Elmwood targets office women

A new office supplies company has launched a logo and catalogue to appeal directly to its largely female audience.

Office Etc’s image and corporate guidelines were developed by Elmwood, which was briefed to create a warm, friendly and fun identity for the company.

The group came up with a smiley face on a telephone button, with the strapline “one call and you’re smiling”.

The catalogue style is intended to break away from the “wall-paper philosophy” of its competitors, according to Office Etc marketing manager Craig Higgs.

“Normal stationery catalogues are confusing and a mess,” says Elmwood director Paul Middlebrook. “We have given it a personality.” Three quarters of Office Etc’s audience is female.

Unlike WH Smith’s Niceday, created by the then Newell and Sorrell, Office Etc is aimed at small and medium-sized companies.