Alan Gershenhorn, UPS's chief marketing officer, called the
spoof a "colorful exaggeration," while admitting it's an experience
the company doesn't want its customers to have. "UPS has recognized
the love-hate relationship that all too many consumers have with
the notorious delivery notice," he said. "UPS is introducing a
first-of -its-kind delivering service, designed to ensure that
missed deliveries are a thing of the past."
That service, dubbed UPS My Choice, is meant to increase the
likelihood of a successful delivery on the first attempt. Consumers
signing up for the program, which launches Oct. 3, will receive
phone, email or text alerts notifying them a day in advance of a
package delivery and providing a four-hour window. When those
alerts are received, consumers can electronically authorize release
of packages receiving a signature or reschedule the delivery for a
later date. For $5, the package can be rerouted to another address
or the nearest UPS Store. A $40 annual fee gets consumers all of
those benefits, along with a delivery calendar showing the status
of deliveries, the option to select a two-hour window and the
ability to provide instructions to drivers about where to leave
packages.
UPS execs are calling the program a "game-changer" and an
"inflection point." Mr. Gershenhorn said it will be a competitive
advantage, attracting new customers and benefiting shippers. He
noted that QVC is already embracing the program and will be
promoting it to customers. He expects other retailers to follow
suit.
"We've talked to a lot of shippers, and they're all very excited
about the service. They see how it will help drive sales and
deliver a better customer experience," Mr. Gershenhorn said. He
added, "We've done a lot of analytics with [QVC] to understand how
many of their customers get deliveries on the first attempt, and
based on that , they're very excited about what this can do for
their receivers."
The timing of the announcement isn't accidental. UPS is hoping
to grab consumers' attention in advance of the holiday season, when
it ships upward of 440 million packages. It expects demand for the
program will grow along with growth in e-commerce. Online sales
reached $32.6 billion last year, up 12% from the prior year, with
Cyber Monday sales exceeding $1 billion for the first time.
Measured media spending behind the program will be incremental
though limited largely to digital media for the launch. Ogilvy & Mather
handles creative for UPS, which spent $105 million on measured
media last year. Last year the company also launched its largest
marketing campaign ever, replacing "What can Brown do for you?"
with "We [Heart] logistics."
Christine Owens, senior VP-brand management, said the program
will be marketed with a "very robust" website, as well as videos that will be broadcast
through YouTube and Facebook. UPS will also use its own assets to
market the program, with more than one-third of its 4,400 stores
actively promoting the program. Its delivery notices have also been
redesigned to include an aqua box that tells consumers "You Decide
When and Where Your Packages Are Delivered" and urges them to sign
up for the program.
Mr. Gershenhorn said the UPS My Choice effort will be the
company's first foray into talking directly to consumers -- it
typically talks to shippers. "We've talked to shippers with a
consumer angle, but [with this program] we really are looking to
enroll consumers. Our studies show that even consumers who receive
a few packages a month see the benefit of a $40 membership," he
said.
Executives declined to comment on how big of a revenue driver
the program could be, though they did acknowledge that more
deliveries on the first attempt would mean fewer miles driven and
less gas used.
"There's lots of sophisticated technology behind all this:
address matching, alias matching and fraud prevention, the way we
route and optimize our drivers," Mr. Gershenhorn said. "This is the
only comprehensive consumer program that allows consumers to get
the visibility, the control and the flexibility that we're
providing."