Number 66: August 25, 2004

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Every four years we go a little crazy. We become competitive and partisan. We blow small slights out of proportion and we turn individuals into symbols of our own hopes and fears. Then, when it's all over, we go back to our normal lives, feeling like we accomplished something ourselves, when few of us made any sacrifice or effort of our own. Of course, I'm referring to the Olympic Games (What? You were thinking of something else?)

Companies have long wanted to associate their products with the best the world has to offer in performance, endurance, integrity, and good will. I recall my first purchase of an Olympic marketing tie-in was my official Olympic checks bearing the mascot of the 1984 Olympics, Sam, the Eagle. It even came with a matching vinyl cover. I felt supportive of my country every time I wrote a check to the Columbia House Record Club. I can't imagine a more fitting indoctrination into consumerism.

It's no easy task, however, for most companies to associate the value of their products with the Olympics. For example, dress socks are a bit of a stretch. (The power and performance you've come to expect lining a nice Oxford.) The official Olympic pen at least seems useful in sports that must be judged. (Although, the Malaysian judge apparently has to complete all his work in pencil.) It's one thing to slap a logo on your product and donate to the Olympics; it's another thing entirely to make a real connection of shared values.

One company stands out this year for making the best of the Olympic opportunity, DHL International, LTD, which launched an integrated marketing campaign to coincide with the 2004 Olympics. DHL will be familiar to many of our readers outside the United States, as one of the largest shipping and logistics companies in the world. However, they were not well known in the United States. Through a series of mergers (notably with Air Express), they gained a foothold in the highly competitive shipping arena split by Fed Ex and UPS.

For DHL, the challenge was not only to introduce a new player in the world of shipping, but also to enter strongly enough to be considered a serious competitor. They launched a series of funny commercials showing Fed Ex and UPS drivers competing with each other while DHL trucks literally roll in to change the landscape. By showing the competitors' brands, DHL educates their target audience immediately about what DHL offers. Additionally, they frame their story as being the company that came out of nowhere to knock down the sleeping giants. (Never mind that DHL is quite a large international organization.) This and their tone of wry humor play to the human desire to root for the plucky underdog.

Most of the consumers of shipping made their choice long ago and they have become set in their ways. Occasionally, a customer might move over to the competitor if the price differential shifts enough in their favor. DHL was able to tell a story that everyone would recognize as true, and had never been voiced publicly before. They elevated a latent pain, which is the holy grail of marketing.

With that groundwork laid, they had more room to work with on their next project, the Olympic campaign created by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in New York. In this campaign, the competitors have been dispensed with. Still, DHL has only scratched the surface with awareness, so they must make clear what it is that DHL provides, and they need to set their message in a context that demonstrates DHL's value.

This series of campaigns shows DHL supporting Olympic athletes during their training using materials associated with the shipping industry. In one, a long jumper lands in a bed of packing peanuts; in another, a pole-vaulter lands softly on a huge stack of bubble wrap. In every case, the message is that DHL supports the athletes in any way they can. The extended message is that DHL is an organization focused on service and that it goes as far as possible to help its customers.

Because the DHL employees are shown supporting the athletes, it also conveys the message that DHL holds performance, endurance, integrity, and good will in high esteem. Then there's the humorous and creative surprise of how the shipping products are used that reinforces making the most of your resources. It's a very subtle way of saying that DHL will save you money by being more creative and resourceful – using what they have lying around – without saying that they are less expensive.

DHL is making the most of their first opportunity to break into the awareness of the U.S. consumer. They could have opted, as so many companies have, to launch an enigmatic logo campaign, rolled out in phases designed to make people wonder what might come next. This campaign acknowledges that you have one shot to define yourself and it's not a good time to be coy. With this campaign, DHL has a good opportunity to move into the DHL fold those consumers who have been taken for granted by their current providers.

From here, it will be interesting to see how DHL evolves their marketing. Like the athlete who comes out of obscurity to take the gold, they might have to shift strategies more quickly than they anticipated. I hope they keep their sense of humor (an area that Fed Ex has excelled in), and continue to focus on the creative teamwork that makes up DHL. I think they could explore ways that DHL employees make a difference. It could be an opportunity to stake some ground that neither Fed Ex (which focuses on the customer), and UPS (which focuses on the stalwart, trustworthy driver) have taken. The creative DHL team members who go to extremes to solve problems for their customers could be the next great characters in advertising.

Note: Cheers to our Australian readers whose swimming team turned in amazing performances again this Olympics. It's becoming quite a fun rivalry that now extends into Beach Volleyball and Softball as well. Of course, we're still ahead in the medal count. See you in Beijing!

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Kevin Troy Darling

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