The Case
Following a decade of negotiations with Chinese officials, Zoo Atlanta succeeded in procuring a pair of pandas last fall. UPS donated nearly $750,000 toward building the panda
habitat for the zoo, and offered to fly the bears to their new home in custom-crafted transport carriers. Although Zoo Atlanta had an agreement with the local ABC affiliate to
cover the arrival of Lun Lun and Yang Yang, UPS hoped to garner national media attention for its role in the move. But getting press proved to be a bear of a challenge,
considering film crews would have nothing to shoot on arrival day but UPS carriers moving giant metal boxes. The pandas would be hidden in steel crates and quickly whisked into a
30-day quarantine - leaving no chance for photographers to catch them on film.
The Strategy
UPS hired Edelman PR Worldwide/Atlanta to assist in creating alternative photo-opps that would grab press attention. "We really had to give the story teeth to make it hard
newsworthy," says Edelman senior account executive Renee Whitley. "And - excuse the expression - we also had to give it fur," as in the ceremonial touchy-feely angle that camera
crews eat up. "A lot of reporters were saying, oh, well we'll just come back after 30 days when they get out of quarantine." But this would have cut UPS out of the film loop.
The solution was to welcome the plane with fanfare, and to transport the pandas to the zoo in a ceremonial "panda-cade" of UPS trucks (known as the Panda Express), with police
escorts.
The Look
Edelman and UPS hired the local graphics firm, Deep Design, to create a special logo for the event, which was plastered on virtually everything that would be seen during the
bears' arrival - including the animals' crates, traffic cones and forklifts, plus uniforms for the ground crews, drivers and package handlers. Also on the checklist were scrub
suits and doctors' bags for the vets onboard the plane, and the tail of UPS' Boeing 767 (which flew in the fleet for 30 days prior to the panda transport). Teasers and
press kits mailed to the media featured the event logo and were tied shut with Chinese red ribbon and sticks of bamboo. Paw prints adorned the tarmac at the gate. Not only the
sides, but also the roofs of UPS package cars in the "panda-cade" were painted to accommodate helicopter film crews.
The Event
UPS also took the opportunity to highlight the event's political and cultural significance by positioning the event as a grand-scale diplomatic exchange. "These animals really
acted kind of as emissaries for their country," says Dan McMackin, PR manager at UPS. Among the four pilots (all captains) chosen to chauffeur the bears was a former Air Force
One pilot for President Jimmy Carter. And, like all special deliveries, the pandas were assigned a tracking number so that interested parties could follow their progress en route
via UPS' Web site.
Upon its arrival at Hartsfield International Airport Nov. 5, the bear-bearing plane flew through a water cannon salute and landed before 30 kids from a local international
school outfitted in Panda Express T-shirts. Also in the crowd: 240 members of the media donning press credential lanyards featuring the event logo. Ground events included a
traditional Chinese brushing ceremonyand an official signing of the DIAD (you know - that electronic device that UPS drivers carry everywhere).
Flight Delays
Although Edelman had a 12-week lead-time on the project, planning was tricky because the arrival date changed three times. UPS and zoo officials had to secure landing rights,
fly-over rights, export documents and passports from the Chinese government before making the trip. "Getting two large animals moved across the globe is a bigger deal than you
might think," says McMackin. "We were dealing with three different ministries in the Chinese government, which was like dealing with the president, Senate and Congress all at
once. All of the layers had to sign off on all the paperwork before we could get the final blessing, and that took months."
After a couple false starts, members of the press started doubting the dates they were being fed. When the final date was confirmed a week in advance, the Edelman team fired
off personalized pitch letters to hundreds of press contacts and followed up each pitch by phone. "It was the only way," Whitley says.
Ink and Air
In the end, media crews weren't deterred by the delays, or by the fact that the bears would be hidden from view. The event received a windfall of local coverage, as well as
hits with CNN Headline News, MSNBC, USA Today, LA Times, CBS Evening News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AP Online, Reuters, Agence France-Press, Des
Moines Register, Times of India, China News, London Free Press and Airline Industry Information. AP quoted one of the pilots as saying the pandas, "just laid back and
enjoyed the ride." So did UPS.
(Edelman, 770/431-6212; UPS, 404/828-4188; Zoo Atlanta, 404/624-5630)
Employee Bonuses
UPS generated internal excitement by handpicking drivers for the precious cargo among its Circle of Honor members (drivers who have gone 25 years or more without an accident)
and including drivers' bios in its press kit. An employee poster contest also solicited entries from UPS offices around the world. The winner, Adilson Lopes, traveled with his
family from Brazil to witness the pandas' introduction to their new zoo habitat in November.
Bear Facts
#UPS employees involved in the air transport: 100
#UPS employees involved in the ground transport: 30
Gallons of paint used to logo the scene: 17,000
Cheeky event acronym: VIP (Very Important Panda)
Habitat: Edelman/Atlanta
Founded: 1994
Employees: 30
Revenues (1999): $2.1 million
Clients: Home Depot, Eckerd Corp., ESPN Zone, Georgia Pacific
Panda project time frame: Aug.-Nov. 1999
Last-minute scramble: Bamboo ordered for press kits arrived painted
a ghastly green. The team found 6-ft. sections at a warehouse and cut it by
hand into 250 6-inch pieces.
If Edelman were an animal..."We'd be a panda or cheetah. Pandas are smart, passionate, charming, amusing and rare. Cheetahs are fast, intelligent, aggressive and unique."