DHL shifts TVC tone to tout local knowledge

That is DHL?s humorous take of what corporate life would be like when the company provides logistics and express delivery back-up. Where the tone of last year?s ?More power? campaign set out to impress viewers about DHL?s newly- acquired muscle after it was bought by Deutsche Post World Net, this year?s push centres on the little details ? the indepth knowledge ? that separates DHL from its rivals. The multimedia offensive uses the tagline: ?No one knows the Asia-Pacific like we do?. The TV spots build on the idea that DHL takes care of the supply chain, leaving business executives with little to do. The print ads use a picture of the skyline of a city. Little notes then point to different parts of the city highlighting nuggets of information that would be of use to couriers. For example, in the ad, ?No one knows Shanghai like we do?, one note says it will be faster to take a back alley at one particular spot. Another note says the receptionist of a particular company leaves promptly at 5:30pm. Apart from cities, the ads also use maps of Japan, China and the region to demonstrate the extent of its local knowledge of the cities it operates in. The campaign is based on actual information supplied by DHL people in local markets, and was put together by Ogilvy & Mather, whose India office recently bagged the business following a global realignment. The initial TV burst will run until July and covers 20 markets in Asia-Pacific, including Japan, Korea, Greater China and Southeast Asia. Said Yasmin Aladad Khan, general manager of DHL Express Singapore: ?We want to reinforce DHL?s leading position in the market place and continue to stay top-of-mind with our customers. We have been in Asia for more than 30 years and Asia-Pacific is very important to us. We?ve invested more than US$1.1 billion in Asia since 2000. ?We have the most extensive network and infrastructure and an unbeatable service offering. ?This marketing and advertising campaign reflects all the hard work and investment DHL has made in Singapore and around the region. It?s also about our knowledge, our experience and the passion of the DHL team.? DHL and its rivals ? UPS and FedEx ? spent a combined total of US$8.5 million in six markets in the first quarter of this year, according to Nielsen Media Research. FedEx was the biggest spender at about $3 million, while DHL and UPS drew level with each other at about $2.4 million.