Staples transforms “Easy Button” from marketing novelty to revenue driver

Stephen Whiteside

This event report outlines how Staples, the retailer, is seeking to drive revenues through tapping new technologies.

Staples' "Easy Button" – a gizmo announcing "That was easy" whenever it is pressed – has become an iconic part of American office life since its launch more than a decade ago.

And by giving this low-tech novelty item a digitally-powered makeover, Staples is now moving beyond helping business owners and employees express satisfaction (or channel frustration) even as it promotes a brand tagline used from 2003 to 2014.

The next-generation "Easy Button" – created in partnership with IBM's Watson cognitive-computing platform – is linked to the web in a similar fashion to Amazon Echoand Google...

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