CLIENT: UPS
PR AGENCY: Edelman
CAMPAIGN TYPE: Global PR Campaign
TIMEFRAME: March 25, 2003 - ongoing
BUDGET: $1.5 million
When war in Iraq broke out in March 2003, UPS was just
four days away from the launch of its biggest-ever global
re-branding campaign. It was designed, among other things, to
remove the company's familiar bow-tied package logo to reflect its
expanded delivery as well as its technological and information
capabilities.
For many companies, the war could have spelled a branding and PR
disaster, but the 96-year-old package delivery company remained
unfazed.
"We knew early on that war was a possibility," says Steve
Holmes, a corporate PR manager for UPS. "But we were tied to the
March 25, 2003 date for shipping our annual reports and launching
our new logo because of Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) regulations. So war or no war, we launched. Ideally we'd have
moved the date, but that wasn't an option. A UPS cultural trait is
contingency planning as part of our overall planning."
With war rumbling, UPS turned a difficult and challenging
situation into a global marketing and PR success. Concerned with
the appropriateness of coming out with a re- branding campaign when
the country and the world were focused on the conflict in
Iraq, UPS still had to roll things out. "In the end, we decided
the splash wouldn't be external, but internal, and we even toned
that down," Holmes says. "We were concerned about employees
wondering whether it was appropriate. We have 5000 reservists in
UPS, so we had to be sensitive."
Research showed that UPS was an American icon and that its vans
and package delivery were associated with American culture. Still,
there was a lack of awareness about the company's wide range of
services.
"There were entrenched ideas about what UPS means," Holmes adds.
"Within the U.S. there was a different brand perception, than say,
in Asia. Here, we're known as a small package ground delivery
company. Few think of us as a global company that goes to 200
countries around the world. We had to enlighten and surprise
people. We've assembled arguably the most sophisticated information
technology infrastructure in the world. We're proud of our U.S.
heritage, but want people to understand we operate in all regions
of the world."
The aim was to capture the attention of not just the general
public, but customers, media, employees, core transportation
analysts, marketing and advertising experts, educators, investors
and third parties, such as financial analysts. "Our message was not
that UPS is changing its logo, but why," Holmes says.
The original plan was to on March 25 hold a consecutive series
of worldwide media and employee events in some 30 cities, followed
by 26 additional cities. UPS CEO Mike Eskew was scheduled to do a
worldwide media tour with satellite news conferences. Instead,
around March 19, Holmes and crew finalized a contingency plan
consisting of scenarios A, B, C, and D, depending upon whether war
broke out.
"The most important thing for PR people to understand was that
we gained approval for the plan from the most senior level
executives in the company, so that there was no need for further
discussion," he says. "But it's not until that action takes place,
that you realize you're actually going to have to do it."
All celebratory events were either canceled or scaled back and
leveraged as a media angle to generate awareness of UPS' brand
change. "We went to a very sober, very straightforward, business
press release," Holmes says. "There was no pitch, but we still had
a responsibility to get the news, and video footage, out to the
media. The angle changed to informing them that there's a company
very clearly affected by world events."
Adds Amy Bortz, a senior vp at Edelman, "Even our
approach with our video package of raw footage was softer, and we
left it up to producers to determine what they wanted to do. We had
planned about six different feeds to announce the news and capture
news cycle, but we scaled back."
The effort was kicked off by a a teaser PR campaign that
included the creation of four designer coins mailed to the press on
a staggered basis, highlighting each of three previous UPS logos,
and the new one. "The aim was to build excitement for what was
ahead," Bortz says. "They received a case for a set of four coins,
which arrived in four consecutive days and came with a post card
directing them to a Web site, providing information about what was
yet to come."
In New York, the focus shifted to creating visual, high energy,
employee-only events still using CEO Eskew, and a dramatic
unveiling of the new 3-D logo and other branded assets. "Our plans
were subtle and strategic," says Holmes. "And in the end, our
strategy worked."
To date, UPS has notched up more than 200 million media
impressions, with coverage in Associated Press, Bloomberg
News, CNBC, CNNfn (now- defunct), Dow
Jones, the New York Times, Power Lunch, USA
Today, and the Wall Street Journal among others.
International coverage included Asian Wall Street Journal,
Bangkok Post, Daily Media (Italy) South China
Morning Post, the Times of India, Valor Economico
(Brazil) and others.
UPS also evaluated its performance based on record financial
success, with 2003 revenue increasing 7.1% to $33.5 billion while
UPS Supply Chain Solutions posted its strongest financials
by passing the $2 billion revenue mark.
The company's market share also grew in all business segments.
In addition, UPS moved up several rankings on many important brand
indicators, such as the Harris Interactive/Reputation Institute
Corporate Reputation Survey. And, for the 21st consecutive
year, it achieved a No. 1 showing in its industry on Fortune's
Most Admired list.
Holmes says the campaign is continuing. "We believe we have a
significant transformation story to tell. Just in December we
closed on another acquisition that expanded those capabilities even
further." It's all about UPS' vision of the future, he says. "We're
looking at our Centennial in 2007, and even beyond that."
An Unexpected Bonus
If there had been no war, UPS inevitably would have received
more media coverage and results. But considering the hand it had
been dealt, it played its cards well. More important, the shift in
strategy produced an unexpected bonus when UPS decided to continue
to pitch it as a story after the initial launch. This resulted in
larger, more significant stories in the likes of Business
Week, Time and U.S. News & World Report
during the 18 months since March 2003. "You don't get big stories
without months and months of preparation, and convincing the media
you have a story to tell," says UPS' Steven Holmes.
Contacts: Steve Holmes, 404.828.7391, [email protected]; Amy Bortz,
917.863.8482, [email protected]