There are few things going on at FedEx Express that Malcolm Sullivan, the courier company's Asia Pacific marketing and communications vice-president, doesn't know about. "Our operations folks can't make a decision just for operational or efficiency reasons, because it's going to involve the customer," he comments. "If it impacts the customer it impacts the brand, and I have a voice at that table."
This close involvement keeps Sullivan busy ("when we sit down with my boss and the other offices, as the marketing guy I get drawn into just about every discussion"), but if there's one thing he's learnt marketing FedEx for 14 years, it's that there is more to promoting an express delivery business than commissioning captivating creative and a razor sharp media plan.
The best-laid marketing plans count for nothing if a courier scowls his way through 20 offices after arguing with his wife that morning. "With a service, the product is only created with the interaction of a front-line employee and the customer," Sullivan explains. "It's not 100 per cent predictable. It's never 100 per cent controllable."
Marketing the FedEx brand involves just as much internal communication as it does traditional advertising, not just sharing customer feedback with staff, but also making sure they're motivated to pursue the company's brand vision. Sullivan is planning to implement a new regional initiative in November in which customers vote for their favourite courier, in order to sustain staff buzz. "You've got to have that level of excitement, or else it's just a job, and it can't be just a job, given the fierce competition in the sector."
The main competition is from rival brand DHL, which embarked on a massive regional rebranding after its acquisition by logistics giant Deutsche Post last year.
Sullivan is seeking to give the FedEx brand more regional clout, dissolving the geographic responsibilities for his team of marketers at the beginning of the year and relocating them to Hong Kong to oversee specific marketing disciplines instead. Ironically it was working in these regional posts where Sullivan cut his Asia Pacific teeth, starting in the North Pacific office in 1990 in a career that spanned Sydney, Singapore and China before Hong Kong. China is the only market to retain a marketer assigned exclusively to it - a reflection of both the country's potential, and its complexity.
FedEx is also rolling out its own TVC, conveying the importance of teamwork in its service, across several Asian markets this year, with other executions, such as a Japanese campaign tailored for a more developed market. The effort is designed to steer the communication closer to a central brand proposition. Sullivan feels centralising the marketing function will sharpen FedEx's competitive edge, enabling benchmarking and shared best practice while driving efficiencies. The company is already introducing new regionwide initiatives, such as a pilot for a new online loyalty programme targeting its smaller customers which aims to replace bespoke offers currently running in different countries. "We are one brand and we are looking to communicate the same brand message, adapted for different cultural environments, but the same basic message," he explains.
For Sullivan however, the key to successful marketing is not rooted in a formula. "You can't be too tentative, you've got to go out and take some calculated risks, particularly in a market like this," Sullivan remarks.
"We've got some formidable competitors. That's good, it keeps you on your toes. Having the ability to take some risks, but then the wisdom to know when it's not working and the guts to stop is probably one of the biggest lessons I've learnt."
SULLIVAN: ON THE RECORD
A risky business: No guts, no glory applies to marketing. If other functions make a mistake a few people know about it. If you get the copy in a print advertisement wrong you're going to get two million people who know about it.
Common ground: The one thing I've learnt in Asia is that all markets have strong characteristics and no market is unique
Employees count: The only reason I have a job is because I have employees, and I have to serve them. I kind of think it is the same dynamic with your agency. You'll only get the best out of them if you respect them, if you keep them informed and if you listen to them.
FedEx junior (Staying 14 years with Fedex is) not unusual. Compared to a lot of people in the company I'm still a fairly junior guy ... the company supports your development and lets you engage with bigger opportunities.
Asia's bounty: One of my roles is making sure we're getting a disproportionate share of the fantastic growth we're seeing in Asia.
