
On April 13-15 Papa John’s repeats the tax tie-in it debuted last year, offering a large, three-topping pie for $10.40, in honor of the federal government’s 1040 tax form.
In 2007 the pizza seller sold more than 100,000 of the promo pies, reports Chris Sternberg, a Papa John’s spokesperson.
Papa John’s franchisees in about 15 markets, including Austin, Houston, Atlanta and Phoenix, will dole out to filers free slices outside post offices the hour before the midnight deadline.
“We just look for opportunities to introduce new customers to Papa John’s,” Sternberg says. “We find these unique dates are fun ways to do that. It’s about brand awareness, creating trial and introducing folks to online ordering. All of those things help increase sales.”
Promotions tied to such special days largely rely on relevance and customer value.
“I don’t see this going away anytime soon,” DiSanti says. “There are a number of retailers that will jump on the bandwagon. But the value equation that always affects people is if they can get something for free or a hugely discounted cost. Sure, that works.”
