Corporate Entertainment Doesn't Work

Really?

In 2006, OfficeMax hired both Toy New York and EVB San Francisco to create 20 interactive websites to boost brand exposure and to increase its sales base during the holiday season. From Reindeer Arm Wrestling to Stuck to a Pole and Elf Yourself (site has been taken down for excess traffic), there was no shortage of OfficeMax sponsored fun.

The results?

For the Elf Yourself site alone (from Nov 2006 - Jan 2, 2008):

• More than 193 million site visits with 123 million elves created
  
• 60 elves created per second
  
• Ranked among top 1,000 sites in 50 countries (Alexa)
  
• 63% of participants who shop for office supplies at least 10 times per year were aware of Elf Yourself.
  
• 95% of those who visited Elf Yourself claimed they would likely visit Elf Yourself again in 2008.
  
• More than one-third of those who visited Elf Yourself said the site influenced their decision to visit OfficeMax, and about one-third of visitors said the site improved their perception of OfficeMax.
  
• Total time spent on all 20 sites in the first season: 642 years
  
• Featured on CNN, ABC World News, Fox News Good Morning America, Today Show, USA Today

How much did holiday sales actually increase? If Office Max tells me, I'll let you know. However, Bob Thacker, Senior VP of Marketing and Advertising, said "The campaign exceeded our expectations by tenfold. It dramatically increased awareness of our brand." The company is likely to repeat the campaign for the 2008 holiday season, he said. (source: Marketing Profs)

The success of "Elf Yourself," created by EVB San Francisco and Toy NY, is in part due to three fundamentals, according to a spokesperson for the agencies: 1)Keep it simple, 2) Make it personal and 3) Give people a reason to pass it on. (source: Media Post)