Ogilvy Stockholm – European Centre for DHL marketing communication
DHL EXPRESS is the world-leading logistics and express company, owned by Deutsche Post.
Ogilvy Stockholm has collaborated with DHL Sweden for a long time. Earlier we adapted some of the European campaign to the Swedish market. Since 2006 we have been responsible for the total market communication for DHL EXPRESS Europe, all together 29 different markets. Strategies and creative concepts are developed in Stockholm, and the campaigns are now adapted and adjusted by other Ogilvy offices throughout Europe.
The challenge of many markets
The big challenge in working for different markets is to make them all agree on one single communicative expression. The thing is to catch a general business problem that concerns all European countries, and offer local solutions everywhere. We found one possible way to go: to invite key markets to regular check points of the creative concepts, collecting true opinions based on reality. The early check points helped us develop the concepts all the way to final production, still in a wide European perspective, still offering exciting local choices.
DHL ”Save Time”, a European campaign from Ogilvy Stockholm
One of our European campaigns processed in this wide perspective was the creative concept ”Save Time”, profiling the service DHL EXPRESS 12. The service gives you guaranteed next-day delivery before noon, compared to the competitors’ guarantee of ”close of business”. How could we communicate a true need that never before had been connected to a specific transport product? What does it mean in real business life to get a delivery by noon instead of 5 p.m.?
A concept showing extreme benefits of saving time
The express business is all about time and punctuality. To dramatize this we created an office world where the actors always drive the situations into extreme endings, trying to save time and not wasting others’. We created specific business situations on the theme ”Save time”. To make the communication feel ”neutral” and work in 29 markets we chose American business settings, subtitled for the different European.
DHL - The Meeting
DHL - Watercooler
DHL - Yes, yes, yes
Result on different levels
The campaign ”Save Time” was one of the most successful from DHL Europe ever. ”This campaign has met every criteria of successful advertising” was a line in the follow-up report. For example it showed 61% awareness for the product DHL Express 12, compared to less than 20% for number two on the market. DHL EXPRESS experienced an increase of 42% for requests, leading to a great sales success. A subject of joy for the Ogilvy team was a nomination for the Swedish Golden Egg Award for the integrated campaign.