Logistically Speaking

Well, you can finally put an end to all that pondering over “What Can Brown Do For You?” After eight years, UPS has replaced their national campaign with the brand’s first global marketing initiative. “We [heart] Logistics”, the tagline and focal point of the new campaign, will strive to bring awareness to UPS’s extensive non-package delivery capabilities. And while business is the primary target of the campaign, it will also be used on individual consumers and at UPS stores. In fact, it is the first overall brand message to be adopted by UPS stores.
The campaign kicked off in late September in the U.S., China, Mexico and the U.K., with other countries to follow. “We needed an idea that could work in different countries and with different decision makers, from C-level to small businesses and individual consumers,” Betsy Wilson, UPS’s director of global advertising, shared with Marketing Daily. “The whole campaign is about re-positioning logistics – inviting people to think about it in a new way: shipping and transportation as a competitive advantage; as a way to serve customers better, and differentiate yourself in the marketplace.” The campaign will include the full gamut of media – print, outdoor, TV, digital and social media. In addition, television spots will feature a jingle, “That’s Logistics,” set to the classic Dean Martin song “That’s Amore.”
There are aspects of this new campaign that are both fascinating and puzzling. First of all, I can’t get past the fact that this one campaign is being used for both business and consumer (including retail store) audiences. I feel it should be fragmented a bit more. Businesses should care about logistics. The general consumer? Not so much. I’m also baffled by the choice of copy and an emoticon. “We [heart] Logistics” sounds like an odd message targeted at both pre-teens and middle managers. UPS’s goal was to target the emotional and analytic, but I think they took the assignment too literally.

I do, however, appreciate certain aspects of the campaign from a business perspective. After all, a message revamp is pretty much necessity when a brand tweaks its positioning and set of competitive advantages. I like that UPS is using the word “logistics.” It’s a fairly brave word choice that’s seldom heard outside B2B messaging. So maybe logistics will become synonymous with UPS and they will “own” the term over time? But again, I feel that way on the business front. Anyway, that’s my two cents on the matter. Now I’m interested in hearing what you think. Check out the campaign and share your thoughts here. I’ll [heart] you if you do.