Brand in action

On the seven seas

Who: Maersk Group

What: Maersk Group is one of the world’s largest logistics providers and is comprised of a number of business arms with a shipping fleet that includes 192 container shipping vessels, 172 oil tankers, 184 safety and support ships, 18 offshore drilling platforms and 67 extractive sector support ships; not to mention the innumerable containers, aircraft, port machinery and equipment, employee uniforms and the like. Because of this wealth of brand assets, all of which form an integral part in the world’s logistics operations, Maersk Group uses its physical resources as brand advocates.

How: Maintaining brand consistency at this scale is no easy task, but the strength of Maersk’s seven-pointed star logo and bright blue colour – both in existence since 1904 – act as simple, yet powerful brand icons. The year-old Triple-E, the world’s largest ship, requires 955,250 litres of paint. There will be 20 in the fleet. Beyond that, however, Maersk Group values brand awareness across all its stakeholder groups. Social media, then, has become an important part of the company’s communications. Maersk Line’s Twitter feed is rife with images of container ships – a means of communicating the locations company serves, the massive volume of stuff it transports and the role it plays in global shipping. But, it acts as an important tool for brand awareness and engagement with stakeholders

Why: Tobias Lassen Falkencrone, head of marketing & branding at Maersk Group, says, “In reality, these are our global outdoor campaign and our containers are our billboards. And in addition if you live near a port or terminal, it’s probable that you, at some point, have seen the blue vessels of the Maersk fleet come in. Combined, they provide us with a strong starting position when building brand awareness.