The back-to-school experience has been seriously enhanced by OfficeMax. Focusing on kids old enough to pick out their own school supplies, the retailer developed an integrated campaign that includes "Creation Stations" in the stores where kids can personlize their notebooks and backpacks, a reality show called "Schooled" where a classroom of eighth-graders are "punked" into thinking they have to take another test before they can be admitted to high school, stressed for an hour, then treated to a concert….and the school got $40,000 gift cards (?!)

As a parent of teenagers who dreads the fundraising activities, I’m most impressed with their program that allows school groups to use the Creation Station for a fundraiser. The program is sufficiently structured that kids can almost run it by themselves, but still allows for their creativity. Wow.

OfficeMax.com – Creation Station: Fundraising Information

Create notebooks: On the day of your party, you’ll help your friends create their customized notebooks. …The Creation Station will be stocked with all sorts of papers and supplies to make one-of-a-kind notebooks. Each notebook’s retail price is $5.99. $3.00 from each notebook sold will be donated to your school group.

ChiefMarketer.com: Making School Cool, 2006-Aug-31, by Beth Negus Viveiros

OfficeMax products were subtly featured in
"Schooled," and… Video shorts from
the program have been showcased on a Google Video microsite, which
drives kids to the OfficeMax online store. A DVD of the show…is being given out free to
customers who buy $50 or more in school supplies….The microsite
has had over a million clickthroughs, and the video hit number 38 on
the top 100 Google videos.