Logistics Company Maersk Inspires You to ‘Discover New Paths’ in Adventurous Campaign
One of the world’s largest logistics companies Maersk is launching a new B2B campaign, ‘Discover New Paths’ to supercharge the ongoing transformation of the brand from shipping to integrated logistics in a campaign by Danish creative agency &Co., part of the North Alliance (NoA), and Havas Media Group’s B2B division, Havas Business. The hero creative from &Co./NoA explores the opportunities of logistics that enable customers to discover new paths, leading them to business prospects with Maersk that guide them every step of the way on that adventure.
Maersk offers a new take on logistics, enabling logistics managers to unleash business potential through truly integrated logistics, but they need to be confident in this new mindset just like Diana in ‘Discover New Paths’: Placed in an adventurous setting, the 2 minute 15 second hero film follows logistics professional Diana – played by British award-winning comedian Diane Spencer – on her journey of delivering a piece of cargo as she overcomes the challenges and tediousness of traditional, complex logistics experiences. Diana discovers new paths through truly integrated logistics with the help of Maersk employee Astrid, played by British actress Vanessa Vanderpuye. As Astrid states, there is “no such thing as a dead-end,” when you choose Maersk as your logistics partner.
Anne With Damgaard, global head of marketing, Maersk, said: “To Maersk, using creative brand building as a way of reaching our strategic vision has been transformative. Literally. In our collaboration with &Co. /NoA and Havas Business, we have experienced the real power of creative communication first-hand in the transformation of Maersk from being the world’s largest shipping company to becoming a major global logistics player that offers a truly integrated end-to-end solution to our customers. The film symbolises where that business transformation has brought Maersk today as our customers’ trusted, quick-thinking, and solution-orientated logistics partner creating new ways of doing business – no matter the challenge.”
The creative work and comms strategy was created in collaboration with the award-winning global creative agency and Maersk’s strategic creative agency since 2018, &Co. – part of agency network the North Alliance (NoA). The film was directed by the Danish acclaimed advertising director Tore Frandsen who recently won grand prix at Clio Awards and at Epica, and produced by production company new--land. True to the core story of the campaign, Maersk, &Co./NoA, and new-land discovered new paths in terms of production opportunities with the use of LED volume screen at the LED Unit studio, creating an adventure of advanced filming technology. Meanwhile, Havas Business, the B2B division of Havas Media UK, has been Maersk’s strategic media partner since 2016.
Peter Dinesen, creative director at &Co. /NoA, said: “It is no secret that challenges are fundamental to any great story. This makes logistics, the department of unforeseen problems, a perfect setting.
"Another component of a good story is the deep human desire to find happiness, wealth, and new opportunities. The development of ‘Discover New Paths’ has been a combination of all these elements: A story about somebody who wants something badly and is having difficulty getting it. A story that subsequently underpins that Maersk evokes the same qualities in their customers as those possessed by the classic heroes – courage, willpower, and the ability to challenge the status quo. "There is no such thing as a dead-end," to quote the protagonist.”
Tore Frandsen, Director, new-land, said: “From the very first meeting I had with &Co./NoA, they told me about the desire to shoot this film on a LED volume stage. Volume is basically a huge circular screen. You put your actress in the middle of that and you can bring her from a warehouse in Denmark to the top of Mount Everest, from the bottom of the sea to outer space only by clicking a button. This new technology offers endless possibilities, but as the volume was rather unknown territory for all of us, we had to start a journey on our own to make this happen. The LED volume stage is still a brand-new technology so new-land had to do extensive research to find a partner who could deliver the quality we wanted within the time frame. We also had to do plenty of rewrites of the script to get the most out of the volume. The journey was long and tough, but in the end the result was worth the struggle.”
The media strategy brings to life the adventurous creative by taking Maersk to rich immersive storytelling environments including airports for the first time ever with flagship OOH served in London Heathrow, New York John F. Kennedy and Shanghai Pudong international airports respectively. The campaign moves beyond the traditional logistics audiences all the way to c-suite reaching multiple decision makers by increasing customer targeting through ABM platforms and releasing the power of the brand through broadcast channels including press (Economist, Financial Times) and business TV (CNN, BBC World).
Yannis Zachos, executive strategy director, Havas Business (part of Havas Media UK), said: "Contrary to the rules of conventional B2B, we’ve helped Maersk push the boundaries of B2B marketing even further, as we evolve our award-winning work. In taking a bold stand with rich, emotional storytelling, coupled with unexpected media placements, we are pushing the brand well beyond the traditional trade titles and ABM platforms. The use of new channels such as airports, streaming and podcasts, creates media experiences that stand out, catching the attention of a hard-to-reach audiences.
Moving a brand from challenger to leader requires fresh and bold thinking and our latest work is doing just that.”
The campaign is an evolution of Maersk’s ambition since 2016 to reposition itself from predominantly an ocean shipping business to an end-to-end logistics partner delivering ‘all the way’. To date, the transformational campaign work has included ‘This is your Brain’, ‘Maersk Spot’, ‘Disconnected’ and ‘Upside’ – all of which showcase the transformation of Maersk and its new, frictionless logistics offerings using emotional storytelling as a creative lever.
Moving nearly a quarter of global trade and having relationships with nearly every large business in the world and with 110,000 staff, Maersk has been upgraded from a ‘challenger brand’ to a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrants. Time Magazine has also listed Maersk in the annual list of 100 most influential companies both in 2021 and 2022. Last year, Maersk, &Co./NoA, and Havas Business won their second consecutive Grand Prix at WARC B2B effectiveness during Cannes Lions for the work in the long.
Ilke Rangette, Global Head of Brand Strategy & Activation, Maersk, said: “We’re competing for our customers’ attention. And to grab that attention, we need to come across with something creative that is really on top level. Combining cutting-edge technology with the ideas of some of the best creative thinkers has been such a rewarding and collaborative experience – and result.”
Domonic Pope, Senior Brand Marketing Manager, Maersk, said: “We’ve really started to move ourselves on from being seen as a shipping company to an end-to-end logistics company. Positioning ourselves as a partner to our customers, creative communication has been an immensely powerful tool. This time combined with the use of cutting-edge filming technology creating new paths for the creative outlet.”
Mathias Birkvad, strategy director, &Co. / NoA, said: “Maersk offers a new mindset. A new way of thinking about logistics. A new set of capabilities that can make logistics managers unleash business potential and contribute to their companies in new ways. However, to do so, they need to be confident in the new. To dare to walk new paths and to understand what they will achieve from this. For the role and the company. This campaign is all about just that. About how to lean in to get rewarded.”
Pernille Ryder, Client Director, &Co. /NoA, said: “We have been working with Maersk on not just this campaign, but on the creative side of the entire transformational journey of Maersk since 2018. It has been an experience of true collaboration and creative courage. A collaboration which is both challenging and rewarding. And that is what makes up the best partnerships - where the results are just as rewarding as the process. Utilising our creative strategy, ideas, and emotional storytelling in collaboration with a major global B2B client such as Maersk, we have truly discovered new paths together throughout the years."
