It started with a coffee creamer lid.
When International Delight changed the bottle, I made a video about something that seemed ridiculously small: they took away the lid I liked.
Then someone in the comments said:
“They took your red stapler.”
And that was it.
If you’ve seen Office Space, you know the reference. Milton keeps getting pushed around, ignored, moved, and treated like he doesn’t matter. The red stapler is one of the few things he actually cares about. When even that gets taken away, it becomes a symbol of everything else.
A lot of customers recognized that feeling.
Small things tell us something about how companies think about the people buying from them.
Instead of the red stapler representing the thing that was taken away, we’re giving one to companies that prove customer value still matters.
Companies that:
- Do right by the customer.
- Right a wrong.
- Tell a hard truth.
And yes.
The winners actually get a red stapler.