Tag: USA

FedEx Facebook: Sending 'virtual gifts' in a company box was top download last week

Posted by | Jun 8, 2008 | |

FedEx Corp. is bouncing off the walls in the walled garden called Facebook.

In just over a week, 270,000 users have downloaded its Launchapackage.com application for sending virtual gifts, all wrapped up in a FedEx box, of course.

What you might not expect are the sounds of jet engines as the package zooms into your space, bouncing off the parameters and landing with a cool-sounding thud on the bottom of your screen.

“A year ago, we decided we wanted to see if could own virtual delivery in the social community,” said Steve Pacheco, FedEx director of advertising and the guy who helps mastermind the company’s award-winning Super Bowl ads.

“You can put anything you want in it and fling it to family and friends.”

Last week, Launchapackage was the No. 1 download out of Facebook’s 40,000 applications.

The feed is a key part of the viral spread. Because it includes news about people you’ve admitted to your site, it tends to be of high interest, he said.

“We’re able to see what times of day it is being used. And what people are sending in their packages is really great information. We’re learning more about how people socially engage,” Pacheco said.

What FedEx already knows is that the average Facebook user is plugged in 20 minutes a day. Multiply that by its 70 million active users and you have a space “where we think we need to play,” Pacheco said.

Users get the download for free. To give them reason to wrap their text, photos or video in a FedEx box, FedEx provides technology-cool interactive visuals, like the giant rubber band that stretches across your screen to send your message into the next realm.

The concept was developed with Atmosphere BBDO, the interactive arm of FedEx New York advertising agency BBDO.

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UPS will have no presence at local hub

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

A spokesperson for United Parcel Service (UPS) said Friday the shipping giant will “unequivocally” not use the Wilmington hub in any way if an agreement with DHL is inked.

Norman Black, director of global media services, talked to the News Journal Friday from the UPS headquarters in Atlanta, Ga.

“Anything involving the future of that hub in Wilmington has got to be addressed to DHL. It’s their facility, their operation, their network, the thing that they’re changing. The only thing I can tell you unequivocally, is no, UPS is not planning on doing anything in Wilmington,” Black said.

He mentioned it was discussed at the press conference last week in Bonn, Germany, that if UPS is hired to take over DHL’s air transport, the agreement implicitly states it is based on using UPS’ existing air network.

The agreement may mean the direct loss of at least 8,200 employees in the southwest region of Ohio, according to local and state of Ohio public officials.

UPS and DHL announced the two major transportation companies are in talks over a 10-year agreement worth USD 1 billion annually.

UPS has six hubs, with the main global hub at Louisville, Ky. and other hubs in Ontario, Calif.; Dallas, Texas; Rockford, Ill.; Columbia, S.C.; and Philadelphia, Penn.

Black foresees no new information being available for two to three months while lawyers in the United States and Germany work behind the scenes on a final contract. After that is complete, the companies will build an operational plan.

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DHL deal with UPS faces scrutiny from American Postal Workers Union

Posted by | Jun 6, 2008 | |

Deutsche Post World Net’s plans to restructure its DHL US Express business, announced last week, have come under scrutiny from the American Postal Workers Union and other lawmakers.

The transport and logistics company working towards a contract with UPS to provide airlift for its domestic and international shipments in North America. In the proposed agreement DHL will no longer use air carriers ABX and ASTAR. The two air carriers stand to lose as many as 8,200 jobs at the Wilmington Air Park.

“[An employee strike is] not something we’re anticipating,” said Jonathan Baker, a spokesperson for DHL. “We’re working closely with all of our partners to continue services and we have received assurances from both companies that they will continue to operate without any impact to the business.” ASTAR forwarded inquiries to DHL.

However, Baker went on to say that DHL may not be pulling out of Wilmington completely. “We will be transitioning the domestic air volume to UPS, which we believe will expect greater reliability,” he said, “but we will have a continuing need for operations at the DHL air park in Wilmington.”

He explains, “[The park] not only serves as a domestic air volume sorting facility but also handles ground volume and clears and sorts our international package volume. There is no decision yet as to where those operations will be located. It’s possible they will continue in Wilmington.”

In total, this plan could cost upwards of USD 2 billion. DHL said it would decrease its infrastructure network in the US by 30% and reduce its ground linehaul network by 18%. Pickup and delivery routes will decrease 17%.

According to UPS the agreement, when finalized, will provide the company with USD 1 billion in additional revenue.

DHL plans to cut its 40,000-stong staff by 4%.

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Postal mail still gets results

Posted by | Jun 5, 2008 | |

Text and instant messaging are fine for friends, but not for marketers.

That was the main finding of ExactTarget’s “2008 Channel Preference Survey.”

Nearly two-thirds of US Internet users surveyed said e-mail was their preferred channel for written communications between friends, with text messaging the next-favorite choice. The phone was the most popular way to communicate with friends overall, with 41% of respondents naming it as their channel of choice.

“There is a clear trend within younger demographics toward communication via text messaging and social networks,” said Morgan Stewart, director of research and strategy at ExactTarget, in a statement.

But Mr. Stewart said those preferred personal communication channels were not necessarily also preferred channels for marketing.

Asked to judge the acceptability of various channels for marketing purposes on a scale of 1 to 5, respondents gave direct mail an average score of 3.9, followed by e-mail at 3.7. All other channels averaged under 3.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they had made a purchase because of a marketing message received through e-mail. More than three-quarters said they had made such a purchase in response to direct mail.

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Rivermine wins telecom expense management contract from US Postal Service

Posted by | Jun 5, 2008 | |

The US Postal Service has awarded Rivermine a contract to deploy telecom expense management solutions for its entire nationwide data network.

According to Rivermine, it will deliver its patent-pending solutions to automate the US Postal Service’s existing telecom expense management (TEM) processes, manage and optimize the full telecom life cycle including procurement and order management, invoice processing and auditing, inventory management, dispute management and reporting/analytics.

The Rivermine solution will be used to help maintain a data network connecting approximately 400 distribution outlets and 37,000 retail locations.

Mark Logan, president and CEO of Rivermine, said: “Rivermine and the US Postal Service share a common vision for an integrated end-to-end automated process from initial telecom service orders through invoice payment. We look forward to working with the US Postal Service to achieve the highest level of visibility into and control over data network expenses – further reducing network costs.”

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