FedEx Kicks Off New Campaign During Bowl Championship Series

As we approach the 20th anniversary of our FedEx Orange Bowl sponsorship, it’s increasingly clear that the landscape of advertising has forever changed. It is for this very reason that FedEx was one of the pioneers of sports marketing. We recognized then, as we do now, that we had to create innovative marketing solutions to break through the clutter to reach our customers.

The ratings for the FedEx Orange Bowl and our now second FedEx BCS National Championship game continue to deliver. In fact, ratings for these games are, on average, 60 percent higher than prime time television ratings. It’s a fantastic opportunity to reach our customers and drive our business.

Beginning Jan 1, 2009, we will use our BCS platform to launch an all-new advertising campaign called "We Understand.”

The “We Understand.” campaign is designed to be highly cost effective and efficient. It will be deployed differently across several channels but the core strategic message will always be the same, that FedEx understands – and offers solutions for – the various needs of our customers. “We Understand.” will speak to our customers succinctly and consistently and will clearly demonstrate how FedEx can improve their business, especially during these trying economic times.

FedEx Advertising will begin executing the “We Understand.” platform in all of its campaigns beginning Jan. 1, 2009. This includes advertising campaigns for the FedEx brand, sports programs, corporate social responsibility and FedEx Office. “We Understand.” will work across every channel that FedEx uses to communicate with its customers, prospective customers and employees.

As Mike Glenn mentioned in his recent blog post, sports marketing is one of the very few “DVR-proof” opportunities available to advertisers. Our long-term commitments with properties like the FedEx BCS National Championship give us an unrivaled opportunity for significant brand exposure in one of the major television events of the year.

In these challenging economic times, we need to focus on driving the business which includes continuing to advertise. Although we have made notable cuts, such as the decision to not advertise in the 2009 Super Bowl, we still have significant advertising opportunities available to us through our long term sponsorships and other existing commitments such as the BCS. We will continue to maximize these commitments to help drive our business, provide measurable results and, most importantly, put boxes on the FedEx belt.