We turned to emotional storytelling to create a film that was more action adventure than advertising, to stand out in a category that is usually filled with the same expected cliches. We wanted it to be interesting for everyone to watch and insightful for people working in logistics. Ultimately this was done to change the perception of Maersk from ocean shipping to integrated logistics.

Maersk decided to break with their 100-year legacy of being a shipping company to become a modern logistics company that can transport goods from start to finish, and not just across the sea.

The brief was to capture the FEELING of integrated logistics. In its most basic form it means that when you partner with Maersk, they can help you get anything from A to B and with Maersk’s huge network of different transportation modes, digital services and expert insights they can help you unlock new business opportunities.

In recent years logistics has been more about chaos control and trying to avoid being the bearer of bad news, but we want to show that partnering with Maersk will enable you to use integrated logistics to discover new and exciting adventures for your business.

A world that is connected like never before also has more contact points that can affect the logistical journey. This forces our audience to navigate unforeseen events and dead ends on a daily basis.

This was confirmed by usertribe tests and campaign validation studies within the target audiences demonstrating strong relatability to the daily struggles in logistics.

We wanted our audience to know that Maersk can help them change dead-ends to business opportunities, and in doing so also change the perception of Maersk.

Detailed on-going brand trackers have shown major positive perception shifts correlated with brand campaigns that used emotional storytelling to create distinctive universes compared to conventional category comms.

Continuing this proven people-first approach, we use an adventure story to stand out and build mental availability in the often dry B2B environment while also presenting ourselves as relatable and relevant to our target audiences: logistics professionals and C-suite executives.

The idea was to show that the challenges you meet when working in logistics can feel like those Lara Croft or Indiana Jones might encounter. Unexpected problems happening while getting something valuable from A to B. However, if you’re not Indiana or Lara it’s nice to have a partner like Maersk who can help you overcome the different challenges - whether it’s a blocked canal, customs clearance or flying spears.

Our hero asset, a 135-second video, follows a logistics professional, Diana, on an adventurous journey that with the help of Maersk discovers new paths. This idea echoes our brand message that when you use Maersk’s integrated logistics you go from a chaos controller to feel like the hero that turns dead ends into new paths for the company. Ultimately this helped strengthen the overall message that Maersk is not just ocean shipping but can help you all the way.

The film was made to look like a blockbuster adventure film with the epic feel, action and humour the genre is known for. It’s meticulously crafted with hidden logistics details - ex. the huge stone wheel depcits integrated logistics - serving as Easter eggs for professionals in the industry, without compromising on the entertainment value for a broader audience.

Mainly using LinkedIn ensured that we’d hit our audience of C-suite and logistics professionals (the approvers and buyers).

Furthermore, we ran the film on CNN and BBC World during high-affinity moments for C-suites and used VOD to narrow our targeting by using contextual filters related to business topics.

A truly global campaign running throughout the year utilising a mix of traditional channels, such as print ads in The Financial Times and The Economist, paid social, digital display, and digital OOH in global airports in New York, London and Shanghai a.o.

The campaign launched on Feb 28, 2023, and within the first month, it has outperformed media KPI’s for both awareness and traffic objectives across all channels.

• VTR is outstanding high being 42%, +68% over our KPI.

• CTR is far exceeding its benchmark, too, being 0.99%, +230% over planned KPI.

• Impressions accumulate to 171,483,737

• Video views accumulate to 27,734,689

Maersk's share of voice across Integrated Logistics increased by +38% since February, and Maersk now claim 22% of the total SOV in the category. Clear demonstration of campaign cut through, supporting the objective of creating brand perception change.

Indications show strong top funnel performance: Most audiences that reach the website through the film are engaging in content (67,3%), and 7,5% of those who stay to get in-depth knowledge about Integrated Logistics (1,72%) also get in touch.