MUMBAI: DHL, the international express and logistics brand, has big-beam plans for the new-tiger markets of India and the Asia-Pacific Rim. Part and parcel of these ambitions is its new Asia-Pacific-specific ad campaign that the company will be unwrapping soon here, with the tag line: “All the way”. This replaces their ad sign-off: “No one knows Asia-Pacific like we do.”
The three TV spots called “CEO,” “Patience” and “Waiting” are created by Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore, and aims to deliver three edges for the DHL brand: easy to deal with, knowing and rewarding DHL customers, and innovative products and services.
The “Waiting” commercial opens with people from various walks of like such as workers in a manufacturing unit, a management guy, carpenter, receptionist, etc-all waiting. The super appears “Business won’t wait, so why should you”. Final persuader: “Speak to a real person within 3 rings. DHL-All the way.” This ad campaign will beam at the same time across Asia Pacific markets of India, Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. It will extend across traditional media and outdoor. Chandrashekhar Pitre, head of marketing, DHL Express India, says that in 2006, they had launched a campaign in partnership with the Hollywood flick Mission Impossible III. DHL Express has invested over $ 250 million in India over the last few years. It’s only expected, since India is their key market in the Asia-Pacific region and contributes significantly towards total Asia Pacific revenue. “These investments have been made in identifying new technology, expanding infrastructure, developing innovative products and services and enhancing marketing to meet the growing demands of our customer base. With 60% market share in India in terms of shipments, DHL partners with more than 35,000 customers in India,” informs Pitre.
The Rs 2600-3000-crore express cargo market in India is dominated by players such as DHL, Fedex, UBS, AFL, etc.
DHL commands a lion share with their acquisition of Blue Dart. Other growth drivers for all players here: about 40% of India’s trade - by value, not volume - is sent by air.
About 59 million passengers travelled by air in 2004-05 and the number is increasing, which bodes well for this market. In 2005-2006, the growth rate of international cargo in India was 11.7% and expected to push higher. Again, the emergence of private airlines in the aviation market has gone up by 60%.
