Tapping the target’s hunger for information, we took a literal approach to the tagline (“FEDEX delivers to a changing world”) and built, at the centre of the campaign, a map experience based on cartograms. These were maps in which a variable (e.g., population, GDP) was substituted for land area. Consequently, the geometry of the map is scaled and distorted to convey the variable. We partnered with The Economist Group, the world’s leading economic journal, to generate data and fuel the mapping engine. The full experience was housed on the campaign micro-site, supplemented with Economist-created custom content pieces. To inject brand messaging, FEDEX mixed white papers and materials with Economist content.This was executed globally, regionally, and locally in print and digital. Print utilized augmented reality to bring the map experience to the page. Digital ad placements teased the map experience housed on the micro-site with versions of the experience worked into placements.

Time spent on the microsite was paramount given the dual directives of awareness and engagement. The previous year’s campaign ended with 1m 20s average time on site, far below the B2B industry benchmark of 2-3 million. However, by December 31, the site reported average time spent at 17m 12s: an increase of 750%.

This performance was coupled with a 29% bounce rate (down from 80% in year prior) and 70% of site visitors diving deeper into the microsite maps and content. Unexpectedly, several university professors (including faculty at Notre Dame and Princeton) used the microsite to illustrate global economic trends in lectures.