Transportation Management Focus: You Move It, We Write About It  
 
 

- Sept. 23 , 2010 -

Supply Chain News: New UPS Ad Campaign Gives Logistics Profession a Big Boost


"What Can Brown Do for You?" Retired for Now in Favor of "We Love Logistics"; Tens of Millions to Hear the Message that Logistics Can Drive Competitive Advantage


 
 


SCDigest Editorial Staff

SCDigest Says:
It all means tens of millions will hear about the power of logistics , from CEOs to high school or college students considering fields of study.

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In the biggest ad campaign in company history, UPS is - at least for now - ditching its long-running "What Can Brown do for You? " themed ads with a new campaign that touts the power of logistics.

Time will tell whether the ads are good for UPS, but its seems to us here at SCDigest that they are definitely good for raising the profile and image of the logistics discipline and career path.

The ads starting running on television as well as in print and other media about two weeks ago, and are feature the new ad theme of "We Love [heart symbol] Logistics."

The primary target of the campaign, it seems, are smaller and mid-sized companies who may need a broader set of logistics services than simpler parcel or LTL delivery, especially with regards to developing business internationally.

While the concept of logistics has been defined and understood for decades in the business community, what exactly it entails may not be very well understood by the average consumer. In a story about the new campaign, for example, the Wall Street Journal probably correctly felt the need to explain the term to reader, noting that "Logistics essentially involves the critical steps that allow a company to get its product to customers—stocking and running a warehouse, filling orders, clearing goods through customs, choosing a shipping method and handling returns."

The new campaign was inspired in part by research that showed 70% of UPS's US customers export to just one country, typically Canada.

UPS CEO Scott Davis said recently that "if you're looking to grow over the next 10 or 20 years, you've got to look at a customer base beyond the US."

The ads are actually being run across the world, with slightly different messages. In China, for example, the theme will revolve around how companies can be serve the country's growing middle class.

 

 

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The television ads feature a takeoff of the Dean Martin song "That's Amore," sung in Mandarin, Spanish and English depending on region of the globe, with lyrics such as, "When it's planes in the sky, for a chain of supply, that's logistics," and "There will be no more stress, 'cause you've called UPS, that's logistics."

From TV ads on major sporting broadcasts and financial news shows to web and print advertising and even on TV screens in New York's Grand Central and Penn rail stations, it all means tens of millions will hear about the power of logistics , from CEOs to high school or college students considering fields of study.

UPS' Davis notes one specific goal of the program is to educate businesses that logistics done well can be a competitive advantage.

The company notes that its Supply Chain services business represented about 16% of UPS' total revenue of $45.3 billion in 2009, up from 7% in 2004, growth built in part on some 40 acquisitions that added service or geographic capabilities.

 

Do you like the new UPS ad campaign? Do you think it will add to the recognition and perception of the logistics discipline? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.

 


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