FedEx, DHL Ramp Up Advertising

July 13, 2004
Expedited delivery giants FedEx Corp. and DHL are unveiling new advertising campaigns to step up business – FedEx by highlighting its recent acquisition of Kinko’s and DHL through its exclusive deal to handle logistics for the U.S. Olympic Team. FedEx is touting its newly renamed FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Centers as a “one-of-a-kind offering” of business services, with many locations open 24/7.

Expedited delivery giants FedEx Corp. and DHL are unveiling new advertising campaigns to step up business – FedEx by highlighting its recent acquisition of Kinko’s and DHL through its exclusive deal to handle logistics for the U.S. Olympic Team.

FedEx is touting its newly renamed FedEx Kinko's Office and Print Centers as a “one-of-a-kind offering” of business services, with many locations open 24/7. The campaign also highlights FedEx Kinko's claim that it offers significantly lower shipping prices of up to 35% less than arch-rival The UPS Store, which United Parcel Service formed from its acquisition of Mail Boxes Etc. several years ago.

The campaign, the first advertising for FedEx Kinko's, unveils the company's new tagline “Our Office is Your Office” and targets key small-business and mobile-professional customers who increasingly use FedEx Kinko's as their “office on the road.” The campaign includes television spots, print ads, radio, direct mail and online elements.

DHL, by contrast, is using an integrated marketing campaign to emphasize the company's enhanced domestic strength and commitment to bringing competition to the U.S. express delivery and ground parcel market – all via its support of the U.S. Olympic Team.

DHL said the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens promise to be this year's most broadly watched sporting event in the U.S. providing DHL with huge visibility in the U.S. market.

Miami-based DHL is perhaps touting its domestic delivery prowess due to past struggles over its foreign ownership. Chairman & CEO John Dasburg and other investors announced a plan to buy the company from its parent, DHL Worldwide Express, for $57 million in early 2003.

Chicago-based DHL Worldwide had its operations restricted in the U.S. after German postal giant Deutche Post purchased a controlling stake in the company in 1998 as DOT aviation rules severely limit both cargo and passenger transport by foreign-owned airlines between U.S. cities -- rules that had essentially clipped DHL's wings in terms of its ability to compete against rivals FedEx and UPS.

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