DHL Express Rushes Account Into Review By Daniel S. Levin

SAN FRANCISCO - Ketchum here has turned in the keys to the flying van and resigned the $8-million DHL Worldwide Express account after failing to reach an a

The Redwood City, Calif.-based air express company said it will immediately launch a review in the hopes of having a new agency on board by the end of the year.
International Communications Group/L.A. will continue to buy media for DHL, and Mediasmith/S.F. will continue to perform media planning. DHL said it has been in discussions with consultant Mike Agate of Select Resources/L.A. to conduct the review although no deal has yet been reached.
‘We were feeling the pressures and couldn’t deliver the type of work we wanted to deliver given financial restraints,’ said Ketchum president Dianne Snedaker.
Though DHL had billings of just under $14 million in 1992, according to the tracking service Competitive Media, this year the company is expected to spend about $8 million, according to Dean Christon, DHL’s manager of marketing communications. Christon said the company will focus its search on the West Coast with an eye toward creative boutiques.
DHL, with $2.6 billion in worldwide revenue, is the leading international delivery service. While it has established itself as a company with international expertise, it faces increasing competition from rivals Federal Express and United Parcel Service, which have dominated the domestic market.
Both of those companies significantly outspent DHL on advertising. In 1992 Federal Express spent $42.7 million while UPS spent $52.3 million, according to Competitive Media.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)