How OfficeMax Failed on the PR Front...Twice

In the OfficeMax public-relations fiasco, don't blame Big Data. Blame small thinking.

OfficeMax is getting much-deserved criticism after Mike Seay, a suburban Chicago resident, received a solicitation letter from the company, addressed to him and to "Daughter Killed in Car Crash." Indeed, Seay lost his daughter in a car accident about a year ago. The letter, Seay told NBC 5 Chicago, opened old wounds since he thinks of his daughter "10,000 times a day."

OfficeMax bungled the response in two key ways. First, it mishandled customer service, which is the front line of public relations. When Seay contacted customer service, he was met not with an apology, let alone sympathy, but rather with incredulity. He was literally told the letter he was holding in his hand was "impossible." It was not until the company was contacted by the media that it said it was "deeply sorry" and would reach out to Seay directly to express its "sincerest apologies."

Second, OfficeMax botched the response by immediately blaming a third-party vendor. It's not that the vendor didn't make the mistake. In fact, it probably did. But the letter bore OfficeMax's brand, so the public does not care who erred. It can only be OfficeMax's responsibility. By failing to manage and assure quality in this relationship with its third-party vendor, it fumbled its brand protection. Blaming the vendor does nothing to absolve OfficeMax of that responsibility.

Related: A Racist Sign at Sonic and 5 Other Franchise PR Disasters

Where the blame doesn't rest is with so-called Big Data. There are some suggestions that the OfficeMax situation is just the latest sign of problems with the collection of personal data, conflating this incident with the unwarranted surveillance of American citizens by the government and the massive data breach of information from Target. There is also some concern that OfficeMax's letter might be used as a weapon for privacy advocates who want to rein in data collection.

But OfficeMax's error was more mundane. Consumer information is collected more organically because of the overt decisions buyers make every minute of every day. One needn't engage in warrantless wiretapping to find out someone owns a dog, shops only on Sundays and doesn't like bell peppers on her fajitas. That information is available, and helpful, not only to the marketer, but also to the consumer, since it can lead to targeted discounts and more personalized service.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Indeed, even the information that Seay's daughter had died in a car accident can be relevant and valuable from a marketer's perspective. Attorneys, for one, would pay well for such knowledge.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

But it was not the existence of this data that was a problem, but rather its use. There is no way the death of Seay's daughter can be relevant to a company that makes its scratch selling toner cartridges and dry-erase boards. Clearly, either OfficeMax pulled from an inappropriate data set to compile its mailing list, or its vendor pulled from the wrong list. 

Regardless, the issue was not that data was available, but rather that it was misused. That is an important distinction, a fact that both OfficeMax and its critics needs to get straight as the debate continues.

Related: How to Separate the PR Pros from the Posers