Over the years, UPS transformed itself from a shipping service provider to a business solutions provider that offers shipping — adding value for customers. The transformation began with the “What can brown do for you?” commercials followed by the famous Whiteboard campaign. UPS continues to deliver value in its online engagement strategy—something many companies forget to do.UPS’s strategy is to provide content that is relevant and useful to its B2B customers. At the center is a branded Popurls site. Here UPS is serving as a content curator for business news and tips. UPS also created a Populr Brown Edition YouTube channel. The channel features a series of short informational videos on business topics such as social networking and communication. Industry notables from Mashable, TechDirt, Small Business Trends, and VentureBeat provide the video lessons. Additionally, consumers can receive news stories by following @popurlsbrown on Twitter.
So, what’s the problem? Well, have you watched one of the videos, heard about the brown Popurl site, or followed @popurlsbrown? UPS is an international brand, yet the YouTube channel has just over 600 views and @popurlsbrown has 69 followers. While UPS is running banner ads on sites like VentureBeat, neither UPS.com nor the Whiteboard microsite have links to the popurl site, YouTube channel, or Twitter account. Additionally, the YouTube channel doesn’t link to the Twitter account or UPS.com. UPS is delivering value for its B2B customers by providing useful information in an accessible and easily digestible format. However, the full potential will not be realized unless UPS offers directions to and from these sites and does a better job integrating these elements into its overall marketing efforts.
-- Marina Molenda
